The Everything Supplement

Maya's palm hovered over the bottle of vitamin D supplements on her kitchen counter. Another day, another orange pill she'd forget to take. At forty-two, she'd started measuring her life in milligrams and recommended daily values.

"You're running late again," called Elena from the bedroom. They were running late, which meant Maya was running late. Elena had perfected the art of punctual anxiety.

Maya swept her graying hair into a clip—more silver than auburn these days, though she refused to dye it. Let it show. Let everyone see what three years of startup chaos and Elena's passive-aggressive efficiency had cost her.

The subway ride was a blur of sweaty palms and forced breathing. In the office, Marcus cornered her by the coffee machine. His eyes dropped to her hand where she clutched her cup—white-knuckled, trembling.

"You good, Maya?"

"Fine. Just need more vitamins."

"You sure? Because Jeremy's looking for blood. The pitch didn't land."

Of course it hadn't. Maya had been up until 3 AM rewriting the deck while Elena slept peacefully beside her, oblivious to the mortgage payment that hung over their heads like a guillotine.

Jeremy's office felt smaller than usual. He pressed his palms together in that gesture that meant I'm about to destroy you but nicely.

"We need to pivot. You're not hungry enough."

Maya laughed before she could stop herself. Not hungry. She was starving. For sleep, for validation, for the life she'd promised herself she'd live by now.

"My hair is falling out, Jeremy."

"What?"

"Nothing."

That evening, she found Elena sitting in the dark.

"Marcus called. Said you lost it."

"I didn't lose anything. I just stopped running."

Maya poured two glasses of wine, swallowing her vitamin pill dry. Elena reached across the table, her palm soft against Maya's cheek.

"We could sell. Move somewhere smaller."

"And run from what? This was supposed to be everything."

"It's just everything we thought we wanted."

Maya closed her eyes, feeling Elena's fingers trace the silver strands at her temple. Maybe the vitamin deficiency wasn't the problem. Maybe she'd been overdosing on the wrong supplements all along—ambition, approval, the illusion of having it all.

"Okay," Maya said. "Okay. Let's start over."

The wine tasted like surrender. For the first time in years, she didn't mind.