Maybe Tomorrow

The only thing that would’ve made her day worse than it already was - was probably getting s**t on by a bird. However, Audrey Grace was not willing to tempt fate, so she erased that thought as quickly as she had come up with it and tossed the loose end of her scarf over her shoulder. Fortunately for her, it was the end of the day. It was the end of her shift. Hallelujah.    As she crossed the parking lot of the giant retail store that she helped to supervise five days a week, she couldn’t help but blow out a small sigh of relief at the sight of her car.   It was a piece of s**t lime green Volkswagen bug that clunked more than it actually drove, but she was fond of the stupid thing. Even named it. Ethel - because it looked like an ‘Ethel’.   As she unlocked her side of the car and climbed in, Audrey found herself letting out another sigh as she sank into her seat. Her shoulders drooped as she allowed the day to slide off of them and sat there for a few minutes, inhaling deeply and slowly releasing it into the chilled air of her car.    The small town of Lovelock, Colorado had only had Audrey in its bosom for three years but sometimes she felt like she’d been there forever. Moving there from another small town forced her to realize that nothing about it was really different except which part of the country it was located in.    Although the small town life wasn’t really all that exciting, Audrey liked it anyway. She had her own place, her own car and if she really wanted to be honest with herself, Lovelock lacked one thing that she was particularly happy about. Her mother.    Oh, don’t get her wrong. She loved her mom, of course. Carolyn Grace was the epitome of ‘amazing’. She was funny, sweet, supportive - and she looked like an overly plump, big-breasted Martha Stewart. Cooked like her too.    But Carolyn Grace was also nosy, highly opinionated - and she was meddlesome. Oh God, she was meddlesome. If it weren’t for the fact that Audrey’s dad and younger brother were back home keeping that woman occupied, Audrey just knew her mom would find some way to move to Lovelock so she could micromanage every aspect of her life.   Well. Not every aspect.    Just the one that was keeping her from having grandchildren to fuss over.    The shrill sound of her phone going off inside her purse cut through Audrey’s thoughts, making her jump. She considered letting it go to voicemail when she pulled it out, but when she glanced at the call screen, she thought better of it and pursed her lips.    Speak of the devil.    “Hey ma,” she answered, tucking the phone between her cheek and her shoulder as she reached behind her to tug her seatbelt on.   “Hi honey, did I catch you at a bad time?”    The soft rasp of her mom’s voice made Audrey smile despite herself. “No. I just got off work, about to head home, maybe grab something to eat on the way.”    As her mom launched into a diatribe about her unhealthy eating habits, Audrey half-tuned her out as she dug around in her purse.    “All that junk food is going to go straight to your hips…”   Audrey let out a small grunt as she pushed aside her wallet, crumpled up old receipts that needed to go into the trash, and a couple tubes of Chapstick.    “What if you end up with a heart attack from all that grease you’ve been eating? I don’t think…”   She knew her keys were around somewhere – how else would she have gotten into her car? Audrey paused as she considered that last question and tried not to scoff at herself. She placed her phone down, knowing her mom wouldn’t even notice, then quickly rolled down her window and looked towards her door handle.    Audrey sighed when she spotted her keys, still dangling from the lock. It was gonna be one of those ‘sink-into-a-bubble-bath-and-try-not-to-drown’ kind of nights. She picked up her phone, listening to her mom scold away for a few moments     “Ma, let me call you back later when I get home. I’m about to drive.”    Several goodbyes later, her mom was finally off the phone giving Audrey the chance to start heading home. She needed food, a bath, and then some mindless tv to fall asleep to.   Yes. That sounded good.    She reached out through her still opened window and stretched her fingers out to grab a hold of her keys. Just as pulled it out of the lock, Audrey was half surprised to feel something lukewarm and very wet plop down on the back of her bare hand.    Above her a squawking bird flew by, it’s wings beating loudly through the air.    Audrey exhaled roughly through her nostrils as she glared at the gross green glob on her hand.    Yeah, definitely gonna be one of those nights.