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“Picture me however you want to picture me. Because odds are, that’ll be more true than any of the bodies you see me in.”
“I think my imagination needs a little more time to catch up to the situation, okay?”
“Okay. Now, where to?”
“Since we’ve already been to the ocean, I figured today we’d go to a forest.”
So off we go, into the woods.
It’s not like last time. The radio is on, but we’re not singing along. We’re sharing the same space, but our thoughts are spreading outside of it.
I want to hold her hand, but I sense it wouldn’t work. I know she’s not going to reach for my hand, not unless I need it. This is the problem with being so beautiful—it can render you untouchable. And this is the problem with being in a new body each day—the history is there, but it’s not visible. It has to be different from last time, because I am different.
We talk a little about Kelsea; Rhiannon called her house a second time yesterday, just to see what would happen. Kelsea’s father answered, and when Rhiannon introduced herself as a friend, he said that Kelsea had gone away to deal with some things, and left it at that. Both Rhiannon and I decide to take this as a good sign.
We talk some more, but not about anything that matters. I want to cut through the awkwardness, have Rhiannon treat me like her boyfriend or girlfriend again. But I can’t. I’m not.
We get to the park and navigate ourselves away from the other weekenders. Rhiannon finds us a secluded picnic area, and surprises me by taking a feast from the trunk.
I watch as she picks everything out of the picnic hamper. Cheeses. French bread. Hummus. Olives. Salads. Chips. Salsa.
“Are you a vegetarian?” I ask, based on the evidence in front of me.
She nods.
“Why?”
“Because I have this theory that when we die, every animal that we’ve eaten has a chance at eating us back. So if you’re a carnivore and you add up all the animals you’ve eaten—well, that’s a long time in purgatory, being chewed.”
“Really?”
She laughs. “No. I’m just sick of the question. I mean, I’m vegetarian because I think it’s wrong to eat other sentient creatures. And it sucks for the environment.”
“Fair enough.” I don’t tell her how many times I’ve accidentally eaten meat while I’ve been in a vegetarian’s body. It’s just not something I remember to check for. It’s usually the friends’ reactions that alert me. I once made a vegan really, really sick at a McDonald’s.
Over lunch, we make more small talk. It’s not until we’ve put away the picnic and are walking through the woods that the real words come out.
“I need to know what you want,” she says.
“I want us to be together.” I say it before I can think it over.
She keeps walking. I keep walking alongside her.
“But we can’t be together. You realize that, don’t you?”
“No. I don’t realize that.”
Now she stops. Puts her hand on my shoulder.
“You need to realize it. I can care about you. You can care about me. But we can’t be together.”
It’s so ridiculous, but I ask, “Why?”
“Why? Because one morning you could wake up on the other side of the country. Because I feel like I’m meeting a new person every time I see you. Because you can’t be there for me. Because I don’t think I can like you no matter what. Not like this.”
“Why can’t you like me like this?”
“It’s too much. You’re too perfect right now. I can’t imagine being with someone like … you.”
