Aubrey (Revolving With Axis)

073:

                

            Because I'd gone to bed with my own terrible energy building up, I was awake before everyone. I was uncomfortable, my back hurt and my legs felt heavy and cramped. I had a tension in my shoulders that needed to be worked out, and I was sure I'd dreamed terrible dreams all night. The bus had stopped, and with it, my tempestuous dreams. I tossed around for awhile. I had to go to the bathroom. I got up and padded to the lounge. No one was there. I looked out the window. We were actually parked in a parking lot at the beach. I could see security posted around a fairly small gated off area. There were cars and tents beyond that. I didn't know where we were. Come to find out.... Since Mack was awake checking the outer perimeter of the bus.... When I went outside, we weren't at the beach, but a large spot in the river. We were at a gorge, a natural amphitheater, and we'd be playing outside. Other artists buses were on--- as was ours, but not rolling, and parked in close proximity.

            I startled Mack. It was still dark out.

            "Hey there, Aubrey, right?" He pushed back his knit hat. "What choo out here for? You catch your death of a cold in this weather."

            I looked at the lightening sky. "What weather? It's beautiful."

            "It's damn cold." He said. I figured my deal didn't go for the bus driver, but I cringed a little anyway. I hadn't met a cusser yet that I wanted to hear.

            I didn't feel that cold, so I looked around. "I can't sleep. Can I go for a run?"

            "Go for a run, in the middle of the night? Are you out of your mind, girl? No. No you may not."

            "Are you my mom on the bus?"

            He eyed me carefully. "You ain't been on tour? It ain't safe to go for unsupervised runs in the middle of the night. You see them tents?" He indicated the line of tents and cars lined up outside the gated off area. "Them fans just waiting to nab you."

            I worked my lips absently. "Okay. Well, what am I supposed to do till they all wake up?"

            He looked at his watch. "You got two hours." He checked the sky. "You got a movie you can watch?"

            I was saving the movies for a rainy day. I shook my head.

            "How 'bout a book?"

            "I need something physical."

            He thought about it. "Well--- this may seem a little unorthodox, but I gotta shift this storage bay around. It means taking everything out, and reorganizing it. You could help me."

            "That's exactly what I need!" I stated emphatically as he walked around to the center of the bus and lifted the storage bay doors. Inside were stuffed all kinds of luggage and equipment. I eyed it enthusiastically. We dug in.

            It took about an hour. During which time we had several meaningful conversations not the least of which was about the guys themselves. It went something like this:

            "How'd you meet Rafe?" So I told him.

            "How long have you been touring with the band?" So he told me.

            "What kinda guy is Rafe? Do you like him?"

            Mack stared me down as we shut the bus cargo bay doors. He wiped his hand across his face. "Yeah, I know'd him a long time. He a pretty good guy. What I learned about Rafe is he's not one of them spiritual gurus when it comes to music. He really have to work at feeling things. He don't let himself feel."