Immortal Unchained(41)

"Yes. I thought we could load it all into these two towels and carry it Santa-style." She held up the bath towels she'd grabbed as she spoke.

"Santa-style?" Domitian echoed with bewilderment. What the hell was Santa-style?

"Like a sack," she explained. "We put the items in the middle, gather the ends, and hoist them over our shoulders to carry them."

"Dear God," he muttered with dismay.

"What?" Sarita asked over her shoulder and he could hear amusement in her voice. "You're a big strong guy. You could probably carry it all by yourself if you had to."

"Yes, but Sarita, we cannot possibly drag everything you have piled in the kitchen with us," he said reasonably. "I do not think everything will even fit in two towels. We would probably need six to fit it all. Surely we do not need all of it?"

They had reached the kitchen by then and Sarita considered the stack of items on the island and snatched up a pile of towels. Tossing them onto the stove, she said, "I suppose we don't need those. The supersized bath towels can do double duty as Santa sacks and towels if necessary."

Domitian raised his eyebrows. That was all she didn't think they'd need? His gaze swept the stack of items and he picked up a plastic box about the size of a ream of paper. "What about this?"

"It's a sewing kit," she explained, taking it away from him and setting it back on the island with the other items.

"You intend to get in a little sewing around the campfire at night?" he asked dryly.

"Not me, but those boxers of yours look kind of flimsy. Catch them on a branch or something else and you might be as good as naked if we don't have something to sew them up," she pointed out, and then shrugged and added, "But I was thinking more along the lines that the sewing kit might come in handy if one of us gets badly injured and needs sewing up. The first aid kit has antiseptic and bandages and such, but nothing to close a deep wound."

That gave Domitian pause. Considering the cuts in her upper legs and the glass in her foot, Sarita was proving almost more dangerous to herself than Dressler was so far. If she continued as she was going, he might very well have to sew up some wound or other at some point. Still, they could just take a spool of thread and a needle. It wasn't necessary to drag the whole sewing kit along with them, he thought and was about to say so when Sarita spoke up again.




 

 

"Besides, while it's larger than I'd like, it's a nice flat surface and might come in handy for cleaning fish on, or setting things on that we don't want to get dirty, like bandages. And," she added, picking it up again and hefting it. "It's pretty light, so won't add to the weight."

"Very well." Domitian gave in. Her arguments were actually pretty good, but there was still way too much for them to be carting around, so he turned to the island and snatched up a pile of white cloth, only to frown as it unraveled and he recognized it. "Is this your nightgown?"

"It was the nightgown I was wearing," Sarita corrected, apparently unwilling to claim it as her own. Picking up a second ball of cloth, she said, "And this is the robe I was wearing. But-" she pulled the hem of the robe over her head and grinned at him through the gossamer material, "-now they're mosquito netting to keep the bugs out while we sleep. I washed the blood out of both of them," Sarita added and then examined the material as she removed it and pronounced, "They're both almost dry already."

It was actually a pretty clever idea, but Domitian didn't say so. He was troubled by the fact that she seemed to think they would have to walk for more than a day to find civilization and help. Or perhaps he was more distressed that he couldn't assure her that wouldn't be the case. Turning to the items on the island, he pulled out a racket next and pursed his lips as he spun it in his hand.

"A tennis racket? Really?" Domitian shook his head. "Where did you even find it?"

"It's a badminton racket," she corrected, taking it from him. "And I found it in one of the wicker storage boxes on the terrace. There was a badminton net too and I considered bringing that, but it's far too big and bulky, so I decided that the racket and stockings would do instead."

"Do for what?" he asked with bewilderment.

"As a fishing net," she said as if that should be obvious. When he merely stared at her blankly, Sarita sighed with exasperation and picked up one of a pair of stockings. Holding the racket up, she explained, "We slice out the strings of the racket so it's a hoop, loop the top of the stocking over the hoop and sew it on, and voila, a net to catch fish." Peering at the silky cloth Sarita smiled wryly and added, "A shame they aren't fishnet stockings, huh?"