The bag closed before I remembered the food.
I looked at it for a while.
Ren stood in the doorway with the returned laundry over one arm. He followed my gaze from the bag to the untouched ration packets on the desk.
"Planning to eat the spare boots?"
"Only if we get delayed."
He put the laundry down and waited while I opened the bag again.
I had packed as though every possible inconvenience deserved its own object. Two spare fastenings. Enough cord to annoy Aiden. A book which had seemed small when it was alone on the shelf. The complete set of route notes, including pages about equipment which would remain with the outer team.
The food sat beside all of it, making a simple objection.
I could explain every object already in the bag. A fastening might break. A line might need extending. The book contained a passage I wanted to check again, though I could have copied that passage onto half a page.
