“It’s absolutely beautiful just the way it is.” She ran her fingertips along the bedspread and peered at me from over her shoulder, the slightest smile gracing her lips. Maybe it was because she’d just used the word “beautiful,” but that was all I could think of as I watched her eyes light up.
“If the dresser isn’t big enough, just let me know. The store had a bigger one that matched the bed. I only chose this one because I thought you’d rather have the mirror instead.”
“You picked out the furniture? I thought you had someone come in and do it for you?”
I tried to play it off by shrugging and moving into the hall. “She did most of it. I only picked out the set for this room because I figured it’s something I could keep for guests when you’re done with it.”
Jade didn’t say anything else, only took one last glance into her room and followed me out.
I led her to the kitchen and gestured for her to take a seat at the table. “There’s really not much else to show you about the house. You see the living room”—I waved a hand toward the open space—“and my room is over there.”
She glanced around, taking it all in.
“I figured you’d want to go over this again.” I grabbed the few sheets of paper off the bar and sat next to her at the table. “I retyped it all and printed it so we’d have a clean copy. But I wanted you to go through it so you’d know I added everything we talked about before.”
Jade took the papers from my hand and began to skim, more than likely searching for the additions. “I see you’ve included maid duties.” She peered at me out of the corner of her eye and smirked, her brows lifted and arched. “Where’s the pen?”
I placed the same pen we’d used at the restaurant in her open palm, and then leaned forward to see what she was writing.
“You have on here that I’m expected to ‘pick up’ after Aria. This isn’t specific enough. Please, Cash, elaborate. What specifically do I need to make sure I pick up?” She tried to act stern and professional, but the way she held her lips tight proved she had to hold back her smile.
“Considering I don’t really know what she has or what she could possibly make a mess with, I have no idea how to be more specific. I just know the thought of stepping on Legos when I come home late on a Friday night, or waking up on a Saturday morning to find a naked Barbie doll on the coffee table doesn’t sound like fun. Just basically pick up her, you know…kid things.”
“I can handle that.” Humor danced in her tone as she jotted down notes, such as: Put away naked dolls and No Legos. “You also have shopping on here. What kind of shopping are you looking for? Clothes? Shoes? Cars?”
I couldn’t contain the bubble of laughter that erupted at her last question. “I won’t usually be here during the week, so the fridge might be a little bare. I normally go grocery shopping once a month and stock up on chicken. Occasionally, I’ll hit up the fish market while I’m home, but I eat what I buy and don’t keep leftovers. I like fresh veggies, so I’ll grab enough to last me two days. As you can tell, I don’t keep things around that’ll go to waste. So I just ask that you handle the food shopping. And if it’s not too much trouble, if you happen to be at the store on a Friday, I’d greatly appreciate you picking up vegetables from the produce department so they’re fresh.”
“Wow, you’re really making this easy on me. If the secret gets out, you’ll have quite a few maids looking for employment.” She pulled her lips to one side. “On second thought, it might be best if no one find out about this arrangement.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I’m sure you could find someone who would do a way better job at cleaning your house than me.” She didn’t waste any time before going back to the list in her hand. “What about the other bills?”
“Like what? Electric and water?”
“And cable and internet.”
“I already told you. Don’t worry about them.”
“No…you said rent. You never said anything about all the other expenses.”
“Yeah…because it’s all included.”
Rather than say anything else, she lowered her head and began to jot down another note under the section for “maid duties.” She added a few more things, such as sweeping and dusting, probably to make up for the utilities, but I didn’t argue. If this made her feel better taking a room in my house for free, then I wasn’t about to say anything.
We finished going over the agreement, making tweaks here and there, more so to add clarity than anything else. She wrote a few more things down and made fun of me for some of what I had added. At the end, she made a joke about how this was more of a roommate disagreement with all the changes and scribbles. Then I agreed to have a new one with all the latest inclusions ready and attached to the fridge by the time she moved in.
I’d suggested that she move in next weekend so I could be there to help, but she made a good point that I hadn’t thought about. She needed time to acclimate Aria to a new house, with new rules, as well as being around me. Jade figured it made more sense to tackle one at a time, and to give her a week to adjust before having her so close to a man she hadn’t met and wasn’t familiar with.
The plan was for Jade to move in next week, putting one more weekend between now and when she settled in, but when I handed her the keys, I told her she was welcome whenever she was ready. I had to leave early Monday morning, so she’d have all week to decide.
About an hour after she got home, I received a text saying she’d be heading over on Monday with Aria. She wouldn’t tell me much when I asked if everything was okay, only that she’d had a run-in with her ex. But again, just like every other time I’d asked about him, she told me it was complicated and she didn’t want to talk about it.
It was just after one in the morning when I pulled around to the back of the house. Everything was dark, inside and out, so I assumed Jade had gone to bed. Ever since finding out about Aria, I’d become more aware of the time at night when we’d talk on the phone. Her early bedtime made more sense when I realized she had to get up every morning with her daughter, and I found myself hesitating before calling, not wanting to wake her. But she’d told me not to worry about it, and if she was asleep, she just wouldn’t answer.
Yet every night this week, she answered when I called.
Tonight was late, though. I didn’t expect her to still be awake when I got home. Normally, I’d arrive at the house around eleven, but my day hadn’t gone as planned. In fact, nothing had gone as planned since I’d left the house early Monday morning. All week long, I’d thought about Jade. About her moving in, about Aria and how she was adjusting, and then getting home to spend the weekend with them, excited to finally have someone to come home to again. Yet my job had a different agenda.