Aubrey (Axis Rising)

002:

*****002:

Rafe did not stretch out on a lounge chair as might have been expected after a 10K practice run. He perched precariously on the end of a metal straight backed chair and indicated with a pat of his lap that he wanted me perched with him. Ben now ignored us in favor of whatever was in his envelope.

"This might be disturbing." He said with an air of mystery and theatrical flare that I found amusing and Rafe just grunted. "It's from the US copyright office."

Rafe sat forward, resting his chin hard against my spine. "Why do you have it? Is it a DMCA notice?"

"What's a DMCA notice?" I asked easily, not having any clue what it might mean.

Rafe stroked my hair to the side and found an interesting spot on my neck he hadn't kissed lately. Very like him--- especially to distract me when it was something important.

"I have it because Roger left a copy of it in the office next door and I happened to go in there looking for something else, and saw it in a pile, Rafe-- a pile! We need to hire a secretary over there, and it can't be the new sound tech that I just broke up with."

I bounced off Rafe's lap like a firecracker, okay, a slow burning smoke bomb, the kind that wriggle and stretch all over the place, but mostly curl around themselves. That's me, my stretching these days tends to look like I'm curling around myself. The point is I was shocked.

"What the freak are you talking about?" I shrieked with far too much emotion for the event. He hadn't really dated Antonia that long, maybe a few weeks. But she'd been perfect! What could have gone wrong? I'd arranged for her to join us in Montana a month ago. She was a sound tech—a good one! Rafe had hired her after I'd failed miserably at match-making with the LDS girl band (now broken up), Victorine Alissa.

I cupped Ben's cheeks with my palms, looking into his eyes for confirmation. Contrary to popular belief-- at least from the mega-green monster sitting behind me, I didn't care all that much about Rafe's jealousy-- I was absolutely secure in our marriage, and I knew deep down he was too.

Ben flinched away from me.

"Ben? What happened?"

"Another one bites the dust?" Quoting a Queen song. His eyes rose to meet mine and I let go of his face.

"Did she give a reason? Did she quit her job?" We'd just hired her, she'd gone on the gig with Axis just a few days ago. A few really trying poignant days, I might add. Did Ben, in his pain and sorrow, and whatever else was going through his pea picking scatter-brain-- did he somehow screw it up? Drive her away? What?

"She did give a reason, and it's rather private, and I'm not going to tell you, except to ask you to please quit match-making for me, and for you not to worry so much about me. I had a life before you guys, and I will have a life again. No, she didn't quit." He waved the envelope in the air reminding us of the important thing inside it that he was about to reveal in all its splendid glory.

I sat back down on Rafe's less than comfortable knees, trying to support my increased weight. He squished me back against him and burrowed his face in my neck and hair. I could hear him growl for good measure. If I looked I'd have seen slitted eyes assessing Ben's reaction to my concern.

"Yes, it is a DMCA notice and you'll never guess what else..." He waggled another envelope he'd opened and perused without us, probably something he'd found in a dreaded pile in the dreaded secretary-less office next door in their dreaded studio.

Rafe shook his head. "From who?"

"Victorine Alissa. Rowanne to be exact, and another from Chyma, and another from Victorine herself." He eyed Rafe's surprised expression with satisfaction. He liked to be the bearer of bad news at the moment. "She's suing for plagiarism and copyright infringement on four songs;  two we worked on in Montana, and two she says we lifted from her personal catalog."