“It would just make sense, you know? If my body no longer absorbs the nutrients in food, what does it matter if I onlyeatjustpancakes from now on?Idon’thave to worry about too much butter or carbs.I’llalways be as healthy as I am right now.”
“I heard the mayor still managed topack onthe poundsin the afterlife, so I’d be careful if I were you,” Iwarnher with a wink.
She lifts her head and leans her weight back on her elbows. “You’re right,” she says, eyes widening. “If anyone managed to give themselves a heart attack in death, it would be me.”
“So, pancakes in moderation then.”
She clicks her tongue. “Do you really not eat?”
My gaze wanders to the dancing flames of the fire.Eversince I got back from the movie theater, Ihaven’tbeen able to stop thinking about the memory of witches burning at the stake. “Why would I?”
“Because it’s fun!” she exclaims, sitting up fully.
“Eating isn’t fun,” I challenge. “It keeps you alive. And we’re dead.”
Kennedy crosses her legs and stuffs her hands under her thighs. “Yeah, but…you don’t miss the stuff you used to do when you were alive?”
I shake my head.
“When I ate those pancakes this morning, it brought back all sorts of memories for me. Even theweightof them on my tongue made me remember that feeling of looking forward to something. Idon’thave that anymore.”
I drop to the floor from whereI’dbeen seated on the day bed and cross my legs to match hers. “You can still look forward to things. Those things arejust differentnow.”
She scoffs. “Says the guy who never leaves the house.”
My chest squeezes. It stings, but it’s not as if she’s exaggerating.
Kennedy’s regret is a physical thing. She rushes to take her words back. “That was harsh. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“It’s true,” Isoothe. “I should not be the one giving advice on how to live a fulfilled afterlife.”
She rolls her eyes. “Is there a book on that?”
“Definitely not.”
A pregnant pause stretches between us, then Kennedy gets to her feet and starts grabbing blankets. “Do youwannahave a slumber party?”
Images of Kennedy asleep next to me in nothing but a silk nightgown flood my brain. “W-what does that entail?” I sputter.
Her mouth presses into a tight line. “Honestly, I justdidn’tfeel like takingall these blankets back upstairs.I was thinking I would sleep down here instead?”
I shake the obscene image of her from my head, running a hand over the back of my neck.“Sure.It’snot a problem.I’llhead to the library for the night.”
“I invited you, Theo.” She spreads the blankets out evenly and begins to layer them, one on top of the other.
“You, you want me to sleep here? With you?” I spit out.
Her red hair nearly reaches her backside as she leans her head back and groans at the ceiling. “Don’tget your suspenders in a twist.I’mmaking separate pallets.”
She had indeed already started the process of creating a gap betweenthemakeshift bedding.
I know the times have changed, and sleeping in the same room as an unmarried woman is no longer the scandal it would have been when I wasalive, butbeing so close to her while trying to rest, I dare say, feels impossible. Especially after the daywe’veshared together.I’llbe replaying every momentrepeatedlyin my head for the rest of the night. Probably until the sun sets again tomorrow. Andagainthe next.
I haven’t actually tried to sleep since I summoned my physical body this time, and I doubt it will come easily.It would be better for both of us to slip back into the void and save our energy. But Ican’tstand the thought of not being able to touch her again.
Just a bump in the night, a slight brush of our skin, would be enough to ignite the burning sensationthat’sbeen building in my belly all day.
This is going to be disastrous.
