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“Well, after going to rehab,” she sighs. “I enrolled in courses to become a licensed therapist and while I was at school I got a job at my brother’s org, Kucera Housing. Mostly volunteering a lot, getting involved with community events, that kind of thing—I really enjoyed that part. The school loans became a lot and I was realizing that the career path wasn’t for me. Turnover rate was high, and I knew I’d become fatigued early, so I dropped out. I stayed at Kucera Housing and climbed the ladder, taking some other classes at the local community college on marketing and social media while working my way up.”

“Yup. Boring.”

She gapes, tossing her crumpled-up straw wrapper in my direction.

“I’m only teasing . . . Do you think you’ll do that forever?”

Anna shrugs. “I don’t know yet. For now I enjoy it.”

She goes on to tell me more about her job and I don’t say much, but I don’t feel pressure to say anything either. I’m simply enjoying her company. After a few moments she’s quiet again but staring at me.

“What is it?”

“Today.”

“It’s Monday.”

She rolls her eyes. “I’m still just . . .” She pauses and drops her elbows at her sides while she collects her thoughts. She points her knife at me. “You were absolutely nuts for taking me skydiving, you know that, right?”

I chuckle, picking up the maple syrup and drizzling on more.

“You were so casual about it! Who is that nonchalant about skydiving?”

I don’t answer the rhetorical question, just shrug. I like that she’s leading the conversation.

She stabs into the fluffy squares she’s perfectly cut and pops one in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully before she continues. “It kind of threw me into an existential awakening, but it was everything I needed.”

“See? Told you you’d love it.”

“Thank you for today, really.”

Her words light up my insides. Like I’ve actually done something worthy of praise. Sure, I get complimented for my artwork, but this is different. I impacted Anna in a way that was truly positive. I could see with my own eyes the way she was glowing after we returned to earth; there was no faking it. That was real, and real is refreshing.

“Anytime.”

I think I like Anna.

“How was your week?” Joan, my therapist, asks when her face pops up on my laptop screen, in front of me on the coffee table.

“I went skydiving on Monday!” I blurt.

She blinks, her head jerking back in shock. I don’t blame her. Joan laughs. “How did that come about? I don’t think you’ve ever mentioned wanting to skydive.”

“I didn’t!” I reply, wearing a proud smile. “It’s kind of a weird story. So, you know my tattoo artist, Casper. Remember how I said he showed up at pole, and asked me to go to the wedding with him? Well, he asked again, and this time I thought about what we discussed when it comes to taking more chances, and I agreed. The wedding was Saturday, and I actually had a really good time.”

“That’s great to hear! I’m proud of you!”

“He asked if I wanted to hang out again on Monday after work, and I agreed. I figured we would go grab food or whatever but then he drove us to this drop zone where he used to do tandem jumps, and . . . and we did it. Twice!”

“He surprised you with skydiving?”

I laugh. “I know!”

“And you said yes?”

“Not right away, but once I let the idea in and actually sat with it, I realized I wanted the experience. Just to see that I could overcome that fear. That and Casper offered some pep talks. He was very encouraging but wasn’t overly pushy. He gave me time to think about it alone. Then when we finally got up there and jumped . . . I can’t even explain it. I’ve never felt so free. Nothing mattered. I loved it, so much I asked if we could go again and we were able to do the second jump as the sun was setting. Joan, it was so cool!”

“Wow, that’s a big step. That’s like three big steps. How are you feeling?”