OXYGEN

18 - Your Body

Minutes later, Karla came around again and we gave her our orders. I had forgotten to inform Forrest to not get me the salad anymore - much to my annoyance. Not only was it - along with the sandwich - going to be too much for me to eat, it was also going to cost Forrest more than I preferred. But of course, he didn't mind at all.

While we waited, we talked. "So," he drawled out, "is there, uh, anything you like to do in your free time?"

"Not really," I shrugged, "I'm boring. Lately, I've been spending days in bed. It . . . gets hard to get up. If I'm not sleeping, then I'm taking walks. There's usually no destination. I just like being by myself with nothing but the clouds and trees." I stopped because I felt like I was rambling. "But how about you? What do you do - besides helping people in need?" I said it jokingly, but I somewhat meant it.

Forrest thought about it. "Well, when I'm not working, I like to go to places I've never been to before. Drive around. Meet new people and have a good time." Hmm, it made sense. "When I was younger, I wasn't allowed to do much, but now that I can, I'm doing whatever I feel like." He took a sip of his drink and then released a breath. "You know, you should try it out. Do new things. Get in a car and get lost. Take pictures. I swear, it won't cost a lot and the memories will be worth it."

I let his words sink in. At first, it felt like a waste of time, but then I realized that it was far better than what I did. "I don't know," I finally replied, looking down at my drink, "Maybe I will try it out. It seems fun." And Forrest seemed so free. Like he was fully living. There was nothing holding him back from seizing moments. He went through days, refusing to take them for granted. And there was something amazing about that.

I wondered what it was like.

"Hey, speaking of pictures," I was too slow to catch up with what he was saying, "Don't blink."

Before I could let out a what, I heard a click and instantly groaned. "Oh, come on," I complained, raising my eyes, "I was so unprepared for that."

"Yes, yes, I believe they call this a candid," Forrest muttered as he stared at his phone. I rolled my eyes out of exasperation; in the back of my mind, I prayed that I didn't look weird. A few seconds passed before he said, "You look . . . serene in this one."

I furrowed my brows. Out of all the adjectives that existed, he picked that one? "Why do you say that?"

"Look," he flashed the screen to me. I examined the photo, scrunching my face up. I was looking downwards, but thankfully, my mouth wasn't open. My hair was messed up, multiple strands sticking out - as a result, I consciously ran a hand over my head, attempting to fix it. In the background, there was a diner from another table, but her back was facing the camera. Further on, one of the paintings mounted to the wall was caught, adding abstract colors to the overall image.

Admittedly, it wasn't as awful as I anticipated. I supposed I did look a bit calm - it was as if I was disentangled from all my troubles. Nonetheless, I still said, "Yeah, okay, great. You can delete it now. Thanks."

Instantly, Forrest pulled his phone away from me. "Nope," he answered easily, "I can't do that. Memories, remember?"

"Well, why don't you give me a warning before you take the shot?" I grumbled, shooting him a scowl.

"Because, June, if I did that, you would most likely cover your face or something." I scoffed, even though I knew he was right. "Besides, I like these candid pictures. They're abrupt, you know? Each of them steal a second of oblivion. Plus, you have your guard down and it's nice to see."

I raised my brows. I wasn't aware that I even had a guard up. But before we could discuss it further, Karla arrived with the mozzarella sticks. They appeared and smelled utterly tempting. My plan was to wait for my own food, but Forrest told me that he wouldn't take a bite at all unless I did too - he could be extremely stubborn when he wanted to be. Grudgingly, I ate a mozzarella stick and as much as I wanted to regret it, I couldn't because it was so good.