Page 22 of Dropping the Ball

Madison sniffs, and Kaitlyn smiles at me. “I mean to hang things up, but there are always at least five things on my list ahead of decorating.”

I’m so surprised by her smile and friendly conversation, that I can only look back in silence.

“They’reright there,” Madison protests, waving toward the stacked frames.

Kaitlyn shrugs and switches her attention to me, still smiling. It’s not big, but it looks sincere. “Thanks for coming, Micah. This meeting will go better if we pretend she’s not here.”

I laugh. “Oh, cool. Usually you pretendI’mnot here.” I don’t know what’s changed, but I can’t resist teasing her.

Madison beams at me, but instead of getting flustered, Kaitlyn nods. “Right, sorry about that. I checked, and it turns out the statute of limitations on stupid grudges expired last year, so congratulations on making valedictorian, and thanks for coming in today.”

I lean back, relaxing around her for the first time since our run-in at Remix. “Glad we’re straight. I was trying to figure out the etiquette of letting a client know about that expiration.”

Recognition dawns on Madison’s face. “I remember now. At Katie’s graduation. You gave a good speech.”

I shrug, startled anyone would remember it. “Thanks.”

Kaitlyn watches me with the trace of a smile. “We leave here as experts in nothing, but that won’t matter if we stay students of everything.”

My eyebrows go up as she quotes it. “You remember it too?”

She shrugs, and I suspect she does it to tease me. “Like Madison said, it was a good speech.”

Her smile fades and I wonder what she’s thinking. Is it about that speech? Or how I ended up giving it? Or is she thinking about the present?

“So this pause is more pregnant than I am,” Madison says.

“Pointing it out definitely helps,” Kaitlyn says.

Madison looks not at all sorry.

Kaitlyn shifts her attention back to me. “Sorry, Micah. I got lost remembering that speech. I appreciate it more now. You had some things figured out already that I only started understanding in law school. Mainly, the more I learn, the less I know.”

“But it’s a good thing?” I ask.

“Yes. It makes the world bigger.”

“Awww,” Madison says, “that’s so cu—”

“Madison decided to crash this meeting,” Kaitlyn interrupts, “because—”

“Because Oliver is at his office, daytime TV sucks, and I’m way more bored than I thought I would be on maternity leave.” She tries to lean forward, and when that’s impossible, she scoots up a couple of inches to make room so she can rub her back. “I can’t even take Advil, and I’d like to use my prodigious brain to distract me. That’s why.”

“Anyway,” Kaitlyn says to me, “I wanted to check in on what the construction phase looks like and figure out how often I should plan to be on-site.”

I pull out my iPad case tucked beside me. “I’ll be able to start two days earlier than I expected, so I’m glad we’re meeting today. I have an idea I want to run past you. Originally we’d talked about hiding the supervisor loft at the end of the warehouse behind the false ceiling, but what would youthink . . .” And I’m off and running, tapping on the screen and showing them a few rough sketches turning the loft into a deejay booth.

When I’m done, I turn to Madison. She’s been particular about every nut and bolt of this build. “What do you think?”

Madison surprises me by deferring to Kaitlyn with a nod.

Kaitlyn looks surprised too but draws the iPad closer, studying the sketch. “I agree with you. I like the idea of moving the deejay here. Being intentional with the placement makes it seem less like we threw a bunch of stuff in a giant square.”

Madison straightens and her eyebrows fly up.

“You disagree?” Kaitlyn asks, surprised.

“No, it’s a good idea. Excuse me a minute, please.”

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