Chasing Sunrise

 7:07 am.     That’s the time that reads on the dash of the Rayburn’s family car. Audrey notes the time, does a a quick calculation in her head, and realizes she’s been driving non stop for nearly four hours. She’d forgotten, since the last time they’d done this, how easy it was to just drive. To not think, not feel, not wonder about what was going to come next. Just drive.     Sighing, she glanced at her phone mounted on the dash and checked her navigation. Forty-five minutes or so until her destinations arrival. Audrey didn’t think she could wait that long. Now that she was aware of the time, of just how long she’d been sitting, other things began to bully their way into her thoughts. She’d need to stop, stretch her legs.     From the passenger seat, her mother made a small snore like noise and shifted a little in her sleep before returning to stillness. Just the thought of her mother made Audrey’s blood start to boil again. How could she do this to her? Again. Not once, not twice, but four times now, Vanessa Rayburn had fallen in love, married, divorced, and skipped town within the span of a year.      Audrey really should have seen it coming. This last husband had been a real winner. Fifteen years her mother’s junior, he’d been her valet at some hotspot in L.A. But that was typical Vanessa behavior. Surrounded by the rich and famous, her notoriety as a famous romance novelist turned Hollywood screenwriter could get her any man she wanted. And she picked the valet with no education, no future prospects, no real character integrity. But he was hot. And that had been enough for Vanessa.     Cue in the whirlwind romance, the expensive getaway vacation to celebrate their three month anniversary, the spontaneous marriage ceremony on a beach somewhere in Mexico, and Audrey was once again welcoming a new member to the family. She was used to it, she understood that this was what her mother was doing to cope with losing the great love of her life, Audrey’s father. But Sam didn’t get it. He was only eight. He’d been two when his father had died.      He didn’t know that there had been better times, great times. Before Vanessa Rayburn had been THE Vanessa Rayburn and instead had just been Mom. Back when Dad had worked two jobs so they could afford their tiny little house. Back when they had been happy.     But Audrey remembered. And the loss of that was almost as hard as they lose of her father.     Now, things with husband number four and Vanessa had gone sour, just as they had with the other three. Vanessa had come home unexpectedly one day to find Number Four in bed with someone else. Drama had ensued, that to rival what could be found in her latest novel “An Innocent’s Seduction”. When the screams had been exchanged, the tears shed, and Number Four booted from the estate, Vanessa had decided it was time to start over again. The Rayburn Family needed a new adventure, a “fresh start”.     They were going to “chase the sunrise” Vanessa had declared as a real estate agent staked a “For Sale” sign in their yard and strangers had toured their house. Vanessa had packed all their sentimental items in their Lexus RX 350, plugged in Orchard’s Bluff, Washington in the navigation system, and off they went.     Chasing sunrise, Audrey thought to herself. Vanessa used it as an excuse to follow her whims from one end of the country to the other. Audrey new it was really an excuse to run from the grief that had plagued the family since her father had died six years ago. A wound that still hadn’t closed completely for any of them.     The navigation system chirped and a sassy woman’s voice reminded Audrey that her exit was coming in just two miles. Audrey sighed and prepared to exit the freeway.     “Are we almost there?” A small voice asked from the backseat. Sam. Audrey glanced in the rear view mirror at her brother. His big green eyes were sleepy still, his sandy hair tousled from his restless night. He looked so much like Dad it made Audrey ache.      “About forty five minutes. We have to drive through town to get to the new house. Thought I would stop and walk around a bit. You hungry, Kiddo?” Sometimes Audrey felt more like a mom to Sam than a sister. Vanessa was often too absorbed in either her latest novel, editing screenplays, or her love life, that a lot of the parenting responsibilities fell on Audrey. She didn’t mind, most of the time. Sam was a good kid. Smart, funny, quiet. A good brother. Audrey loved him.      Which was why when she left, started a life for herself away from Vanessa, she would find a way to take Sam with her.     “I’m thirsty. And I have to pee,” Sam told her, his voice melancholy as he stared out the window at the passing trees. Trees. Orchard’s Bluff was about as far north as they could get from L.A. and still be on the west coast.      “Alright, we’ll stop at the first place we see.” Audrey flashed her blinker as she exited the highway and headed into Orchard’s Bluff. She had thought about asking her mom how she’d even found this random town on the coast of Washington, but she’d realized it hadn’t mattered. If it wasn’t here, it would be someplace else just as random. Vanessa didn’t care where they landed, her money would provide for them wherever they ended up.     “There’s a gas station,” Sam pointed out but Audrey kept driving. Gas station bathrooms were the worst. And while Sam said he wasn’t hungry, she knew he’d want snacks about ten minutes after they got back on the road.     “I think there’s a grocery store up ahead,” Audrey said as she kept driving. Even as she said it, she saw the sign for it. Greg Steyers “all in one shopping” the sign read. What an odd name for a*****e. Audrey shrugged and used her blinker again to turn into the parking lot.     7:18 am.      “Are they open?” Sam asked as Audrey drove through the deserted parking lot and pulled into the closest spot to the door that wasn’t handicapped.      “Should be,” Audrey replied as she stared at the front door. She could see a sign for the store hours but it was too small to make out the hours. Slowly, she shut off the car and pulled the key from the ignition. Her navigation chirped, reminding her it was still on, and Vanessa stirred awake.     “Are we there?” She asked as she sat up, pushing a tangle of blond curly hair out of her blue eyes. At forty three, Vanessa was still as hot as she’d been at sixteen when she’d met Audrey’s father. And Audrey had turned out just like her in the looks department.     “No,  mom,” Audrey replied as the door to Greg Steyers opened and what looked to be an employee stepped out and looked around. “Sam has to pee. We’re about a half hour from the new house.”     “Oh, that’s good, good.” Vanessa closed her eyes again and leaned back in her seat. “If you’re going in, can you get me a coffee?”     “Sure,” Audrey replied absently as she watched the employee. He was tall and lean with thick black hair and tan arms. He walked up and down the sidewalk, passing in front of their Lexus, his brown eyes searching the parking lot. He seemed to be satisfied with what he saw because he turned around and walked back into the store.     “Let’s go, Kiddo,” Audrey called as she unbuckled and stepped out of the car. As Sam got out, she stretched, feeling the relief of standing after seated for so long. Sam stretched beside her than gave her a goofy grin when she reached out to tickle his armpit.      “So this is Orchard’s Bluff?” Sam asked, looking across the empty parking lot to the gas station across the street and a small coffee stand with a help wanted sign in the window. Audrey made a noise in response as she wondered if she had to be eighteen to work there. Her first order of business was finding an after school job. She’d had to quit her car washing gig in L.A. but she was still far from her savings goal of a deposit for an apartment. She knew if she asked her mother for the money, Vanessa would give it to her without asking questions. But the point was to make it on her own, without her mother.     “What kind of grocery store is this?” Sam demanded as they entered the store. First off, there were no groceries in sight. Instead, they were greeted with what seemed to be a homes good department and a customer service desk. Audrey walked towards the desk where the guy she’d seen outside was leaning on the counter with his back to her flirting with a girl who looked to be her age working the desk.     Audrey came to a stop a few feet away from him, looking around. “I don’t know.”     She had just spotted the sign for restrooms when the girl at the desk noticed her. “Can I help you?” She asked in a somewhat snotty tone.     “The bathrooms are over there, Sam,” Audrey told her brother with a gesture. “I’ll be here when you’re done.”     “The restrooms are for paying customers only,” the girl snapped. Sam hesitated, but Audrey gave him a nudge with her elbow and he headed in that direction. Once Audrey saw him turn down the hallway, she turned her blue eyes on the girl behind the desk.     “Good thing I’m a paying customer then.” Stepping up to the desk, Audrey glanced at the girl’s name tag. Amanda. She was a petite redhead with too much cleavage and not enough makeup. Audrey glanced at the black haired guy that had been flirting with her. His name tag read Isaiah. He’d moved to stand behind the counter next to Amanda but his attention to her seemed much more friendly.     Amanda looked Audrey up and down, taking note of the travel wrinkled clothes, the bright blond hair pulled back in a messy pony tail and the bags under her eyes. “Really? And just what are you planning on buying? A pregnancy test? You can get them for a dollar at the gas station down the road.”     Audrey ignored the insult and instead looked over at the home goods section of the store. “What kind of store is this? Greg Steyers all in one shopping.”     “It’s a grocery store that has home goods, clothing, and home electronics,” Isaiah answered. Audrey glanced at his name badge again. Under his name was the title Front End Supervisor. Under Amanda’s it simply said Customer Service Representative.     “Where are the groceries?” Audrey asked. Amanda made a scoffing noise and pointed vaguely behind her and to the left. Audrey, who sometimes forgot she was only just over five foot four but felt as though she was six feet, realized she couldn’t see them aisles because of the rack of cigarettes that was the back of the customer service desk.     “And the clothing?”      “Look are you going to buy something or what? You can’t just stall here while your son uses the bathroom. I’ll have to call security.” Amanda reached for the phone threateningly, but Audrey wasn’t phased. She could see now that Amanda was using her as a way to show off to her boyfriend. Smirking, Audrey stood her ground.      “Here’s a map of the store,” Isaiah said, stepping up closer to the counter, shoulders brushing against Amanda as he reached across and slid a map towards Audrey. She took it without glancing at it and stuffed it in her pocket next to her wallet. Looking back at Amanda, Audrey thought that perhaps she should just be a good person and walk away.     Instead she asked, “Is there a Starbucks or coffee shop in the store? I thought I saw a logo on the side of the building.”     “You have a map, why don’t you look at it,” Amanda snapped and rolled her eyes. Turning to Isaiah she leaned in and staged whispered to him, “Customers can be so annoying.”     “There’s a Starbucks. It’s on the other side of the store, past all those registers,” Isaiah pointed to Audrey’s left, but she didn’t look. She was too busy enjoying being annoying.     “Is that couch for sale?” Audrey gestured to the home goods set up that had been arranged near the entrance. It was a black leather sectional with a chaise lounge and a wood coffee table. Audrey had no idea if it would fit in her mom’s new house, or even how much it was. But she had a black AMX in her wallet and she wanted to shut Amanda up.     “You really think you can afford that? You’re what, sixteen? And you already have a son? Keep dreaming.” Amanda scoffed. Audrey wondered briefly why Isaiah, her supervisor, was standing right there and allowing her to treat a customer so rudely. But when she glanced back at him she realized he knew she was purposefully antagonized Amanda. Well, at least they were all aware of their roles in this game.     “Aud? Is that girl being mean to you?” Sam asked from her elbow. In all her fun of being annoying, she’d forgotten her little brother. Immediately, Audrey backed off. Her glinting eyes softened and she reached her arm protectively around her brother’s shoulder. It was all fun and games until Sam got hurt.     “Who? Me? No one can be mean to me, Kid. I’m too tough. Ready to get something to drink?” Without another thought of the mean girl behind the counter, Audrey guided her brother down the row of registers until she spotted the glow of a Starbucks sign.     “That girl sounded like she was being really mean. She thought I was your son.”     “Sam, she was obviously very stupid. Do I look like a mom? Come on, you want a hot chocolate? I’m buying!” Audrey hustled her brother to the Starbucks line, ordered him a hot chocolate, herself a black coffee, and her mother something with far too many adjectives and sugar.      “Hey, why don’t you go find the candy aisle while I wait for our drinks. get some snacks for the road.”     “Shouldn’t we have breakfast first?” Sam asked as he glanced over to the grocery section.     “Brother, you hurt my heart. Don’t you know you never turn down candy? Especially for breakfast? Who is raising you to be like this? Now go get a candy bar. We can make breakfast when we get to the house.” Audrey nudged her brother with her elbow again and he took off with a smile to find some candy. She watched him go with another pang in her heart.     He really was such a good kid. He didn’t deserve to have a mother that was completely checked out. Or a sister that was about to turn his world upside down. Because she was going to. She could feel it. The pressure of being his sister, of being her mother’s daughter, was becoming too much for her. She had her own dreams, her own aspirations. She didn’t want to be stuck for another ten years in this cycle of husbands and ex husbands and new house and new schools. She wanted her own life.     And she was going to get it.     “Audrey?” The barista called as she placed a cup tray down on the counter.      “Are you guys hiring?” Audrey asked as she picked up the tray.      “Starbucks isn’t, but I think Greg Steyers is. You can ask your cashier if you’re getting anything else.” Audrey nodded thanks and headed for the grocery aisles,  looking for her brother. She knew from experience he would have gotten a candy bar, but he also would have wandered to the cereal aisle as well. She found him there, looking through the different boxes, reading the nutrition facts on the back.     “Get the one with the most sugar!” Audrey called as she swiped a box of Frosted Flakes from a shelf. Sam gave her a look before grabbing Honey Bunches of Oats. “You’re no fun.”     Sam stuck his tongue out at her in response. They moved to the dairy section and grabbed a jug of milk.      “What are the odds we’ll be able to find dishes at the new house?” Sam asked as they started back towards the registers. Audrey thought about it and steered her brother back towards the home goods. Probably not good, she thought. She didn’t remember her mother packing anything from the kitchen. And if this move was anything like the last one, there would be literally nothing at the new house except beds, if they were lucky.     “Better get spoons too,” Audrey added.     Once they had everything they needed for breakfast, Audrey led the way up to the registers. There was only one open and an older lady with misery on her face was standing there, her back to Audrey and Sam. She was obviously watching someone, calling out to them, “It’s about time!”     As Audrey put the cereal, milk, bowls, and silverware on the belt, the older lady left the register to be replaced by none other than Isaiah. What are the chances of that, Audrey thought as he called out to the lady that it was a ten minute break and ten minutes only.     “You again,” Isaiah said with a flirty smile as he turned back to Audrey and Sam. “Find everything?”     “Sure did.” Audrey replied. She would have left it at that, but Sam stepped in front of her and glared at Isaiah. “Your badge says you’re a supervisor, but you let that clerk be mean to my sister. You’re not a very good supervisor.” Audrey wanted to be embarrassed but instead she laughed. Why be embarrassed by her little brother sticking up for her? She was so lucky to have someone like that who loved her that much.     “Sam, it’s okay. I was being mean too.” Sam turned back to her with a look of such betrayal she laughed again. “You know how sometimes Number Four would get real annoying and you and I would find little ways to annoy him back? It’s like that, but more direct. Nothing to worry about.”     “Number Four?” Isaiah asked absently as he finished ringing up the items and told Audrey the total. She fished her wallet out of her pocked and pulled out the black AMX card.      “Husband Number Four. After a while it’s easier to just remember that instead of the name. Mom never keeps them long enough.”     “Ah, gotcha. Is that a black AMX?”     “Yes. Do you need to see ID?” At Isaiah’s nod, Audrey pulled out her California driver’s license and handed it to him.     “California, huh? That’s quite a drive.”     “Twenty two hours, give or take. Can I have my ID back?” Audrey asked after Isaiah stared at it for longer than he should have.     “Sure. Well, Audrey, thanks for shopping at Greg R. Steyers. Hope to be seeing you around again. And sorry about Amanda’s behavior earlier. She can be a little rude in the morning.”     “It’s not a big deal. Like I said, I was being rude back. Sam, grab a bag for me?” Taking the coffee tray, Audrey headed back to the entrance and the car. Once she was back behind the wheel and the coffees had been handed out, she set her navigation up again for the new house.     “Ready Sam, Mom?” Audrey asked as she put the car in reverse. 7:43 am. Thirty minutes to the new house and the start of her new life.     “Let’s get to it! Here’s to chasing sunrise!” Vanessa called as she took a big gulp of her sugary coffee. The last sunrise I’m ever going to chase, Audrey thought, as the Lexus hit the road.