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"Charlie," whispered Adam, "I need to talk to you." He didn't expect an answer so soon, and was surprised when she replied,

"Couldn't it wait until morning?"

"I thought you were asleep," said Adam, his heart breaking at the sound of Charlie's voice, for he could hear the tears as she spoke. "Charlie," he began, reaching out to touch her and wincing as she moved away from him, "I'm sorry I lost my patience with you. I shouldn't have walked out the way I did."

"I forgive you," she sniffed.

"Thank you," he answered, gratefully. "I've been thinking, and I realize that I've been doing something lately, that I promised myself I'd never do. I've been making decisions without you, and that's dangerous for a man in my position. If I don't respect your opinion, then you're going to resent me, and I don't want that to happen." Adam stared at the back of her head and made a confession. "Charlie, when I volunteered to take Chad to Alaska without asking you, it was just me being thoughtless; when I accepted Shirley's invitation to stay, however, I didn't ask for your opinion on purpose, because I didn't want to give you a chance to disagree."

Charlie had thought that Adam had been so preoccupied with family woes, that he had forgotten to get her agreement, as they had promised each other to always do. She gulped back a sob.

"Will you still forgive me?" he wondered.

"Uh-huh," came Charlie's muffled response, for she was trying to smother her tears with her pillow so he couldn't hear her weep.

It didn't work, however, for Adam could hear every sob just fine. He dearly wanted to hold her, but he remembered the way she had resisted him a few moments ago, and decided that he didn't deserve to presume that she could want him right now.

With a sigh, Adam lie on his back, his hands still clasped beneath his head. He was about to continue his apology, when he felt Charlie moving close to him in bed. Without a word, she rested her head on his chest, until he could feel her wet face through his pajama top. Adam slowly put his arms around Charlie. A slender hand lovingly responded to his touch, nearly making Adam forget that he had something else to tell her.

"There's one other thing I have to apologize for," he said, helplessly staring up at the ceiling, for he didn't have a pillow, and couldn't see Charlie's face.

The young woman lifted her head and leaned over him, her beautiful features still evident in the partial darkness of the bedroom. Adam's breath caught, as her long, soft hair brushed against his cheek. His heart was quickening at her presence, and the words he wanted to say suddenly escaped him. Not waiting for him to recover, Charlie bent down and kissed Adam's mouth until his arms were tightly wrapped around her once more. And so ended their first fight.

The sound of morning in the rest of the house, came as weary news to Adam and Charlie. They had been arguing and making up for most of the night, and neither of them felt like waking up.

Just as Adam was about to determine whether breakfast was worth climbing out of bed for, they noticed the handle on their bedroom door begin to turn. Charlie's eyes darted to the floor, where her and Adam's pajamas lay beside the bed. A feeling of dread surged through her, and she wanted to scream! The very next moment, it was too late, and the door swung wide open!

"Hey!" shouted Adam, sitting up in bed and angrily facing down their short intruder. "Chad! Close that door!"

Mortified, Charlie quickly pulled the covers over her head.

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