And Then She Was Gone

Small Town Vibes

Suddenly, a new sense of excitement hit her as she was taking in the preparations being made for the upcoming festivities starting tonight. Apparently at 5pm, making it all the more perfect. She would be able to do some quick shopping at the grocery store, get everything home, do some trail hiking with the pup and then come back out after Shelbys energy was well spent to see some of the towns night life action at its peak with the festival. Each town she had stayed at before was quiet and very much kept to itself, however Columbia falls Montana seemed to give her a perfectly timed welcome with open arms.

As she hit the next stop light, her eyes caught sight of the family owned grocery store, the only one along the long strip she had slowly traveled down in awe. Hungry Willies, so it seemed to be charmingly called. The store had a big old fat pig as its mascot cut from particle board with its paint fading from inclement weather and sun exposure sitting juxtaposed to the front entrance. The building was pulled back from the strip ever so slightly to allow for a slightly larger makeshift parking lot.

Turning on her right turn signal she pulled into the lot once the traffic flow resumed and began to sift through for an empty spot in which she could stake her claim. A slight annoyance formed due to its fullness, not believing for a second that all the cars parked here were actually utilizing the store. Eventually she found a spot, tucked away at the far end and parked in between a beat up old Volkswagen van whose prime was left in the sixties, and a large electric blue ford 350 pickup truck, souped up ostentatiously with big shining rims and a lift kit which was practically singing to the hills that its owner had a small penis.

Purse in hand, she walked quickly to the entrance of the grocery store, its automatic doors groaning and skidding with friction as they opened at such a slow rate suggesting at the very least that they required a service if not complete replacement. Wearing a warm smile on her face she stepped in to the dimly lit store flushed with soft yellow lighting and styled in a fashion showing its last update was most likely in the eighties. This. Place. Was. Perfect.

Grabbing a rickety old cart, she began to walk through the aisles, picking up the basic necessities for her and Shelby's survival. Some fresh fruit, a couple of large bags of nuts, chips and dip, canned raviolis, top quality dog food, and a couple of packs of bottled water. All the while being startled by random popups of cardboard hidden in and around the aisles of that fat little pig with a bursting belly encouraging her to take a look at the buy one get ones and the 10 for 10's.
God, she wished she had brought her Camera. Aunt Shelly would just love this place. In fact, the pig alone would have sold her into shopping here as opposed to the massive chain market she frequented back at home.

Heading down to the last string of aisles, she was in search of toiletries to replace her ever dwindling supply before she ran out. There was one other occupant in the aisle who was staring at the feminine product section with furrowed eyebrows in obvious confusion, most likely due to the fact that he was a young male. Holding back a chuckle to herself, she averted her gaze and turned to the body washes, trying to find the highest quality of wash that Hungry Willies could offer. The options were few, and rather disappointing but she was being forced to take the plunge and make a decision between honey hibiscus and prickly pear exfoliating scrubs which were mass produced from one of the larger soap companies.

Holding both in her hand as if she was a literal scale weighing both items to see which way she leaned. So perturbed from her dilemma of straying from her normal Vanilla scent, she was caught off guard by a clearing of the throat which made her quickly avert her eyes over to the boy who was once further down the aisle struggling over what type of tampon or pad to buy, now standing timidly at the end of her cart.

"Excuse me, miss." the young man bumbled out, standing tall and lanky probably not being a day over 15 with a delicate amount of blonde peach fuzz trying to erupt in a slow painful fashion exclusively on the pointy end of his chin.

"Yes?" she turned still holding both of the washes in either hand, obviously a weighted decision still being carefully thought about.

"I um..." he said with a slight shift of his feet, moving his body uncomfortably as he looked down and then back up to her rapidly before looking back down to the floor again. "I was wondering, if you wouldn't mind helping me real quick." his eyes looked back up at her in a pleadingly embarrassed way, a bright blue wide eyed expression just begging to be saved from his current situation.

Elizabeth's eyes switched from him, to the area where he was standing, and this time couldn't stifle her chuckle, but she didn't keep him waiting in anxious silence, "Sure, what do you need?" slowly pushing her way forward using her forearms to direct the cart as she still held onto the body washes in question, stopping pointedly in front of the feminine section as he hurriedly followed her steps.

"She said a variety pack, but I'm not sure which one. I also don't see any of the flavors listed. I'm assuming the orange means orange and the green means lime, but I don't know what variety pack she needs because there is also a lemon, lime and grape pack." he said in obvious frustration as one of his long lanky arm extended upwards to run through his curly blonde cherub like locks stopping midway and gripping them in exasperation.

"What?" Elizabeth looked over to him, eyes wide in shock at what just spewed out of his mouth. Trying to figure out how he conceptually thought a piece of cotton shoved up a woman's vagina could somehow produce an effect enabling her to taste the flavor.

She placed both body washes down in the cart, opting to just purchase both, recognizing that this boy was in dire need of help. Quickly she crossed her arms, elevating one hand to cover her mouth as she slowly turned away from him eyes still as wide as saucers but looking towards the shelf, every fiber of her being doing its best to control any urge to vocally emit a sound which would most assuredly send him in a fit of such severe embarrassment to which he might never recover.

After a moment of silence, she used the free hand not covering her lips to reach down and pick up a variety pack, unfortunately for him not flavored but formulated to control the womanly flow at its different peaks during its cycle. A pack of light, regular and super. Or in his world grape, lemon and lime. Removing her hand now from her face after regaining composure, she delicately said in a muted tone for their ears only, "I think this is what she meant. Its a popular brand, you cant go wrong. You might want to take a picture with it on your phone should you find yourself in this unfortunate predicament again."

"Oh my God, thank you so much." he breathed out in relief taking the box slowly and awkwardly as if its contents were already soiled. "Can I...Can I just hug you? I've been standing here for a half an hour, and three people have walked by and I just couldn't bear to ask them." his arms were extended in an sheepishly hopeful manner, attempting to show his waves of gratitude with a prom night styled hug.

She couldn't help but emit just a small laugh and a nod in acceptance as she opened her arms to the lanky teen who was ever so grateful for her being his knight in shining armor. He scooped in and gave her a hug of epic proportions ending it with a pat and some additional thanks before quickly leaving the embrace, cheeks immediately growing red from contact with a female he obviously found to be very attractive. Ah, high school hormones... nobody misses them.

"Again, thanks! My sister will appreciate your help as well." his eyes diverted to the two body washes thrown into the top basket of the cart carelessly. "If I can offer some help, I noticed you trying to make a decision too. I don't think either one of them is right, you should stick with the Lavender scent you're using, its a good fit." he said rather decidedly with a nod, before giving a short wave and marching down the aisle to face his next fire breathing dragon, the clerk at the register who would now have to help him purchase the box of tampons.

Oh okay, he's a pothead. It's all making sense now.

She thought to herself rather bemusedly about the absurdity of the situation which had just unfolded for her to not only bear witness to but to participate in. Another chuckle slipped past her lips, as she grabbed both of the bottles of body wash and returned them to the shelf considering his idea for the scent of lavender as more than agreeable, Eventually finding a bottle and then matching it to a shampoo and conditioner she would use once she was eventually out of her vanilla. Up to the checkout she went, unfortunately missing the young boy and what she was sure would have been an entertaining final battle at checkout.