Aubrey (Revolving With Axis)

032:

Like the other time, months ago, I woke to the sound of the blender going. And I woke fully cognizant, and knew Rafe was up and making us smoothies. There was no light outside. I was surprised, and glanced at the digital clock on my phone on the bed stand. It was five a.m.

"It's not really time to get up!" I yelled.

Rafe came padding in, he was shirtless, but his gym pants were in place. The light behind him silhouetted his physique perfectly. He had the two glasses in hand.

"I'm up." I sat up quickly and he handed me the smoothie, climbing back into the bed, leaning up against pillows he'd stacked there. The bedside light on his side came on, revealing me squinting, with bed head. He grinned good-naturedly. "Drink up."

I sighed. "I---." I lay back down, set the glass precariously on the nightstand and held up my phone. I'd missed calls. I pressed a couple of buttons.

"Hi." I said into the phone, knowing it was my mom.

"Where were you? It's after five." Her voice echoed against walls, and I recognized the sounds of the indoor pool up at the main house. My mom and dad are the earliest risers I know, they never sleep. I glanced over at Rafe who had a notebook on his lap and a pencil in his mouth and was studiously staring at it, listening to music in his head. Well, this guy might be the earliest riser I knew.

"I'm up at Kell and Maille's. Sorry, I slept through five." Meaning I forgot our morning swimming routine. If I was home, if she was home when I was home, we swam at around 4:45 a.m. every day but Sunday.

"What are you doing up at Kell and Maille's? Didn't they leave?" I could hear her walking in through the pool area, there was such a distinct sound down there. She would be going back to her room, getting something to eat, showering, changing-- flying off to somewhere. My mom was literally the busiest person on the planet.

"Yeah, they left." I had to sit back up. I don't think I ever laid down to talk to my mom, I don't think anyone ever did. It was mom, for Pete's sake. Rafe looked over at me curiously and then glanced at his own phone to check the time. It was a little odd to be talking to someone this early, but he didn't know that it wasn't odd to talk to my mom this early. I smiled at him, and he nodded and went back to studying his notebook, the pencil back in his mouth, and I noticed another one over his right ear.

"So why are you up there?" Her voice was curious, not even a little exasperated. Anything-- and I mean anything at all with Kell's name attached-- was going to be out of the ordinary.

"Kell said I could use their place while I entertain my-- guest."

Silence.

"Mom?"

"Is that your mom?" Rafe said right on cue. His eyes were big. "Lemme talk to her."

He grabbed my phone and put it up to his ear, and then in a very dashing and suave voice, he said these words. "Hey, Aubrey's mom."

I tried to hear if she replied, my mom was amazingly cool when she wanted to be and was rarely ever caught off guard.

"Is this Pat?"

"Pat who?"

"Nevermind, I have it. Your voice, om.... Not super young, very experienced, like a song bird-- Rafe?"

I was watching Rafe's face when my mom guessed it was him. His eyes got wide, and he looked like he might cry. "This is Rafe." He said very humbly. "How did you know?"

"I know everything." She said in her happy voice. "And what I don't know, Kell keeps me informed of."

For a split second I realized she'd got him, and then they were both laughing, not just a little, but hard.

"Tell me true. Did you even think for one second it was Pat?"

"Pat Monahan? Lead singer of Train. Did I think you were him? No. Even if Kell hadn't told me you were with Aubrey, I wouldn't have mistaken you for him. "

"Now that she's back in the atmosphere
With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey, hey, hey"

They were both singing, and Rafe put her on speaker and they sang together beautifully.

"Man, we'll have to lay that down later, you have a gorgeous voice, Tracy McCaffrey Mann." Rafe said, shaking his head, and smiling.

"I'm around later-- very much later. Aubrey. When are you heading back to So Cal? That's really why I was calling. I'm going down today for a little while. Any chance I can get you on a consult?"

"Today? Om, how serious is it? I-- I'm not sure I'm ready..." My heart had clenched and Rafe took it off speaker and handed it back to me.

"It isn't extremely serious, and I don't need it today. Just checking. You take whatever time you need." My mom's voice was sincere. She never said one thing and meant another. No time for those kinds of guessing games. If she said she didn't need me today, then she really didn't.

"I'll be home around dinner. Would you guys like to come up to the house and eat with us, and then we can mess around some with Rafe?"

He heard her, and I quirked my brows at him. He nodded and shrugged as if it meant nothing to him to eat dinner with my folks, which I knew darn well that it did. I also knew that to my mom, mess around meant jamming. Musical jamming.

"Yeah, that would be great," I told her.

She said something nice and then hung up and I set the phone down as I lay back. Rafe did not lay back, but moved his notebook to one side and turned with one arm under his head to look at me.

"So, you missed swimming with your mom-- the amazing and wonderful Tracy McCaffrey-- and you denied her a consult, whatever that is-- sounds work related. What is on your agenda today?"

"I would still like to go swim. It helps relax me and works out the kinks."

"Not to mention it's the best work out ever."

"And then, maybe go for a hike? Or a bike ride?"

"Yeah, all of that." He said lazily and began studying my arm. He ran a finger down the inside, then back up, then all over, circles and tickling stuff. "Do you know if there's a guitar here? Or a piano? I've got music stuck in my head."

"Here? We can run down to the studio and get one. Kell keeps his instrument with him that I'm aware of." But I rolled out of bed and went to the closet where I thought it might be. Even rummaging on my hands and knees, I found nothing in the closet.

"That's okay, babe." He said in a gentlemanly voice from the bed and went back to his writing. So I got up, brushed my teeth and did my morning routine. When I came out, I drank the smoothie and asked if he wanted to join me for swimming.

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