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The following week, Sage washed her hands in Joy’s kitchen sink, the water getting hotter than she liked. She reached to push the handle down to make it cooler as someone yelled from the front door.
Joy herself.
She turned just as the blonde woman entered the multi-purpose room at the back of the house. Living room, dining room, kitchen, with a half-bath off of it. The sliding glass doors led outside to a beautiful garden, which Lauren had once taken care of, and which Joy now did.
She and Scott had bought the house from Lauren, gotten married, and settled down into their happily-ever-after. Scott ran his landscaping business—which also kept this yard looking phenomenal—and Joy taught second grade at one of the local elementary schools. They’d been married for seven months, and Sage could still see and feel how much they adored one another.
“What are you doing in my house?” Joy had frozen, but as she spoke, she marched forward. Her school bag clunked down on the island, and she peered past Sage and into the sink. “Where are all my dirty dishes?”
She looked at the dishwasher, which had a bright orange indicator light on it, telling both of them what Sage already knew—it was doing its job.
“Sage.”
“It’s Supper Club tonight,” she said. “And I picked up on all the cues in your texts. It’s parent-teacher conferences next week, and you’re already exhausted. I came over to help, because my last client for today canceled last-minute.”
Joy slumped onto a barstool. “Thank you, Sage.” She sniffled, and Sage simply turned and bent to open the oven.
“I got three lasagnas at Rudy’s,” she said. “One is Italian sausage. One is ground beef. One is a chicken Alfredo.” She looked at each of them, and the two on the outside had started to bubble around the edges. After closing the oven door, she said, “They should be ready on time.”
“Rudy’s.” Joy shook her head. “You’re a life-saver.”
“I love all their pre-made meals,” Sage said. “Thelma and I eat them all the time.”
“Scott likes their chicken cordon bleu.” Joy scraped her hand through her hair, disheveling it a little bit. Otherwise, every piece of her sat in place, from her makeup to the collar on her blouse. “It’ll do, right?”
“It’s going to be amazing,” Sage said. “Eating from Rudy’s is like making it yourself without having to make it yourself.”
“Cass caters,” Joy said faintly.
“Which would be boring month after month,” Sage fired back quickly. “We aren’t all Cass, nor should we want to be.” She gave Joy a very firm look and then moved over to the drawer with the utensils. “Thelma’s not coming tonight, so we just need to set the table for six, and I’ll save some food for Scott, and when it’s almost time, I’ll make up the salad.”
Joy simply blinked at her with those blue eyes. “I’ll switch you. When are you? July?”
“June,” Sage said with a smile. “And you’re not switching with me. I’m hoping to be in a new house by then.” She gave Joy another knowing look and then abandoned the idea of setting the table right now.
Supper Club didn’t start for another hour, at which time, the lasagnas would be melty and browned, Joy would be changed and rested, and Sage would be setting the last plate down as the first of their friends arrived.
Instead, she moved around the island to Joy and said, “Now, I know Scott won’t be home for a couple of hours, and that you’re tired. Go lie down for thirty minutes, then change your clothes, and come help me finish getting ready.”
“Sage,” she protested, but while she and Joy were only a couple of years apart in age, Sage could see her with a mother’s eyes. She loved her like a best friend and a daughter, like someone she wanted to protect.
“Go on,” she said. “What are you going to do out here?” She picked up Joy’s bag and started across the room to the hallway. “I’ll put this in your office.”
This house wasn’t big, but it fit Joy and Scott perfectly. Sage deposited Joy’s work bag on the desk, glanced at her friend’s sewing machine, and left the small office. They had another bedroom and master bath down the hall, and they didn’t need much more. They wouldn’t have children together, and Joy’s two boys still lived in Texas.
As Joy hugged her and then departed down the hall, Sage thought about Ty. Assuming they ended up together, married like Joy and Scott, where would they live? He had a nice house in a neighborhood that had beachfront access.
She’d never been to his house, but she knew it was close to the apartment where she and Thelma lived. He could stand on his balcony and hear the waves. Perhaps even see them. She had no idea if he had a one-bedroom bungalow or an expansive beach house.
Maybe you should ask him, she thought. He’d called earlier that day about some good news on a property he wanted to show her, but Sage had been saving it for the shares tonight. Everyone wanted to know what was happening with her and Ty, but she hoped to show them a house listing too.
Indecision raged inside her, and she quickly tapped to call Ty. His line only rang once before he said, “Hey, sweetheart.”
Sage smiled at the endearment. “Hey, so, I’ve been thinking.”
“I love it when you start sentences that way.” He chuckled, and Sage turned toward the doors that would lead her into the backyard. A patio set waited outside, and she left the door cracked an inch so she could hear the timer should it go off.
“Not only that, but you’re calling,” he said. “Feels significant.”
