Lidija bought a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle to give her first rainy weekend with Andrej something to contain. Until then they had always gone somewhere. At her apartment they would be alone for two days, without an exhibition, a planned dinner, or friends to fill the pauses. The box showed a seaside town, with sky occupying almost half the picture. She suggested sorting the edge pieces immediately.
Instead, Andrej found a red boat and started around it. Lidija tried explaining that this only made the work harder. He asked what work. He did not know she struggled to tolerate objects remaining unfinished for days. Even books she disliked had to be read to the end, leaving her angry with both their authors and herself. Andrej had three such books in his living room, each open at a different place.
By Saturday evening, the town had borders, a church tower, and several windows. The sky still lay in scattered pieces. Andrej wanted a walk before more rain arrived, while Lidija wanted to stay until they completed at least one cloud. He went alone to buy bread. Returning with warm rolls, he found her rigid over the table and noticed she had moved his boat to the place shown in the picture.
"I wanted to do that myself," he said. Lidija replied that she had only helped. It sounded reasonable until she saw his expression. She had made the weekend into an assignment with a deadline and allocated him a small portion. Offended, she collected the empty cups. While washing dishes, she heard Andrej put on music. For the first time she resented how content he seemed amid the disorder eating away at her.
On Sunday morning, one piece of sky was missing. They searched beneath the rug and in their sleeves before deciding the vacuum cleaner had probably swallowed it the previous evening. Lidija sat on the floor and laughed in frustration. Even if they finished, the picture would remain incomplete. Andrej sat beside her. He offered no wisdom. From his pocket he took a squashed roll he had forgotten to eat.
The puzzle occupied half the table for another three weeks. When Andrej visited, they ate on the other half. Once, Lidija left lunch to take a short walk with him. Once, without a reminder, he finished the dishes before leaving. When they finally assembled the town, only one piece of sky was missing. Lidija did not buy a replacement. The yellow surface of the table showed through there, an unexpected sun above the sea.