He was making sure it was all there, there could be no mistakes.
They were in the process of getting ready. It had been planned over a period of days, when they had the chance to get together. Now, this part had to be done right.
He lifted up the tool to inspect it, and said, “Small hammer.”
“Check.”
“Pliers.”
“Check.”
“Wooden ruler.”
“Check.”
“Pocket compass.”
“Check.”
“Coffee machine manual.”
“Check.”
“Penknife.”
“Check.”
“Torch.”
“Check.”
“Thick leather garden gloves.”
“Check.”
“Four boxes of tissues.”
“Check.”
They were putting everything into a cardboard box.
She asked him, “What is all this for?”
He said, “You know what it’s for.”
He picked up another item. “Pair of tweezers,” he said.
She sighed. “Check”.
“Two plastic beakers.”
“Check.”
“Zip-up baggies.”
“Check.”
“Lint roller.”
“Check.”
“Small measuring tape.”
“Check.”
“An extension cord.”
“Check.”
“Two sharpened pencils.”
“Check.”
“Pair of scissors.”
“Check.”
“Box of matches.”
“Check.”
“Cork screw.”
“Check.”
“Sun cream.”
“Check.”
“Ball of string.”
“Check.”
“Walking stick.”
“Check.”
“Cough drops.”
“Check.”
“Insect spray.”
“Check.”
“Paper clips.”
“OK. Check!” she said. She put her hands on her hips and said, “I’m not sure that we really need all this stuff.”
He smiled knowingly and said, “When flying through outer space, you never know what you’re gonna need.”