Short Story from 308: The Local Drugstore

All right, short story time! Not that anyone reads these. They're mostly for my own entertainment, but really...if you have the time, please do read my stories and leave me comments, critiques, anything. I really would love input on my writing and I haven't gotten much around here.

Except, this isn't really a story you should be critiquing. The exercise here is called Plot Potential. You are to write five "mini" stories, to lay down the foundation of a larger story. Here's three mini stories. Check, check, check it out. :)

"The Local Drugstore"

Ava wasn’t used to the wad of toilet paper bunched between her legs. She stood in aisle four, in the feminine products section, across from the vaginal lube and XXL condoms. Her ten-year-old eyes glazed over the abundant stacks of maxi pads, tampons, panty liners, diapers, and napkins. She pinched one of the tightly bound plastic packages with her fingers, poking at the ribs of lined pads. Which to choose?

“Daddy,” she said timidly. “I need help.”

Her tone flounced through her father’s ears, like a whistle to a soldier, signaling the call to action. Dave had been standing off to the side and Ava noticed his hands in his pockets were disguising a nervous shake. He sputtered out guttural mumbles and picked up a small package of super maxi pads.

“Um, well baby,” he said, his voice quavering. “It depends on how heavy your flow is. And…yeah.” She watched his eyes scan over the hundreds of possibilities, trying to find the solution, as though the right package would suddenly illuminate like a carnival prize. She turned her gaze back to the boxes. The names of the packages on the top shelves were hardly visible. She shifted her weight to the tips of her toes and pushed off with her calves to read their descriptions.

“Are you sure Mommy didn’t have some left over at home?” Ava asked.

Mommy hadn’t had her period for several years.

“No baby,” he said. “Sorry.”

Ava eased off her toes and planted her feet firmly to the vinyl floor. She blew back a strand of dark brown hair with a quick gust from her lips, then tucked it behind her small tanned ear. She looked to her father. Her almond eyes twinkled back at him and glistened with a heavy teardrop. Dave opened his arms and let Ava collide into him, and the few tears in her eyes dotted his jean jacket, darkening the spots in a polka dot pattern.

It would’ve been easier with Mommy.

“Here,” he said, once he let her go. He quickly scanned the aisle again and chose a variety pack of maxi pads from Always. “This one has light, medium, and heavy in case you aren’t sure.”

Ava took it and hugged it close to her body. “Thank you, Daddy.”

They started walking towards the cash register when Ava stopped them. She clutched Dave’s arm with a gentle squeeze. “I want to visit Mommy after this. Can we?”

“We went yesterday, hon,” he said, scratching the scruff on his beard. He hadn’t shaved in weeks. There was no need to shave anymore.

Ava nodded. “Okay. Then tomorrow? I’ll pick out the flowers for her and then we can decorate the grass…”

Dave’s throat tightened. Ava saw his face and the red tinge that shone through the gruff on his cheeks. She then felt the toilet paper wad bunched in her crotch, dampening with an unwelcome sticky warmness. Though she felt it uncomfortable, she no longer cared if it leaked and stained her pants. It wasn’t time to go home. Mommy wasn’t home.

***

Mr. Bishop came in with a stainless steel cane, hunching over it gingerly, with careful footsteps. He made his way to the back of the store in five minutes. He smoothed his soft white hair down with a black handkerchief. He came to the pharmacy window and he smiled at the young pharmacy girl. A golden brown ponytail hung high up in the air.

“Hey Linda,” he said to her. “Is my prescription ready?”

“Let me check, Mr. Bishop. Just a sec.” She whirled around and looked at the A-D files, searching for the white paper bag full of medicine. When she found B, Bishop, she plucked it from its place and brought it back to the counter. It was the usual, the familiar package of meds for his ulcers. He had a second bag. She blinked several times to make sure and Mr. Bishop curled his lips into a devilish smirk. Viagra.

Mr. Bishop let out gusts of belly laughs. He wheezed the air in and out of his lungs rapidly. “Yep. I owe Mrs. Bishop a treat, especially since my hip’s not so bum anymore.”

“Well, just be careful,” Linda said, laughing along. She handed him the bags after he paid for them.

He lingered for a moment, then leaned on his cane to gear up for the painstaking walk.

***

Zack walked into the store while whistling a humble tune to himself. He was casual, cool, and collected. Keeping anticipation bottled was difficult when the cork was loosened.

He remembered lying in bed with Emily, just moments earlier. He had stripped off her T-shirt and her boot-cut carpenter jeans, leaving her in a turquoise bra and panties. He knelt beside her on the bed and laid his hand on her belly. She held his head in her hands and pulled him towards her to kiss him hungrily on the lips. His hand started to migrate, reaching in beneath the thin panties and played with the crispy bristles of her pubic hair. He ran his fingers through them, parting them into five aisles. Emily jerked his hand away when he started to dig farther down. She twisted her index finger lifted and right. No condom, no nookie.

Zack stood in aisle four, facing the condoms. The hoards of latex laid out in front of him were like a museum of keys that led towards a treasure trove hidden away in a far off village. He chose the ribbed and lubricated, specifically designed for her pleasure, apparently. He walked off and as he left the aisle, he spotted a young Asian girl with inquisitive almond eyes, followed by a man in a jean jacket. She looks so scared.

Before leaving with the condoms, Zack spotted the ice cream bar by the cash registers. He sat down next to a pungent man, the only seat available at the time. He asked for a pint of chocolate malted crunch, Emily’s favorite, and the bearded man clapped him on the back with a celebratory cheer.

“Congratulations! Never heard o’ that flavor before in my life!”

Zack flipped his thumb up swiftly and smiled at the stranger. Something was pulling him, bonding him to the seat of his chair. Though the urges in his body wanted him to return to Emily’s soft embrace, he stayed in the store, sitting on the stool and let the world go by in nimble flashes.