why am i so itchy?

it all started one saturday morning.

i woke up and noticed i had these to red welts on my right arm, where my bicep is (or should be). it was like 5 degrees that morning, a horrid cold spell, so i thought it must be dry skin or something. i left it at that.

i woke my house full of guests. erin and michelle were sleeping on the sofabed. kirby was with me in my bed. i'd picked erin and michelle up at Port Authority the night before, around midnight. we drove home, and at that late hour kirby and i made the beds with new sheets, since we'd just done the laundry a few hours earlier at the laundromat.

i made my bed. i made it with my favorite light blue modal sheets. i stretched the fitted edges. i tucked the corners. i never saw anything suspicious.

the next morning i woke again, with two new additional red welts. they now had my attention. i considered an allergic reaction to the laundry detergent. kirby had used hers instead of mine. but...why would i only get a reaction on my upper right arm?

sunday night, erin and michelle went home. kirby returned to her life on the sofabed. i slept alone in my bed, not yet suspicious or concerned.