It started with a phone call.
Jade wasn't looking for extra work - her days were already full - but when a mutual friend reached out asking if she could be a companion for someone recovering from surgery, something inside her said yes before she had time to think about it.
"She just needs help for a few weeks," the friend explained. "Meals, light chores, someone to keep her from overdoing it."
That's how Jade found herself knocking on the door of a small brick house at the end of a quiet street. The porch smelled faintly of lavender from the potted plants lined along the railing, and a wind chime tinkled lazily in the breeze.
The door opened, and there she was - Sky.
Older, poised, with a short, neat hairstyle that framed a face both warm and guarded at the same time. She leaned on the doorframe, her robe cinched loosely at the waist.
"You must be Jade," Sky said, her voice smooth but tinged with that post-surgery weariness.
"That's me," Jade replied with a smile. "I'm here to make sure you're behaving yourself."
Sky gave a little chuckle. "Depends on your definition of behaving."
Inside, the living room was cozy and lived-in - plush armchair by the window, family photos along the mantel, and a card table pushed near the couch covered with the beginnings of a 1,000-piece puzzle. Off to the side, a small speaker hummed with the soulful tones of Tucker, low enough to blend into the background.
"You like puzzles?" Jade asked, nodding toward the table as she set her bag down.
"Love them," Sky said. "Keeps me from going stir-crazy."
"Guess I'm in the right place," Jade grinned.
Her first task was breakfast. She made grits, eggs, and toast, plating them neatly before setting the tray on Sky's lap. Sky took a bite, her eyes widening. "You cook better than some people I've known for years. You might be dangerous."
When breakfast was over, Jade helped her settle in on the couch. They started on the puzzle together, the two of them leaning over the scattered pieces as Tucker's voice gave way to TK Soul's "Try Me." Jade caught herself tapping her foot to the rhythm.
"You know TK Soul?" Sky asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Girl, please," Jade laughed. "My mama had his CDs in the glove box. That's back when you couldn't go anywhere without music skipping over a pothole."
That earned her a laugh - low, rich, the kind of sound that makes you want to keep telling jokes just to hear it again.
The hours passed easily. Sometimes they talked - about music, about Sky's recovery, about Jade's tendency to stay busy to keep from thinking too much. Other times they fell into a comfortable silence, the only sounds being puzzle pieces clicking into place and the hum of soulful blues filling the air.
By lunch, Jade had grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup ready. They ate at the puzzle table, Sky trying to act like she wasn't watching Jade more than she was watching her meal.
"You don't have to stay all day, you know," Sky said at one point, though her tone made it sound more like a test than a suggestion.
Jade shrugged. "And leave you here to get up and do something you're not supposed to? Not happening."
Sky smiled faintly. "Bossy."
"Protective," Jade corrected.
It became their routine - breakfast, puzzles, Tucker and TK Soul, lunch, a little conversation that somehow always left them both smiling. Jade learned that Sky's laugh came more easily when she forgot about her pain, and Sky learned that Jade's presence made the house feel less empty.
On her drive home that first day, Jade caught herself humming "Try Me" under her breath, smiling at nothing. She didn't know it yet, but she was already looking forward to tomorrow - not because it was a job, but because something about Sky made the day feel like it had… meaning.
Some people walk into your life without warning.
Others are placed there - piece by piece - until you realize God was setting the whole picture up from the start.