She hit the Target in Novato with a long wish list. Conditioner. Jake’s provisioning was pretty basic when it came to hair care. Some hair dye to get rid of the too-conspicuous red. Scissors to cut hair and bandages. There were razors in the bathroom, so she didn’t need those. Boxers. She guessed at a size 34 or maybe 36. He was a big guy. Better too big than too small and gaping open, God forbid. She picked up a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, because you didn’t have to know sizes. Extra large was close enough.
For herself she found some Nikes for traction on wet decks, some jeans, and four or five long-sleeve and elbow-length-sleeve stretchy tops she could layer. A jacket and some socks, undies, and some bras and that would pretty much do her. She also got a sleep shirt—she wasn’t big on pajamas or flannel nightgowns, and the little camisoles with short-shorts looked way too skimpy to wear around a Viking who was probably used to raping and pillaging.
She rolled her lips between her teeth. She wouldn’t think about that. But she did. The thought of cutting his flesh or shooting him made her ill.
Pepper spray! That would take his mind off any raping and pillaging he might have in mind but not cause permanent damage. Not something they sold at Target, though. No Internet research on her missing iPhone, either. She’d have to ask.
She wound her way over to the pharmacy part of the store. She scooped boxes of gauze bandage and rolls of tape into her cart. The shelves had about fifty kinds of disinfectant. When it came down to it, she didn’t know anything about caring for wounds. His were still draining. Her fresh bandages were wetly pink and yellow this morning. That couldn’t be good. She needed some help. But she couldn’t go to a doctor.
Pharmacist! She couldn’t ask too many questions without arousing suspicion. But she might be able to get some help. She went up to the counter that said Pickup over the window.
A young Asian woman with long hair and a name tag that said “Pharmacist” looked up from her computer screen. “Can I help you?”
“Uh, sorry. What would you recommend for cleaning wounds? My . . . my husband . . .” Conjugal images rose in her head and had to be thrust forcibly down. “My husband has some stitches in a cut, and I was wondering what to use to keep the area clean.” She wouldn’t mention just how many stitches. Or the drain.
“I like hydrogen peroxide at half strength. Just mix it with water. Finish with Betadine.”
“Thank you.” Lucy smiled in relief. Too bad she couldn’t ask when to take the stitches out. She’d just get told that his doctor should decide that. But there was one thing a pharmacist would absolutely know. “The doctor gave him Vicodin seven-fifties, but he still seems to be in pain.”
“Add some ibuprofen. The combination is really effective.” She continued to stick labels to pill bottles. “I can’t believe doctors don’t routinely prescribe a cocktail. It’s really accepted therapy at this point. But no worries. Give him four over-the-counter strength at a time along with the Vicodin. Have him take it with food. That stuff does eat away at your stomach lining.”
“If I can get him to take it at all. I had to threaten him last night.”
“Men!” The pharmacist rolled her eyes. “So macho.”
“Oh yeah.” Who was more macho than a Viking?
“He’s probably afraid of getting addicted. Tell him from me,” she said with a wicked smile, “that as long as the drugs have something to do, like relieve pain, he won’t get addicted. He’ll stop taking them naturally when he doesn’t need them anymore. Their whole purpose is to let him sleep so he can heal. And don’t let him chase the pain. Steady doses, that’s the trick. Doctor’s orders.” She winked. “He won’t know we’re talking Doctor of Pharmacy.”
Lucy had to chuckle. “Thanks.” She waved and returned to aisle three to scoop up extralarge bottles of hydrogen peroxide and Betadine, a huge bottle of ibuprofen gel caps for fast action, and a big bag of cotton balls. This Target didn’t have perishables, so she’d hit a grocery store on the way out of town. So much for one stop.
She moved to the registers. The girl who rang her up was hefty, with a blotchy complexion and too many earrings. “Know where I can get some pepper spray?” Lucy asked as casually as she could. Now she’d be up to three stops.
“Gee, no,” the girl said. “What do you need that for?”
“I live alone in a kind of out-of-the-way place. You just feel better with some protection.”
The girl glanced to the boxer shorts Lucy was putting into the bag. Oops, the living-alone thing was maybe not the most believable choice of lies. “He gets out of line, does he? I had one like that. Pepper spray’s good. But I’ve got no idea where to get it. Why don’t you go online?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I will,” Lucy muttered. Over Jake’s dead body. And maybe hers.
“That’ll be four hundred and sixty-six dollars. Debit or credit?”
“Cash, actually.” She counted out twenty-four twenties from her roll.
The girl’s eyes were big. Oops again. “Don’t see cash for anything over twenty bucks anymore,” she murmured.
“My mom had a fetish for paying cash. Got it from her mom, who lived through the Depression. I guess for me it’s kind of a genetic aversion to credit cards.”
The girl made change. “You know.” She cleared her throat. “You can leave him. There’s a hotline that will find you a place to stay where he can’t get you. Just call information and ask for the Family Violence Center.”
Lucy smiled, sad as that made her feel inside. “You’re very kind. Maybe I’ll call.”
She left feeling guilty. That girl had been in an abusive relationship and made it out. She found the courage to be generous to others. Lucy hadn’t had it tough at all. Her life had been pretty okay. So she’d traveled in time and was on the run with a man from 912 who might enjoy raping and pillaging.
But on the whole, things could be worse.
Are you crazy? Strange as it was, she had the strongest feeling she was in the right place, doing the right thing. She found herself standing in front of the newspaper box outside the Target exit. Why didn’t she feel more panicked about the whole situation?
Of course she was panicked, underneath. She was just too tired to feel it. That was all. She flicked quarters into the machine for a copy of the Chronicle. Better look for news of the time machine and any search for her and Galen. She wanted to just sit on one of the benches near the store entrance and scan the paper immediately, but she had to get back to the boat before Galen got up to anything. She loaded her bags in the Chevy’s trunk and tooled out of the parking lot. Besides, why should she panic? No one was going to come looking for them in a marina down a dirt road in this backwater. They were safe, as long as he didn’t kill anybody or something.
Tempted as she was to just go straight back to the marina, vacuum-packed meals weren’t especially attractive. If Galen was going to get his strength back, he needed to chow down. What did Vikings eat? Fish probably, and pretty simple food. No kung pao chicken. There was a Safeway a few blocks down.
The two little fridges were going to be packed. . . .
Galen waited until he heard the growl of her “car” recede before he got out of bed. The far-seer was fascinating, but there were more important things to do at the moment. He wanted his sword. She must have brought it in from the car. She would not leave so precious a thing where others could steal it.
He shoved himself up, cursing his weakness. Had they done something to him in that place of glass and steel to make him weak? But then, he had lost much blood by the time the men had pushed him onto that rolling metal cart. By all rights he should be dead. He leaned against the wood of the passageway, limping past the indoor privy. He knew full well that she had hidden the sword from him. She wanted him to remain in her power.