Mark stood in his living room, surrounded by the aftermath of what had once been a tidy home. Dirty dishes were piled in the sink, clothes were strewn across furniture, and dust had settled on every surface. A year after his divorce, he was finally admitting defeat.
"This is ridiculous," he muttered to himself. He'd always shared household responsibilities with Stephanie, but her departure had exposed his inability to maintain the house on his own while balancing his demanding job as a software engineer. Working long hours from home didn't help either--he was always in the mess but never quite finding time to clean it.
After browsing local Craiglist listings in the Services category, he settled on someone using the name Spotless Cleaners. Their ad said they were judgment-free and eager to help in any situation. It was owned by a woman named Erin, and the company had good reviews online. Mark felt like they'd be able to tackle his messy home without feeling too embarrassed about how bad he'd let it get. The listing said to text them, so Mark sent the message and waited.
The response came two hours later. "Hi, Mark. Thanks for reaching out! I'd be more than happy to come help you with your home. I'll get it whipped into shape in no time. My hourly rate is $35 and I usually like to spend a few hours my first time at a home, depending on the situation. I'll know better once I get a better feel for the space when I see it. Does tomorrow at one in the afternoon work for you for me to come take a look? -Erin"
He replied, "Absolutely, thank you so much!"
The next morning, Mark looked over his home again and just shook his head, embarrassed at the sight. He spent a half hour trying to pick up a little bit to try to lessen the embarrassment, but it didn't help much. He was still strangely nervous about having a stranger see his home in this state for the first time.
When the doorbell rang at exactly 1:00 PM, he took a deep breath and opened the door.
He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but it wasn't the woman standing on his doorstep, bringing with her the faint scent of fresh air and citrus. Erin appeared to be in her mid-thirties with auburn hair pulled back into a practical ponytail. She wore simple jeans and a fitted gray t-shirt with the "Spotless Solutions" logo on the chest. Her smile was warm and professional, with a confident efficiency that suggested she took pride in her work, but Mark couldn't help noticing how attractive she was.
"You must be Mark," she said, extending her hand. "I'm Erin."
"Nice to meet you," Mark replied, shaking her hand and trying not to stare. "Come on in. I'm sorry about the mess."
"Don't you worry at all. That's why I'm here," she said as she looked around the house. "I've seen a lot worse than this. This is actually pretty tame."
As she continued to check out the house, Mark couldn't help but notice her beauty, the way her jeans fit her, the way her ponytail bounced, and the way she carried herself from room to room. She moved with purpose in a way that was intensely attractive. Mark was struggling not to ogle her, surprised by how strongly he was responding to someone he'd just met after months of self-imposed isolation.
Mark felt like he had to say something to snap himself out of it, uncomfortable with how quickly he'd become distracted by her presence. "The house hasn't really been as clean as I'd like it since my ex-wife moved out a year ago. I get so busy with work, the last thing I want to do at the end of the day is clean, and I guess I don't really know where to start now. I appreciate you coming to help."
"Don't you worry. No judgment here. Like I said, that's why I'm here. Let's start with a deep clean and then I think we should set up a bi-weekly maintenance schedule. How does that sound?"
"That sounds great to me," Mark replied.
They talked about her rates again and discussed scheduling. Mark found himself agreeing with all of her suggestions, surprisingly eager for her to become a regular part of his routine.
"Great," Erin said once they'd finalized the details, her organizational efficiency a stark contrast to the chaos of his recent life. "I'll see you on Friday morning to get started!"
"That would be perfect," Mark replied. "Do you need me to be out of the house, or...?"
"Not at all. I'm used to working around people, especially since so many work from home these days. Just do your thing, and I'll work around you."
--
On Friday morning, Mark found himself oddly nervous about Erin coming to clean. He picked a little more, doing his best to make what improvements he could before her arrival. When the doorbell rang precisely at 10:00, Mark opened the door to find Erin standing there smiling and holding a caddy of cleaning supplies.
"Good morning!" she said. "Are you ready to see the magic happen?"
Mark laughed. "Absolutely! Please come in. I'll try to stay out of your way. I'll be in my office, so feel free to start wherever you want. Does that work?"
"Perfect. I usually start in the kitchen and work my way through, if that's okay."
"That sounds good to me. If you need me for anything, just let me know." Mark grabbed his cup of coffee and headed to his office.
Throughout the morning, Mark found himself distracted from his work, his attention repeatedly drawn to the sounds of Erin moving through his house, each footstep a gentle reminder that he wasn't alone anymore. Occasionally, she would appear in the doorway of his office with a quick question--"Where do you keep your mop?" or "Is this vase okay to move?"--and each time, he found himself lingering on her presence a bit longer than necessary.
When it was time for lunch, Mark paused his work and walked out to the kitchen, blinking in surprise at the transformation. Sunlight streamed through newly clean windows, highlighting a space he barely recognized as his own. The living room and kitchen were spotless, as clean as the day they moved in. He'd forgotten what a woman's touch does to a home and he was a little overwhelmed by it.
"This looks amazing!" he said. "I can't believe how great it looks!"
"I'm glad you like it," she replied. "I told you I've seen worse. It won't take me long to finish up today, then we'll start our maintenance schedule to keep it looking just how you want it."
Mark said, "I'm about to make some lunch. Can I get something? Nothing fancy, just a sandwich."
Erin hesitated, "That's not really necessary."
"I insist," said Mark. "It's the least I can do."
She seemed to consider for a moment and then said, "Yes, that would be very nice, actually. Thanks."
As they ate at his newly clean kitchen counter, Mark found conversation flowing easily. Erin told him she'd started her cleaning business three years ago after leaving a corporate job that had burned her out.
"Best decision I ever made," she said. "I'm my own boss, I get to work with my hands, and there's something satisfying about creating order from chaos."
"I spend all my time on code, working on software processes, procedures and functions," Mark replied. "Sometimes I miss work that produces more tangible results."
