North (A Robert Downey Jr Fanfic)

"Leaving this Town"

"Ma'am, once these documents are completed, you are legally obligated to relocate to the specified location as directed by the U.S. Marshall's protection program. If you'd like, an officer will escort you to retrieve your things and then your travel will be arranged once you've made it to the safe house. The alternative option would be to go it alone, and bring yourself back here in the morning and we will then you transport you there."

She scrawled her name on the paper he'd supplied, for the last time, she was certain.

"Then what? What do we do after that?" She looked at her daughter sitting beside her, aged only six years, doe eyed and oblivious to all of the evils in the world. She would never feel the weight of the situation they were in. Hell, her toes couldn't even touch the floor.

"You start over. We give you all of the necessary components to start over again. What you have in liquid assets stays yours and you take it with you, along with what you can fit into our moving trailer."

"We'll be back in the morning." She said, stone faced as she stood up and led her daughter out to the car. The heat of the afternoon sun only intensified the pain of her sore and battered face and body.

She felt tears welling up inside, and wished for her husband to make the pain go away. He couldn't though, not anymore. It was her and her alone that would have to make the change for her and her child. There's no way she would let anyone else tell her how to start their new life. Surely they'd take away everything her husband had worked so hard for...whether it was legal or not.

They never went back.

***

"Mom! Daisy just barfed up a bird! Sick!"
"Damn dog." She groaned as she shook the soap bubbles off of her hands into the sink and went to grab the shovel from the front porch.

Sure enough, she opened the screen door to find Daisy, their giant golden retriever smiling over the gift she'd hacked up for her twelve-year-old daughter, Penny.
She scooped up Daisy's offering and gave it a good fling into the woods just behind the "Big Cabin", as Penny had named it when they'd first moved in.

The Big Cabin at Chip's Lodge in northern Wisconsin wasn't just their home, it was a general store, a bar, a laundry facility and an all around command center for the resort.

Summer time is when Chip's Lodge is at its best, and it keeps Vanessa busy. There's a garden to tend to, linens to wash, cabins to clean and stock and grounds to maintain. Not to mention all of the things around the resort that need fixing from time to time. Owning and taking care of a dozen cabins is not an easy job, but it's a job she accepted wholeheartedly and it gives her a sense of purpose.

"Now that we've taken care of that, are you ready to go into town?" She asked Penny.
"Yep. Can we take Rampy?"
"Sure we can. I'll finish the kitchen when we get back."

She closed up the Big Cabin and office, just as she had nearly every Monday and Thursday the five years that they'd lived up there. Those days are spent in town, where Penny attends a co-op as a supplement to her homeschooling. When she's there, Vanessa takes the opportunity to get everything for their day-to-day needs at Chip's.

They bounced along the rutted gravel roads for half the trip before the back roads led them to the main county road. After their customary hour-long car ride, they arrived at the local community center. Sometimes Vanessa stays for co-op, or even teaches at times; other times she gets a few hours to do as she pleases. Usually doing as she pleases means running errands.

"Be good, Penny. I love you."
"I will, Mom. I love you too." she responded with an almost indiscernible eye roll.
"See you in a few hours. Remember it's the last week." She said, as she waved and tried her hardest not to embarrass her pre-teen daughter.

Everyone in town recognizes Rampy, so she can't exactly get around quickly and discreetly when she drives her. "Rampy" is a 1963 Corvair Rampside pickup. it's quite a peculiar looking vehicle, but she loves it. Maybe she loves it because it's peculiar. It's mint green and it only comes out in the spring and summer. Rampy also makes an appearance in town every year for the Fourth of July parade. She's gotta advertise the Lodge somehow, right?

There's always someone waving, or hollering out for her to stop and chat. Summer was fast approaching, and Main Street was getting all spruced up for the deluge of Southerners to descend upon the Northern part of the state. Chip's Lodge isn't the only resort around, that's for sure. It is, however the only one with the best peace and quiet, if that's what you're after.

"Stocking up for the week, Nessie?" Earl owned the General Store in town. He had become like family and he and Vanessa had gotten to know eachother well from her weekly visits over the past five years.

"You know me too well, Earl," she replied, as she grabbed a shopping basket from its stack.
"Coffee?"
"Cream and sugar. Just like always."
"I should have known."
"One day I'm going to come in and ask for a tea, just to freak you out." She grinned as she leaned over the counter to give him a chaste peck on the cheek.
"I'm too old for that, Nessie. Don't go trying to freak out an old man like me. I can't take it."

Earl's store was small, and quite crowded, but shopping there was often the highlight of her week. The dust and clutter were characteristic of his old store. He'd told her stories about how it was the oldest structure in town, and he was proud to call it his. She strolled past a shelf full of old wine bottles and gave them a quick puff of breath, sending up a swirling cloud of dust.

"Are you full up for the summer?" he asked, as he rang up and bagged her purchases.
"I've actually still got some openings, which is surprising."
"That is surprising. Wonder if more people are staying in Baytown this year."
"Could be. They did just open that huge hotel on the water."
He shook his head vigorously, making the fishing lures attached to his cap jingle like Christmas bells.
"That's just not my bag. I just don't understand why you'd want to go on vacation, and stay in a giant hassle of a hotel, with everyone else and their uncle right nearby. The North is meant to be quiet, peaceful and remote."
"You're preaching to the choir Earl. You know I like to be remote."
"I hear that, Nessie. You've got quite the gem up there on the water. Best resort around, if you ask me."
"Thank you Earl."
He smiled, crinkling the corners of his eyes and nodded.
"Here's your goodies. See you next week?"
"Sure thing. Thanks for the coffee, Earl."
"Say hi to Penny for me."

She'd love to say that having her daughter so young made her mature quickly and that it made her get her shit together, but it didn't. All she knew was shopping, drinking and the occasional recreational drug or two. She had no idea how to take care of herself, let alone be responsible for another human being, especially one completely dependent on her. She'd love to say that young motherhood is what shaped her into the woman she is today, but that didn't do it either. It was when Penny's dad died, that reality reared its ugly head and bit her on the ass.

When they had vanished from Oceanside, their path led them far away and she thought she'd found her soul again when she discovered Chip's Lodge. She had fallen in love with the place and it's peaceful isolation after staying there just one night. After a long time and a lot of hard work, she was somehow fortunate enough to make the Lodge her own.

She'd been called a lot of things in her life, but until very recently, fortunate was not one of them.