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"Chad's having fun, though," Charlie pointed out, "that's the important thing."

"Stop scratching," Adam sighed, as her fingernails began to work at her neck. "I think I have some antihistamine in my suitcase. Do you want me to get it?" he offered.

"No," she whimpered. "Sometimes, I feel like such a child! I may be young compared to you, but I'm not a little kid!"

"I never said you were," said Adam. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm scratching all over," she explained in a humiliated voice, "and I'm covered in calamine-- again! Chad was only bitten once or twice, but not me! Like an idiot, I stayed out there until I became a blood donor to every mosquito in the area!"

"Calm down," whispered Adam, trying to situate her beside him so she wouldn't have to lie on her side. The single bed was narrow, and there wasn't much room to move around. "I'm not sorry we're together, Charlie. I'm willing to carry calamine lotion with me for the rest of my life, if you need it." Adam tenderly kissed his young wife, and brushed the hair away from her face. "Try to relax," he coaxed her. "You'll feel better, tomorrow."

With a deep sigh, Charlie closed her eyes. Since Adam had moved over in bed for her, she could stretch out a little easier. Just the act of relaxing seemed to lessen the intensity of the itching, and the stress of the day, began to melt away.

"I love you, Charlie-girl," he whispered. For a few hours, Adam listened to the sound of her soft breathing, until sleep finally came for him, as well.

The next morning, Charlie awoke to the sounds of Chad, getting their fishing poles out of the SUV and into the living room where he expected someone to show him how to use them. He had been fishing once when he was very small, but that was so long ago, he could barely remember it.

"I wish they would wake up," she heard Chad sigh, as Kevin washed his face in the kitchen basin. "Uncle Adam said Aunt Charlie would take me fishing."

Realizing that Chad was waiting for her, Charlie sat up in bed and prepared to climb out from under the warm covers. As she moved, the slumbering man beside her, stirred briefly, before falling back to sleep. Then Charlie noticed something that brought a cry of dismay to her lips. Adam had spent the night on the hard edge of the worn bed, just so she could be comfortable.

"Adam," she sighed, as her husband woke up, "why didn't you move me over? I didn't need the whole mattress!"

"You were having a difficult night," he mumbled groggily. He was about to go back to sleep, when he realized that the sun was shining through a small window in the loft. He yawned, and looked at the beautiful young woman who was shaking her head at him. "It's no big deal, Charlie. How do you feel? Are the mosquito bites any better?"

"The itching has gone down, and so has the swelling," she observed, thankfully. "Chad is waiting for me to take him fishing. It looks like someone has volunteered me."

"I don't know very much about stream fishing," confessed Adam.

Charlie leaned down and gave him a tender kiss, before picking up her day clothes and looking about the loft for some privacy. It was daylight now, and there was no place to hide in the shadows to dress. There was only one thing left to do. Curious, Adam watched as Charlie ducked beneath the blankets on their mattress and pulled the covers over her head. By all the movement going on, he realized she was getting dressed.

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