Expensive Kindling

“Oh, you’re c-cold, are you?” Tim spat, his teeth chattering. “You w-were the one that insisted on c-coming to the North Pole to find Santa Claus. It’s a sh-shame you didn’t take the weather into account when you came up with that plan.”

Brandon frowned at his partner, but it made the frost on his mustache pull at the hairs, so he stopped and burrowed his hands deeper into his coat pockets. “I didn’t expect the heater on the boat to completely give out. You agreed to fund the expedition, so you should have put down for transport that was in good repair!”

Tim said nothing, but went to the cabin. After a moment, Brandon heard things moving around. He got up to check, only to find Tim rummaging through the bags on Brandon’s bunk.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” asked Brandon.

“Trying to find something to make a fire with,” said Tim without looking up. “You haven’t got any matches, have you?”

“They’re above the stove,” said Brandon. “But why are you looking through my things? What do you expect to find?”

“Well,” said Tim, still pointedly not looking up, “You’ve always loved reading. Couldn’t even get enough of the textbooks in college. So where,” he said, punctuating the words with a bag thrown on the floor. “Are all.” Another bag. “The books you brought?” He threw the last bag down.

Brandon stared at him blankly for a moment and then burst out laughing. “First, I should hit you for even suggesting you’re going to burn my books. Second, I couldn’t take the risk that they would get ruined by water in case we sank or got hit by a big wave. And third…” He reached a hand into an inside pocket of his coat and pulled it out with a flourish. “I’ve upgraded.”

Tim looked at the Kindle Fire in Brandon’s hand and chuckled. The chuckle turned into full laughter, and continued for some time before Brandon finally interrupted him.

“What the hell is so funny?”

Tim shook his head, calming down. “Just the irony of that,” he said, still giggling. “It wouldn’t make very good kindling.”

Brandon grinned. “This is the reason I wanted to come to the North Pole. Santa left this for me under the tree last year, and I wanted to thank him personally. He really does know exactly what I want!”

Tim smiled crookedly and rubbed his hands together. “It’s too bad I’m on the naughty list, otherwise I’d ask for some gas to get the stove going.”

They heard a jingling sound, like bells, coming from the galley. They looked at each other and went back to find the stove burning merrily.

Brandon snorted. “Maybe you’re not so naughty after all.”

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Thanks to Susan Reifert for the challenge of the week. It's certainly harder to write about reading than it is to read about writing.

For next week, what is your least favorite household chore? Be sure to have your submissions in by Thursday at 9:00 pm CST, and don't forget to subscribe!