Page 4 of Undeniably Perfect

“Lanie, seriously? I don’t remember it word for word.”

She sighs. “What about extra coaching? You can work more with…what’s the pitching coach’s name?”

“Greg Walters.”

“OK, so can’t Mr. Walters work with you more?”

I shake my head. “Lanie, what the fuck do you think I do all day? Sit on my ass? Twiddle my thumbs and play PlayStation?”

“No. But isn’t there time for more practice?”

I go through my daily schedule with her. Her eyes widen. “OK, so no more practice. Damn, that’s like a lot of practice time.”

“It’s literally my job. And you’re one to talk. Your typical work week is like seventy hours.”

She shrugs. “That’s different. It’s just my brain working, not my whole body.”

“Still.”

“OK, back to you. What about taking time off? Can you take a day off and just be you?”

“Nope. Refer back to our previous conversation where you astutely reminded Di here that playoffs are around the corner.”

“Right. Well, OK. Let me think.” Lanie taps her fingers on the table.

“Hey, how about a guys’ night with the boys?” Di suggests.

I shrug. “I mean yeah, but I don’t see how that gets my head in the game.”

“Therapy?” Lanie suggests.

I give her a pointed look. “During what hour of the day will I be doing that?”

“Well, shit, bro. I don’t know. I’m striking out here.”

Lanie’s phone rings and she holds out a finger to us as she stands and walks over to a quiet corner of the coffee shop.

Di glances over at her. “She has a point, KJ. I mean, when can you relax and recharge if your entire day is booked, every day.”

She’s quiet for a moment, and I know that means she’s thinking.

“What?”

“I have an idea.”

“You gonna share that with the class, DC?” I ask, pulling out her seldomly used nickname.

“You need to break your monotony. You know, change it up?”

“Change up what?”

“You do the same thing every day. That’s boring as heck. Try something different. Go to a different restaurant. Meet someone new. Anything that’s not your norm.”

I pause and ponder what she’s said. It’s valid. “Not a bad plan.”

Lanie walks back over and sits down with a huff. “People are assholes.”

Di giggles. “Uh, duh. Don’t worry, while you were dealing with asshole lawyers, I solved KJ’s issue.”

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