Life Improvement Services

[Please read the Author's Notes for warnings about s****l scenes. Thank you and have a blast!] Tap. Tap. Tap. Nick's finger restlessly tapped on his work desk. It was 2 in the morning, and he was sitting in the darkness of his study all anxious and sleep-deprived. The only source of light in the room was that emitted by the laptop screen. Tap. Tap. Tap. “Come on, Nick. Are we doing this or not? I mean, what’s the point of composing this long-ass message if you’re not going to send it anyway?” Nick muttered to himself. After living alone for more than 10 years, he had gotten used to vocalizing his internal monologues. “It’s just an email. What’s the worst that could happen, right? Just hit send and this would all be over. You’re not even sure if they’re going to reply. That ad seemed sketchy. This all seems foolish. But, it’s not like you’re going to lose anything by trying.” A few seconds of silence. “Know what, maybe I should just read it all over again, maybe I misspelled something.” In fact, his spellcheck was on, and he had composed, edited three times, erased, then edited the letter five more times after that. He had read the final draft for a total of ten times just to make sure his grammar, tone, and spelling were all correct. Prior to that, he had spent an entire day thinking of what to say. Before that, three days just to decide whether or not he should compose a response in the first place. Suffice it to say, decisiveness was not his strong suit. He was well aware of it, and in some occasions he overcompensates by becoming too impulsive. This was one of those said occasions. Holding his breath, Nick closed his eyes and pressed “send” before he could even think twice about it again. A few more seconds of silence passed. He opened his eyes slowly to look at the screen. “Sent,” a box said. With that, Nick took off his glasses and sank back in his chair, finally allowing his brain to relax. Four days ago, Nick was in a coffee shop just down the street of his apartment. He was sitting at his usual table, at the quiet corner where he had a full view of the busy intersection. He had been reading the paper, and relaxing with a cup of hot chocolate after a long day at work, when a familiar lady in her mid-40's purposefully walked up to him. “Doctor? Doctor Nick, isn’t it?” The lady waved at him, a cute little puppy in her arms. Nick put down his book and sheepishly smiled at her, trying not to let on that he doesn’t remember her. “Miss Lawrence- well, Mrs. Lawrence-Donoghue now. I brought in little Sugar over here to your clinic a couple of months ago when she was just a stray puppy.” Nick recalled that day, and was quite shocked that this was the same Miss Lawrence from months ago. In his mind, he remembered her to be quite unkempt. She gave off a “sad vibe,” which was a complete 180 from the bubbly, glowing woman currently in front of him. “Ah, yes, Miss Lawrence. I mean, Mrs. Lawrence-Donoghue, wow, congratulations! It’s been quite a while, you seem healthy.” He was the type to choose his words carefully. He went for “healthy” which was not a comment on her appearance, but on her well-being. The lady seemed pleased. “Please, sit, if you’d like to join me.” Nick did not mean this. He wanted his alone time, but his nature of being polite got the better of him. “I'll just be here a sec, until they finish preparing my order. The hubby is waiting for me outside.” She pointed out the window, towards the parked brand new sedan. Nick only smiled. “Nice to see Sugar here as well.” Nick waved at the puppy. “Hi, buddy, good to see you’re fully recovered.” “All thanks to you, doc. My goodness, I cannot believe it’s just been, what, three months? Yes, three months since I took this little baby to your clinic. It seems like it’s been so much longer! I’m glad you even recognized me, I looked like such a mess back then. Hahaha! I do look much healthier now, don’t I?” “Yes, yes, you seem happier as well. I hope I’m right?” Nick glanced at the counter, wondering when they’d call her name so he can return to his solitude.  “Very happy. The happiest I’ve ever been, I can’t believe it even until now.” She did seem happy, Nick thought. His mind began to wander, while she continued to talk, as he tried to think if he’d ever felt like that before. Suddenly, the slight annoyance he felt turned into something else–curiosity with a slight of jealousy. Thousands of thoughts entered his brain as he was forced to reflect on his life. 27 years on this planet and not once had he felt complete, unfiltered happiness. He had been living in a world with muted colors, while others like the lady in front of him, seemed to be seeing loud and bright rainbows. Three months ago, she seemed to be in a worse shape than him, and now… He wondered what brought about such a bold change in her life. “–and it’s all because of this! I can’t believe it’s still here in the papers.” Nick was pulled out of his thoughts. The woman had been talking endlessly, and was now pointing at something on the ads portion of the newspaper Nick was previously reading. “One email and it changed my entire world. I met a great guy, I have a good puppy, and now I'm living life with no regrets.” All Nick could do was politely smile, and nod like he was eagerly listening. “Oh, they’re calling my name now. It was nice running into you, doc! I’ll be sure to come by some time when Sugar needs a check-up.” She stood up and waved Sugar's tiny paw at him before walking away. Nick watched as she returned to the car where her new husband was waiting. He took the newspaper and scanned the ads. She was pointing somewhere around… “Life improvement services?” Nick frowned as he read the ad. It sounded cheesy. The ad read: Tired of the same, boring daily routine? Want to live your best life? Want to be the happiest version of yourself? Send an email to the address below containing your concerns and contact information, and get a new start with this three-step life improvement plan. “This sounds sketchy…” Nick put down the paper and took off his glasses. He stared blankly at the cars passing by for a few minutes. He glanced at the paper one more time, then as if he was willed by the universe, he wore his glasses again and wrote the email address on a sticky note from his bag, completely unaware that the lady earlier was actually pointing at a dating site ad.   The morning after Nick had sent the long, heavily edited email, he was woken up by a knock on his door. Nick's eyes felt so heavy, he could barely open them to look at the time. 8 A.M. on a Saturday. Who in God’s name was knocking on his door at 8 in the morning on a Saturday? His eyes were about to close again when the knocking resumed. Begrudgingly, he stood up from the chair he fell asleep in, immediately feeling the soreness of his back and neck from the improper sleeping posture he assumed. With a groan, he put on his glasses and went out his study. “Wait one sec!” He called out as he tried to fix his hair and straighten out his shirt. Still slightly disoriented, he tripped on a pile of cat toys splayed out on the floor. “Oh, come on, Cal!” He complained, knowing full well it was his newly adopted cat behind the mess. The knocking ensued, and Nick rushed to open the door. In the hallway stood a man, looking around the same age as Nick, if not younger. He quickly scanned Nick from head to toe and beamed at him, looking quite thrilled. “Nicholas Shin? I’m from the ad you answered! Very excited to be here, I never thought anyone would ever– ah, I mean, anyway, nice to meet you! You look way better than I expected. Can I come in?” He spoke too fast for Nick's sleep-addled brain to fully comprehend. Without thinking, Nick nodded, still confused as to what’s happening. The man stepped in without a hint of hesitation. “Shin,” he repeated. “Nicholas Shin? Like the bone? The shin bone? Ha, that’s adorable!” He started to walk around and scan the place excitedly. Nick closed the door and followed the man around. “Wait, sorry, I just woke up. Who did you say you are again?” “Colin Knocks, like what I did before, knock. Isn’t that amusing? Shin bone and knocking!” He laughed as he aggressively took Nick's hand and shook it. “Wow, you’ve got soft hands! Nice meeting you. Did you say that you just woke up? Sorry, did my knocking wake you up?” Nick withdrew his hand and adjusted his glasses. “Yeah, you did, but that’s fine–,” “Oh, sorry, I thought 8 AM was a decent enough time. I actually came here a bit early, and just waited around ‘til 8.” Colin sheepishly smiled. “Um, no, that’s fine, have a seat please. Let me just get some coffee. You said you’re from the ad?” Nick proceeded to the kitchen as Colin happily sat on the couch, looking around the apartment. Nick suddenly felt self-conscious with the littered papers on the coffee table, and clean laundry stacked on one side of the couch. “Yes, exactly! The Life Improvement Services. That’s me, I’m the Life Improvement Service provider. You responded to the ad, and even graciously included your phone number and address. I sent you a few messages to let you know I was coming, but I guess you were still asleep by then.” “Sorry, I always leave my phone on vibrate. Do you take sugar or cream?” “Just plain black coffee, please.” Colin watched attentively as Nick brought over the cups. Colin stacked the papers on the coffee table and helped him set the cups down. “One second.” Nick took the papers and clean laundry, then hurriedly threw them into his room. “You’ve got a nice place here, Nick. Huge apartment! Is this a three-bedroom? You live with other people?” Colin asked as Nick took a seat on the opposite end of the couch. “Thanks, and no, I live alone. I’ve been living alone since I was 17. I use one room as my study.” Nick mentally kicked himself for oversharing. He took a sip of coffee and immediately felt more alive. He also felt more aware of the fact that he had just let a complete stranger into his apartment. A stranger who was now sitting on his couch, drinking his coffee, and seemed to be watching his every move. Nick brushed the hair away from his face and fixed his glasses. A habit of his when he gets nervous. “Why’d you get a huge place, then, if you live alone?” Colin asked. He seemed genuinely curious, not knowing that it was quite a sensitive topic for Nick. Having difficulties choosing his words, he just replied with, “Ah, it just happened that way.” In fact, the apartment was a gift from Nick’s parents. They had given it to him so he would “have space for his future family.” They could be overbearing at times, but Colin didn’t have to know that. It seemed that Colin picked up on his hesitation, and so, dropped the topic. Intertwining his fingers and sitting up straight, Colin began to look more serious. “Alright, on to business. So, you said you wanted to improve your life. You mentioned it has been boring, you’ve never felt happy, and you feel like you’re stuck in this monotonous life.” Nick was amazed at how Colin recited it as he had written it. He was also embarrassed to hear his own words spoken back to him. Those were usually the kind of thoughts he kept to himself. “I was actually just pretty curious about the ad.” He said, which also wasn’t a complete lie. Colin sat back and crossed his legs, looking amused. It was as if he could see through Nick's bullshit. “So, you just want to see if the promise of the ad was real?” Nick let out a nervous laugh, that was mostly aimed at himself. “Yeah, I guess.” Colin thought for a while, then clasped his hands together. “Alright, then. A job’s a job, and every life can always be improved in some way, so let’s have at it!” He said enthusiastically. “But, first, for the magic to work, I have to get to know you well. See your life, what you do every day, watch how you move, so I can get a glance on how you think. I’d have to shadow you for a few days, then we can get on with the three-step plan. Payment will be on the last day, to guarantee that you'd be satisfied before you shell out any money. Does that sound good to you?” Colin reminded Nick of a dog that was overly eager and bright. He could almost see Colin's imaginary tail wagging in excitement. Nick was second-guessing, but it seemed too rude to back out now. Plus, maybe this is what he needed: a sudden change from the normalcy of his everyday routine. Worst case scenario? This guy turns out to be a murderer. Best case scenario? The ad actually turns out to be true to its word. Either way, Nick didn’t mind. Colin looked like a normal person. His eyes and his smile were bright with just a small hint of mischief, but they looked kind. He was also too comfortable too fast. Or was that just him being confident? Nick couldn’t tell. Either way, he really didn’t mind. “Yes, that seems fine.” He finally replied. Colin's smile was wider than ever as he grabbed Nick's hands, much to his surprise.  “Great! Looking forward to getting to know you better, Nick.” Nick forced a smile, suddenly fully aware that he had just given permission for a complete stranger to manage his life.