Back to the Future (Sequel to Outlander Reversed)

Three

At the store Summer’d mentioned while strapping the second car seat into her truck, she wasn’t surprised by her sister-in-law’s initial reaction. She remembered all too well how most stores–or rather, shops–in eighteenth-Century Scotland were barely the size of a house, going by today’s standards. Not only that, but they were crammed wall-to-wall–floor-to-ceiling, even–with every possible item that could be acquired by their proprietor and might be needed by someone in one of the surrounding Villages.

        Carrying her nephew since Jenny was already panting a bit from the exertion combined with the increased heat she wasn’t used to, she led her inside. Whether they needed both or not, she was quick to pull two carts outta their storage area, one getting pushed over to the brunette woman. She was quick to strap said nephew into the seat of one, a smile curving her lips as she told her that the other’d give her something to lean on to catch her breath, if she needed it.

        As early in the Day as they’d set out on this errand, they’d managed to beat the worst of the Day’s crowd. The Elvin woman grinned as she headed toward the home-and-pharmacy End of the store, keeping her pace slower than normal to accommodate her sister-in-law. She made no bones about how she preferred avoiding the crush of the elderly that seemed to think this store was something akin to what she called a coffee shop. If she waited too late in the Day to come, they’d all be gathered here like it was a placeta merely socialize, and their blocking the aislesta do that socializing made her shopping take longer than it should.

        “Not that I’ve any real problems with the elderly,” Summer assured her. “Helheimr, I’m technically elderly, if ya really care to label it.”

        “Aye, did ye no say that ye’re almost five Centuries in age?” the brunette woman queried.

        “Four,” she corrected her with a laugh. “I was born on Beltane of 1621–a Century to the Day before Jamie, like I said.”

        “Och, now I recall,” Jenny laughed. “But aye, I see yer point about being elderly in your own right, if ye think about it like that.”

        “Doesn’t mean I don’t get annoyed with others clogging the aisles so I can’t get through, whether I’m technically among their ranks or not,” the Elvin woman admitted.

        “Aye, I canna say I wouldna be annoyed by that, meself,” she agreed, nodding as she followed her obediently like a leashed puppy. “So, what did ye come to this side of the store for?”

        “To stock up on something we call body wash,” Summer answered. “It’s a type of soap for cleaning your body, but it doesn’t burn like lye soap does.”

        “It doesna?” The brunette woman’s eyes widened in surprise.

        “Only if ya get it in your eyes–it’s what we call an eye irritant,” she chuckled. “Otherwise, it’ll getcha clean, but not peel your stupid skin off like boiling Water.”

        “Sounds lovely,” Jenny mused, veritably purring at the imagined luxury.

        Turning down the aisle where such products were shelved, the Elvin woman knew she was bound to be overwhelmed by the number of options in front of her face like Jamie once was. Gently resting a hand on hers for a moment, she told her that they were gonna focus on those with the word Dove on the bottle for now. She knew that’d prolly be overwhelming enough, but not nearly as bad as if they tried slogging through all the brands on the shelves.

        Her sister-in-law’s expression screamed that she was definitely overwhelmed by even that prospect, but certainly grateful to have a single area to focus her attention on. That made Summer grin as she pulled a pair of bottles off the shelf she’d stopped in front of, their labels held where she could read them.

        One of them read Winter Care in a purplish-blue, rounded-print font just below the word she’d specified before. She quickly explained that Dove was the brand name, whereas the other two words meant it was a really good blend to use during the Winter, when one’s skin was dry and prone to damage. But the second bottle said Summer Care and featured a citrus fruit that’d been cut in half on its label just beneath the brand name. That meant it was good for use during the Summer, when a whole different host of factors could dry out one’s skin and lead to damage and wounds in their own rights.