Best Friends (BxB)

Camping

Chapter Two: Age Nine Camping

Noah blinked sleepily, then nuzzled closer to Jamie. He sighed, the feeling of his friends fingers in his shaggy brown hair soothing and hypnotic. He felt himself drifting away, but was brought back to reality with the words quietly spoken in the tent.

"I was so proud of you today, Noah. So proud." And a whisper of lips on his forehead. Noah sighed again, and let sleep claim him.

Jamie awkwardly glanced down. The weight in his arms seemed to increase as Noah's body relaxed completely into sleep. He lay back, looking up at the blue canvas tent, listening as their parents' voices carried quietly past the sounds of the still flickering campfire. Eyes darting in their direction, he knew what he would see if he could. His parents, arms around each other. Dana across the logs, laughing, cup of coffee in her hands despite how late it was. They never ran out of things to talk about. He knew they were probably talking about today, because it was one of those days you never forget.

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The two families camped here for a week every summer since they'd met. So this was their fourth year. They decided it was silly to travel to some far flung place, with the kids so young, when right at their doorsteps, almost literally, was mile after mile of protected forests. Maybe when the boys were older, they'd try some other places. Maybe Idaho or Montana? The three friends already started dreaming about six years down the road. But for now, the campground was less than an hour away, with very easy trails, accessible bathrooms ... perfect.

They had their campground traditions. Packing up the Nash's huge SUV with all their gear, stopping to pick up hot coffee and hot chocolate at their favorite spot along the way, singing all of Kelly's favorite camp songs she'd learned as a kid. Everyone had their special job to do when they arrived. Danny organized the food set up. Kelly and Dana set up the three tents. And Jamie and Noah grabbed the backpacks, duffels and sleeping bags. When they were six they'd barely managed to do this, dragging stuff in the dirt or giggling as they tried to do it together. But now that they were almost ten, it was no big deal.

Once the campground was set up, they went for their first hike, always a loop to look at the meadow, filled with tiny purple flowers. A stop at the huge fallen tree, generally crawling with kids. Noah and Jamie taking turns making ghost noises as they crouched down through the hollowed out trunk. Then an easy lunch of sandwiches, chips, cookies. Followed by what they really came for.

Swimming.

The river here coming down off the mountains, was frigid at every other time of the year. But now, in the height of summer, the water was just warm enough, heated by the sun's blazing rays, to be comfortable. Most people came here to swim, so it was tough to find a spot without tons and tons of visitors. Kelly and Danny loved chatting with other people, and Dana was slowly getting more accustomed to making casual conversations, but still ... if they could barely hear themselves over the din of the crowds, it wasn't that fun.

But they'd found a special spot, that first summer, after a bit of a hike. There were still people, but never that many. A bend in the river, with a deep hole for the kids to paddle around in, where the water didn't rush so quickly. Overhung with branches, creating some shade.

And here was another tradition begun after that first summer. Kelly was mortified and horrified when they'd gotten back to the campground that first time, after swimming for hours, only to realize her baby was bright red. That was not a fun evening. Jamie for the most part was a happy go lucky kid, but he'd been in a lot of pain. They'd almost come home, it was so bad. But thankfully Noah came to her aide, distracting Jamie all night, telling him jokes, talking about school, anything and everything. The parents were surprised because generally Jamie was the chatterbox, and Noah was pretty quiet. But that night he'd almost talked himself hoarse in order to keep his friend from crying.