Page 26 of Totally Shipped
“Anyway, moving on… how long do we think it is until Christmas? Hopefully it's at least ten days, because we've got some planning to do.”
Rex takes my hint and declares it's officially two weeks until Christmas.
“Two weeks is fourteen days, right?” asks Key.
“Yep,” I ruffle her hair.
“Wahoo! That means the thirteen days starts tomorrow. We will have to sing carols every day from tomorrow until Christmas,” she tells us, seriously.
“Then I think you will need to be in charge of that, Key. Can you do that?”
The little girl nods. “Absolutely. We can start with ‘White Christmas’—I love that one.”
Samoans take the holidaysveryseriously.
That night, after Key fell asleep, the rest of us sat around the campfire and brainstormed gifts that we could come up with.
“I was thinking jewelry?” Daisy says. “Threading shells onto something? Maybe thin wire from the plane?”
“I like it,” says Rex. “I can help you come up with some kind of cordage.”
“I’ll make her a cricket kit,” Killian says. “You said that game she likes was like cricket, right? I’m probably the only one who actually knows how to play.”
“Kilikiti—perfect.”
“I have no clue,” Gray grumbles. “Christmas isn’t really in my wheelhouse. I never had Santa visit me when I was a kid.” He gives a rueful smile. “I guess I’ll go to the plane and see if there is anything I can macgyver from the scraps there.”
Daisy is yawning her head off by this point, so once she’s also snuggled in the shelter, I point out to the guys that we need to make Daisy presents as well.
“Duh,” says Killian.
“Great, now I’m doubly stumped,” Gray sighs.
“I believe in you, Gray,” I tell him. “I believe in us all, and that we can make the magic of Christmas on this island.”
The fuckers start throwing banana skins at me.
DAISY
For weeks, I’ve been feeling anything but sexy.
The idea of a penis coming near me actually makes me gag. The guys have been angels, but I still feel bad. The smell of their sweat, the feel of their touch, all of it—disgusting!
But when I wake up this morning, something is different.
Gray comes over and hands me some cut up coconut. He stands several feet away and stretches out his hand towards me. Poor thing, I bit his head off yesterday because of his armpit odor.
I look up and give him a massive smile.
“Err, Daisy? Everything alright?” he says, a little nervously.
“Will you hug me?”
He actually looks scared. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Won’t it make you go crazy?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Don’t call pregnant women crazy, Gray. Now get over here and hug me.”
Moving towards me, Gray makes soothing motions with his hands. “I apologize for being slightly nervous, it’s just you’ve been…” He eases himself onto the sand and puts an arm around me, “a little tense recently.”
