Laura nodded, and tried. “My family is . . . a little bit hard-core. Expectations are high, and standards are even higher. I was a good student, but I also enjoyed things my parents didn’t understand, like sports. They thought sports were a waste of time, time I could have spent studying. But if I always won, if I was the best, they could understand why I did it. So that’s what I did. I pushed myself really hard.” She made a gesture of frustration. “Ironically, the time in the hospital after the accident was the first time I could remember where my days weren’t scheduled to the last minute. I realized I didn’t want to spend my life studying, and ever since, my parents and I have been fighting about it. When I started to have these . . . issues . . . my parents used it as ammunition to try and stop me from doing what I want. I decided to get away from home and convinced myself I could manage.” She looked at her hands, which were trembling slightly. “So here I am. And now I’m worried that they were right and I was wrong and I’m going to fail and have to go home and they’re going to tell me they told me so.”

Maggie sat back and stretched out her arms. “Good lord,” she said, “that’s a lot of pressure to put yourself under.”

Laura laughed nervously. “My mom used to say pressure makes diamonds and irritation makes pearls.”

Maggie made a face. “Well, sure, but pressure also makes nervous breakdowns and irritation makes ulcers.” She looked at Laura and patted her hand gently. “Let’s find you a therapist and put getting a car on the back burner for now. Take things one step at a time.”

“Maybe,” said Laura. Or maybe I can push harder and make it work. She looked at her phone. “Oh crap, I have to go to Nina’s house.”

“Nina from the bookstore?” asked Maggie.

Laura got up, nodding. “Yes. She wants me to join her trivia team.”

Maggie smiled up at her. “Try not to focus on winning.”

Laura frowned. “I think that’s the point of asking me.”

Maggie pushed herself to her feet and gathered the mugs. “Well, sometimes it’s enough to simply do your best.”

Laura nodded, but doubted Nina would agree.

“I’ll pull together a list of possible therapists,” said Maggie, heading back to the sink. “You’ve picked a challenging city for yourself, but at least it’s stuffed to the brim with anxious people and highly qualified therapists.”

You’re moving to crazy town, her mother had said. You’ll be balancing your chakras and putting crystals in your colon before you know it.