Rafe took a shower, and I dried and straightened my hair, and put it up in a really long flowing ponytail, and wore lots of makeup. When I came out of the girl's bathroom the guys were all crowded around eating snacks, and listening to music. There wasn't a one that didn't turn admiring eyes on me, and I had to feel good all over for that.

We loaded back on the bus and went to the plaza, and there Rafe and the guys were accosted from the first moment to the last of their hour long performance in the open air afternoon sunshine.

I stayed with Allen and Jeremy, who kept up a running commentary about each song and who wrote it and who played lead, and everything about it. Allen just watched and every now and then consulted his phone. He chewed gum incessantly.

This didn't take long and then we were loading back on the bus for the hour long ride into Tucson. I'd been to Tucson, but not recently, but I had an Uncle there, so I told Rafe I was going to skip this concert and go see Miles and his family. He agreed readily, and kissed me in distraction. I knew he had a bunch of interviews and filming and just a myriad of other stuff to think about.

Uncle Miles and Aunt Denise picked me up outside the stadium. Now I will explain about Uncle Miles. So---- deep breath. Mom was best friends with her first band, Pepper's Alignment when she was twelve. The lead singer, Casey Crandall, was an excellent musician and when she got to be around fifteen he wanted to marry her, but she was too young. On a trip to England, on tour, Casey met this girl Frances and married her and she got pregnant right away. My mom loved that baby so much, way more than she loved Casey who was manipulative and money hungry. She would do anything for that baby. And then Casey divorced Frances and got another girl pregnant after Daniel was born, but he also had AIDS-----

Here was where I stopped my rehearsal. Seriously. Casey had been Mormon. He was why my mom joined the church. He wasn't practicing, was he? No.

I realized I didn't know all this history.

To make a long story longer---- Casey died of AIDS. My mom adopted Danny and Steven. We stayed close with Danny's biological family who mom had known for practically her whole life. Danny's grandparents are my grandparents, Danny's Uncles and Aunts are my Uncles and Aunts, Danny's cousins are my cousins. And that's how I got Uncle Miles and Aunt Denise.

Aunt Denise jumped out of their pickup and raced across the ground to grab me and hug me. She held me back so she could see me, and then hugged me again and again. I think she and my mom were friends since they were in grade school. "How are you, baby? Oh, I have missed you! I'm so glad you called us!!!"

She was a tall woman, with graying at the temples dark red hair, and that might have been colored. She had the prettiest facial features, very clear bluish green eyes, and a loud and very happy voice. Uncle Miles was a runner. He was so built for a guy his age, he had that same red hair, like Danny, Megan, and Melia--- although now I wondered if Raine (who was the twin's dad) had red hair. I was so confused. Didn't I know any family history at all?

Miles was Casey's brother, younger brother, I thought. They'd both had red hair.

I went to him, and he plastered me to him, that rock hard very muscled chest. Other than owning the snack bar at lifeguard station five in Huntington Beach, I'm not sure how Miles made his money, but he had plenty, so he just did marathons and trained year round. Some of my cousins, his kids, were runners too.

"Where you want to eat, Princess?"

He was the only person allowed to call me Princess. I detested that endearment otherwise.

"Anywhere, actually, they fed us a spread before the concert, and we're going out afterward someplace in Nogales." I accepted his hugs and hugged him back. It felt sooooooo good to be around family, even if it was distant family.

How could I even say it was distant? I couldn't. Technically the relationship was nonexistent. But---- it was existent because we all said it was, and being the baby, I didn't have a choice, the links were well established before I ever even arrived on the scene.

"Tell me everything!" Aunt Denise gushed, although the thought of me saying that she gushed was repugnant. She wouldn't like it. I had to amend it to --- she exclaimed excitedly. "How did you meet this guy? Your mom says you are touring with Axis and dating the lead singer, Rafe Stryker. How in the world, Aubrey? You're a doctor!"

I laughed. Slightly abashed. When she said it it sounded weird, like incongruous, and maybe even distasteful, like I was throwing a great career out the window. "He's my neighbor in Malibu."

"So are you dating him, or just being a roadie slash groupie?" Uncle Miles pulled us out of the parking lot and drove quickly past all the incoming traffic.

"Neither. Actually." I said again, fortunately from the back seat. "Where's Ricky and Maria?" They were the two cousins my age--- I thought they might still live in Tucson.

"Don't change the subject, Aubrey." Aunt Denise disapproved. "They are both at the restaurant waiting for us, but I want the scoop before we get there."

"If you had a restaurant, why did you ask me what I wanted? Is the whole family coming?" I guess I was almost hoping for time at the house, just visiting, seeing pictures of my family--- home movies or something.

"Ricky and his family are all going to be there, and Maria and Rob are coming-- the girls have a dance thing, but she wanted to see you." Aunt Denise turned around to give me the eye. "Spill it, Miss." She knew I was stalling.

"Well, since you asked, technically I am engaged to him."

"Engaged!" Aunt Denise screamed it, and threw her arms out, encouraging me to lean forward and receive her embrace. "To the lead singer of Axis! Are you kidding, Aubrey, you're a doctor! How are you going to manage this guy? He's full on industry." Meaning the music industry.

"At least he fits in the family." I said sheepishly.

"He's not a member of the church." Uncle Miles said disapprovingly. Miles and Casey were raised Mormon, left the church in their very young teens and he and Denise had gotten active about four or five years ago. I don't think their kids were active. My mom had tried for years to get Miles and his family reactivated, but Denise had not been a member, and she was pretty anti-Mormon growing up. It took a long time for them to come around.

"Actually he is."

Miles eyed me for lies in the rearview mirror. I shrugged. "He is, Uncle Miles. He's not active, and his lifestyle is slightly out of kilter with the teachings, but he's a member still."

"Oh, Aubrey." Aunt Denise moaned. "This isn't the life you wanted. You were so focused. You're more like Cassie and Gavin. Intellectual. I mean, it's certainly time for you to settle down and get married and start a family, but not like this."

I laughed, shaking my head, recalling how outspoken my Aunt had always been, and how deeply she now felt about her religion even though it hadn't been hers for most of her life. I didn't know how to respond. What she said was true.

"Do you love him, Aubrey?" Uncle Miles asked.

"Yes. I do." I said, acknowledging it again, hearing it out of my own lips for the second time, and feeling strong in the power of it. I loved that I knew I loved him. It was something refreshing and significant in my life right now.

"You don't think you're rushing into something in the wake of the disaster in Danny's family?" Aunt Denise broached the subject that others had speculated upon at the funeral—not that I would fall in love with Rafe---because who knew? Nobody. But just that this might really cause me some psychological damage. Cause me to do something rash and unexpected. I would say this qualified as all that.

"I don't. I met Rafe before Angelee died." Oh. My. Gosh! Saying her name was cause enough for a meltdown. I felt the heat of it behind my lids.

"I'm not asking you to defend your love, Aubrey, just think about it. It's so soon after..." It had just been weeks since the funeral. I'd seen them, in fact, just weeks ago. I usually only saw them twice a year-- at the reunion at the beach, and in Alaska. Sometimes we did Christmas in Montana."

"Aunt Dede." I used her pet name and tried to catch Uncle Miles's eyes again to stop her questioning along these lines. The pain was almost more than I could bear. It brought memories to the fore that I'd tried very hard not to think about. In fact, having just had grief hit me last night, and then Rafe's terrible tragedy too. There was every reason to think we were both having internal strife with our denial.

True to form, Uncle Miles directed the conversation to other topics, just as fun and exciting as they always were. He was a good story-teller too. We pulled into a restaurant and were met inside by cousins and cousin's kids enough that I didn't have to talk about myself all that much, except to explain the concerts I'd been to to Ricky's girls who were twelve and thirteen.

As we were getting ready to leave one of those girls, Shayla, asked if there were any way that I could get them autographs or in to see the band. I shrugged. I thought actually that I could. They did that meet and greet afterward, and although there were already a lot of people, I figured even right after that Rafe wouldn't mind signing autographs for these two little girls. I had Allen's number, so I texted him and asked if that would be permissible. He said he'd get back to me.

Shayla and Shawna were so excited they wanted to drive back over to the stadium right away, and when I looked at my watch, I was shocked that two hours really had passed, and it was about time to head back. It was three hours actually, but a half an hour over and a half an hour outside or in the green rooms. Pretty sure I'd promised Rafe I'd be there at closing.

The text came back. "You and the two girls and your Uncle, please. Come to the side entrance. Flash your badge. I've left word. They'll bring you up to the stage so the girls can see the last couple of songs and the encore." The whole table erupted at that announcement. Ricky and his wife were ecstatic until I told them it was just for the girls and Miles. I wasn't sure why, but it made sense that not too many people could come.

Hugs and kisses ensued, and the girls piled into Uncle Miles' pickup truck and we headed back across town to the stadium. True to his word, when I directed Miles back the way we'd come, Allen was out there waiting for us. I told him that my Aunt couldn't just sit in the car, so she could take my place, and he laughed and motioned to Denise to come too.

********