The store wasn't necessarily the biggest, or at least when compared to what Charlene was familiar with in Florida. But then, many parts of Florida had seen their historic downtowns become overcrowded or saw larger companies being able to outperform small family businesses to the point that many of them closed. Some did in places, but they were often in either smaller towns or connected to specialty "farmer's markets" that traveled around and made certain aspects of shopping fairly easy. The big stores, however, were often occupying a lot of land area in order to cover all the assorted aisles needed, and those were even with stores that weren't "super centers." Leona's Grocery was somewhat different as it occupied a place in the more central parts of Moon Lake. It had a fine brick or stone front with large front windows that had the store's name and a painted image of a lioness seated with cubs beside her.
"A lot of this is rather amazing... when you look it over," Charlene found herself commenting off hand as she looked into the interior with its straight aisles and like with the frozen and fresh vegetable areas seeming to be toward the back of the store, likely to keep them out of the sunlight that might come in through the front windows. Charlene also noted that the interior also held a second floor about halfway into the store with shelves up there.
"Yeah, it’s been in the family for years," Jacob commented from beside her, "we came to Moon Lake at a time when it was really just getting started as a Bonafide town and not just a few collections of cabins and houses here and there."
"It wasn't always a town?" Charlene wondered as she looked to him with some surprise, though also privately noting other things.
The stores she'd done her shopping in in Florida often didn't have the store owner, or what she assumed to be the owner, present to greet people or assign her employees to help shoppers with what they needed. Some places had customer service or people that could help but didn't always outright have the time to go in depth with that help. Yet, "Leona" had been present just as Charlene had come into the grocery store and assigned Jacob to help her after only saying that she'd come in to buy a few things. Charlene suspected this was probably just someone knowing a new resident had come in.
"Well... there was always a town here," Jacob answered, "though for years, most of the residents lived in cabins out in the woods and the main parts of the town were built later. It's really only when Moon Lake got into the 1800s that the town was really built into a town with an official layout and things like that. In some ways, it also meant that many of the old cabins were taken town as the town expanded, but things all worked out... and the layout also allowed for Moon Lake to commune with nature, as it were."
"Something related to Moon Lake's were population?" Charlene asked.
Jacob looked at Charlene for a moment and then looked around. Charlene followed this as he then gestured for them to walk away from the entrance to the store. She accepted this and went to an area where there were some small shopping carts set aside and selected one. She had enough preserved food to make it through the trip from Florida and the past few days in Moon Lake, but that wouldn't last forever, and had been a big part of her decision to come shopping at the grocery and make sure that the Covaks' pantry was stocked and knowing that Rachel had needed more food after becoming a werecat, even if she didn't transform all that often. Once Charlene had her cart ready, she placed her purse in the upper resting space and then laid her shopping list over it, making sure that Jacob could see that list.
"I can easily help you find what you need... as I suspect you're new to our store," Jacob spoke politely.
Charlene nodded and then began to follow Jacob as he led her through the store and waved to Leona as they went. Once they began to get a bit further from the front door, Jacob then spoke to Charlene.
"While Moon Lake is a... sanctuary, we do try not to mention things openly during the day and in open spaces," Jacob spoke in warning, "as people from outside Moon Lake do come in while travelling through, and in the summer, we do occasionally get out of town visitors who come to the camp sites on the north side of the lake."
“Is this a secrecy thing?” Charlene asked, “I can understand it was something big… after my eldest daughter was… changed against her will… and I can understand that. And I want her safe.”
“Against her will?!” Jacob spoke in surprise and with his voice rising slightly.
“It happened last May, when she graduated from high school… and her girlfriend was a cat who couldn’t wait and essentially raped her,” Charlene answered, "We got the offer to come here to help my eldest better adjust to... things."
Jacob's face seemed to pale for a moment, which gave Charlene some comfort in that he didn't support what had happened to Rachel.
"Had this happened in Moon Lake, the one who did it would have been severely punished," Jacob spoke quietly and looking around before continuing, "I can't say that every "were" is law abiding... there have been troublemakers in the past, which has essentially created a lot of the image problems that "weres" want to hide. Though, the end issue is that the reason for turning criminal is no different from what drives normal humans to criminal behavior."
"But because you can turn into a wolf that adds an extra layer of fear to it," Charlene surmised.
"Lion in my case," Jacob corrected, "but yes... And that also drives Moon Lake to make sure that everyone understands the rules and tries to provide normal humans... particularly those who have just moved here... as much of a choice as possible with regard to becoming a were and adjusting to things."
"And that's all good," Charlene gave him a smile as Jacob lead her to one of the first spots in the store where she could find one of the things on her list, "and a relief to get help in some ways."
"Well, we're always happy to help," Jacob answered, "though, I would think you probably have a strong and happy family to support you and your eldest daughter."
"I have good daughters who are helpful," Charlene spoke, "it's their father that ended up being the problem. He divorced me and left when finding that my eldest is a lesbian... always was... and he just ran away. Abandoned his daughters."
Charlene couldn't fully explain why she was revealing this to a total stranger, but in a strange way, something about Jacob just made her feel safe. She noticed that Jacob's eyes widened for a moment before taking a deep breath.
"Well, that is a shame," Jacob spoke, "but then... if he was going to do that, then you may be better off. Free to make your own choices and leaving your daughters free to live their own lives."
"There is that," Charlene admitted and then looked at the shelves they had come to and then looked at her list, "what do you think on these olives... which one would YOU say is the best buy?"
"Well... most are pretty generic, they aren't bad, but there's no real major difference unless there's a taste to one that you prefer," Jacob commented, "though... if you go with that brand there..." He paused to point to it and Charlene followed his finger, "you would be supporting one that we know is grown closer to us here in Washington state than the others."
Charlene nodded and actually went with that one. The price was a bit higher, but she'd also found that with many of those other brands, their lifespan wasn't always great.
"Though... as for the rest, I really can't say much," Jacob spoke, "a man should respect his wife and be up front and forward with what is expected, but he should also be loving and protective of his family."
"Yes... he should have," Charlene sighed, "and I thought he would have... but didn't. Though, I might be boring you with all this... and making you nervous while getting used to things. I mean... well..."
"It's okay... we can be pretty open when visiting neighbors or in areas where one wouldn't expect to have people from outside Moon Lake coming in," Jacob spoke, "and that can give newcomers thinking that we'll be pretty open about things everywhere. It's something that can be complex and can take time... even some weres that have never been in Moon Lake before aren't always aware on how we can be open in some places and not open in others. So, I don't hold it against you."
"Thank you," Charlene replied and managing a smile again and they continued about with their shopping. Jacob continued to guide Charlene through the store and allowed her to better look at what Leona's carried and where they were. She also found a fairly simple elevator that seemed readied for going up to the second level. Charlene made sure to acquire all her food needed and made sure to learn as much as possible.