Life Improvement Services (Boyxboy)

Chapter One

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.