mallory_quinn (mallory_quinn) wrote in low_tide, @ 2009-11-22 20:31:00 |
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Entry tags: | isabelle shaw, mallory quinn |
Bonding in the Cereal Aisle
Izzy wondered if everyone in Key West had decided to go grocery shopping at the same time. The local Winn-Dixie was packed with locals stocking up for Thanksgiving, and most of them seemed to have arrived before the witch. Queues of shoppers and their overflowing carts stretched out from every checkout lane and the blonde resigned herself to a long wait, not willing to give up and have to come again later and start over.
She'd taken one look at the contents of the refrigerator, mostly just restaurant leftovers and a few staples, and declared she was going to the store. The one housemate who was there had just rolled her eyes and declined to come along, and Izzy wasn't sure what to make of the response. The tech-witch knew from both the diary and what memories had survived from 'Isabelle' that she'd frequently dined out at the many restaurants in Key West rather than try and cook herself, having few cooking skills. That was another of the many things Izzy didn't have in common with 'Isabelle': she'd had to learn to cook in self-defense, otherwise she'd have starved as her mother had worked so much Izzy had to fend for herself a lot of the time.
Mallory was something of a shopping expert. Since being on her own, she'd figured out how to stretch her grocery dollar as far as she could, and she had her coupons clipped and ready when she stepped into the store. The crowd was a little daunting, but the redhead took a cart and started towards the produce section. She'd been reading up on pre-natal care, checking out some books at the library rather than getting them at work, and it recommended certain food for the health of an unborn baby. At least she was used to eating right most of the time, although she supposed junk food cravings might kick in in a few months.
She picked a few grapes off of a stalk and popped them into her mouth when she felt like no one was looking, then grabbed a small net bag of oranges and tucked them into the basket of her cart. Even with the crowd, she enjoyed shopping. If nothing else, it was a way to get out of the house.While she was on her way to pick up a coupleof loaves of bread, she spotted a semi-familiar face. Pausing long enough to recall the name, a frown momentarily creased her brow, but then she smiled.
"I wasn't aware you knew where the grocery store was." Isabelle had come into the shop a few times and they'd had a couple of random conversations elsewhere. The blonde had always struck her as a little dim, a little shallow. Nice enough, but shallow. "Doing your holiday shopping?"
Izzy swallowed her initial response to the comment and smiled back at the semi-familiar woman. The witch couldn't for the life of her remember the redhead's name, and there was no way to know if she were referred to in her other self's diary until Izzy talked to her. "I just followed the crowd and here it was," the blonde joked. "I thought I'd see what the inside of one of these was like, maybe try my hand at cooking." She couldn't just blurt out the truth: that her old self's habits of going out to eat all the time wasn't what she wanted and none of her housemates could cook worth a damn.
She paused her cart next to the other woman's and peered into it. "What about you? Getting ready for the big feast?"
"I looked in the fridge and realized all I had on hand was leftovers. It's only me this year, so I won't be cooking much, but I'm getting some help from home, so I won't starve." Which reminded her, she needed to check with the mailman so that she could pick up her package before the over-the-fence neighbors decided to make off with it.
"If you need navigation help, I can lend a hand," she offered half-seriously. "I shop at least once a week when they put their flyers out, so I know my way around. Having a good week?"
"It's been a strange week, but good." Izzy fiddled with her grocery list, wondering how well she was supposed to know this woman. She wasn't acting like they were close friends, but she clearly knew her at least in passing. "I almost feel like a different person. I'll be flying north on Tuesday to have Thanksgiving with the rest of the family it will be good to see them again."
Izzy felt a bit guilty talking about it, but the witch was both excited and a little scared at the idea of seeing her family. On one hand she had some memories leftover from her other self, but the part of her that felt 'real' hadn't had blood family in ages and she didn't know what to make of it. Being part of a family that was ridiculously wealthy to boot just added to the sense of strangeness. "I wanted to start learning how to cook though, it would be good to be self-sufficient. It'd be nice not to have to go out all the time."
An older woman behind them cleared her throat impatiently, and Mallory pushed her cart along, easing out of the way. "We should get out of the road before we get run over," she cracked, moving into the next aisle. "I know they have some recipes cards for simple meals near the frozen food section. I can help you find stuff if you want."
The witch rolled her eyes at the throat clearing behind her, but dutifully moved her cart out of the way so the older woman could pass by them. She ignored the eyes that stared daggers at them, would their conversation really delay the old cow to that degree? The place was already crazy, nobody was getting out of here quickly.
Izzy didn't really need the help finding her way around, but it would play into the gradual changes she planned to try and show in 'Isabelle' as time passed. People would be less likely to think she had lost her mind with that than if she seemingly become a completely different person overnight. "That would be nice of you, thank you." She told the other woman, and finally gave into the inevitable. "I'm so sorry, I should know this but for the life of me I can't remember your name." The flush of embarrassment was genuine, even if it did play into her other self's well earned reputation of a ditz.
"It's Mallory," the redhead answered, somewhat distracted as she looked over the packaged bread on the shelves. Whole grain would probably be better, and she plucked a bag up by the plastic end and put it into the cart. "And learning to cook isn't that difficult. It's usually just a matter of reading the directions, but it can be a little daunting if you're just getting started. How long have you been on your own?"
Depending on how you define 'on your own', since I was twelve. Izzy thought to herself. "I was in a Sorority all through college," she told the redhead, relying on the flashes of memory and diary from 'Isabelle', "so since June really. Some friends and I share a place on Southard Street, but we mostly eat out or order in. I thought it was time I started learning how to cook for myself, in case I have to."
The blonde plucked a package of English Muffins off the shelf and then reached for a loaf of whole wheat. "What about you?"
"I live over on Greene Street, just a few blocks from where I work. Managed to find a place that was decently priced, so I really lucked out. Real estate prices are crazy down here. I'm surprised the renters' market isn't tighter, but I was lucky that it isn't."
Whether she'd have to move in a few months was anyone's guess, if only because she'd need more room, but her cozy little apartment was just right the time being. "What sorority did you pledge?"
"Delta Phi Epsilon," Izzy responded as they moved their carts along the aisle. "It was a lot of fun and my sisters were all classy ladies." She was taking everything on this from the diary, so she said it with a mental grain of salt but had no way of knowing if she were telling it like it really was or just how her alternate self thought it was.
"The housing prices are crazy down here, but with the recession you can find some gems at lower prices. In a few years people will make a killing, or so I'm told." She believed it, given what her family paid for the house she lived in, but only time would tell for sure. "What brought you down to Key West anyway? You don't hear too many yankees down here, unless they came from New York City."
"I left home to start college in North Carolina, got a small scholarship, but school didn't work out like I thought it would." She'd enjoyed her brief time at college, but she'd taken on too much with her first couple of semesters and ended up burned out. It was in her plans to go back in a few years, but with the kid on the way she was probably going to have to put that on the back burner.
"I've only been down here for about eight months, but I like it so far. It's nice to live near the beach at this time of year. It gets cold as hell back home in November."
"I can believe it!" Izzy responded fervently. "I did an internship for six weeks in Chicago last winter," not to mention a longer period in her other reality before inhabiting this body. "I never want to be north of the Mason-Dixon in the winter again unless it's on a ski trip." She hated the cold, having never really gotten used to a northern winter in either reality.
"What were you majoring in when you were at UNC?"
"I had finally decided on literature, but between my courseload and working two jobs it all got to be a little much. I'll probably go back eventually, but life is kind of in the way right now."
The back wheels of Mallory's cart squeaked as she pushed it down the aisle, and she selected a few cans of soup to put them in the basket. "Are you working while going to school? You're probably having an easier time of it than I did."
"I graduated this Spring, I work over at the Hyatt now." Izzy responded, conferring with her list and grabbing two cans of cream of mushroom. She had worked while going to school in her other reality, but here things were different. "I had a part time job on campus when I was at school, but that was just for fun money."
The witch was thinking she actually had a lot in common with Mallory, but the Izzy from this dimension had hardly anything in common with her. "Working at a bookstore is a good job for a Lit major I'd think."
"I've always liked books, and working with them is kind of fun," the redhead answered. "Even some of the lightweight romance stuff is okay, even if I hardly ever read that. Since we started making recommendations we've picked up a little business. With the way the economy has been going, every little bit helps. I cringe almost everytime I hear about how bad things are on the news."
She exited the aisle, turning her cart carefully to avoid bumping a display of mac-and-cheese boxes, then started down the next lane. "It must be...interesting to share a house with your sorority sisters. I was never asked to pledge, but I probably wouldn't have fit in. The weekends must get pretty wild at your house."
"Well, not all of them are sorority sisters," Izzy corrected her. "One of them wasn't a member, but all four of us went to college together. It can get kind of crazy on Saturday nights, but we're all working full time so it isn't like we moved the Sorority down to Key West. Jessica is getting married in January, so she'll be moving out after that and I think we're all going to start going our separate ways." Which was a good thing in that the fewer people close to her who knew the 'old' Isabelle the less likely they would notice anything different about her.
"Sorority life isn't for everyone that's true." She nodded sagely, as if this were a profound statement. It played into her image a little, she just hoped Mallory wouldn't be too offended.
If Mallory was a catty sort of person, she'd have made note that she probably wouldn't have pledged even if she'd been asked because she already had a personality of her own, but there was no need to be insulting. Besides, an actual conversation with Isabelle said that maybe the blonde wasn't all that bad. Image was one thing; getting to know someone was different. Lord knew she was going to need friends in the coming months.
"I'm trying to organize a open mike sort of thing at the store," she said as she perused the contents label of a box of ceral. "Poets, maybe a couple of guitar players, stuff like that. I think it'd get the word out about the shop and promote being connected to the community. If you'd like, you can stop by and hang out. That is, if I can get my manager to agree to setting things up."
Izzy beamed. "That would be nice, thank you!" She tucked an errant strand of hair back behind her ear and thought about what could be done to help. Isabelle might have been shallow and ditzy, but she hadn't been heartless or intentionally mean, there wouldn't be anything out of character at trying to help out. "I can look into listing your store with the hotel, sometimes people are looking for good reads to have on the beach or by the pool. If you have events they'd be advertised along with those at the bars."
"We took out an ad in the local arts rag, but that was before the other idea came about," the redhead explained. "But any word of mouth can only help us. If you know anyone who's into artistic stuff, push them in our direction."
"I do know someone, she does graphic design for the City. I'll let her know and see if she's interested." Izzy promised. It would be good for both her and Rhiannon to get to know the locals better, and this was a perfect starting point.
"If I could get your phone number so we can be in touch, that'd be great." Mallory dug around in her pockets, came up with a piece of scrap paper. She still needed milk and some other perishables on her list, but that could be held off for a few more minutes. If she could make this work, it'd be another step towards job security. "Thanks for offering to help."
"No problem." While 'Isabelle' had no idea what it was like to be worried about how to make ends meet, Izzy had vivid memories of times where she had to watch every penny. "I'm happy to help." She took out her iphone and entered Mallory's information in the contacts, then scribbled her own on the scrap paper.
"Besides, the more we can support local businesses the better it is for tourism in the long run, right?"
"Absolutely." She would see if she couldn't get some flyers printed up, maybe just a few dozen. Kinko's was open twenty-four hours, if nothing else. She could even take Hayden's earlier advice and bring some coffee along for refreshments. This could work.
"I'll give you a call in a couple of days, let you know how things look. Do you need any help today with your shopping? I wasn't sure you'd know your way around, but you seem to be on top of things."
Izzy made a show of looking uncertain for a moment. "I don't know. They've got labels on the aisles, right? I'm sure I'll manage. Thanks for your help though Mallory, I appreciate it." She really didn't need the help, and it would be faster for both of them to get what they needed on their own.
"Then I will leave you to your own devices. It was nice talking to you, Isabelle. I'll be in touch." Mallory piloted her cart away from where the blonde was standing, feeling better about having gotten to know the other woman. Sorority or not, she wasn't really an airhead. Maybe they could even become friends. She was going to need support later. But that was later. For now, everything was going as smoothly as could be expected. For now.