Tara sometimes wondered what it would take for some of the more sheltered Alexandria residents to really understand what life was like outside their walls, and then she usually hoped that nothing would happen to teach them that lesson. It was enough to have gone through it herself, and none of the people in this place deserved that, even if they did seem clueless and privileged.
Carol had given her a short list of ingredients to ask for, since Carol was busy and Tara was not, and she handed it over to Olivia as soon as she got in the door of the storage pantry. The other woman was nice enough, cheerful and accepting, which was nice. However, she didn't seem to understand what deprivation was like for those outside the walls.
"I heard that you were going out on a run again tomorrow. The first since you were hurt, right?" Olivia settled a small paper bag of flour into an open box before reaching for another small bag of granulated sugar.
"Yep. Daryl told us about a supermarket that looked relatively intact and Aaron marked some private practice doctor and dentist offices on our map. We're going to see if they have any prescriptions or medical supplies left, and food of course." Tara nodded, and looked around the room at the various canned goods.
"Well, I hate to ask for anything, but if you find spices or dried herbs those are always appreciated. We run through those a lot since most of the canned and dried foods don't have a lot of flavor themselves."
"I'll keep that in mind." Tara watched as Olivia went through the last of the list, "It's been a long time since I saw so many cans of vegetables in one place. You were lucky that so much was stocked here already." Tara frowned, thinking uncharitable thoughts. "The things we had to eat out there, I bet would never even cross your mind."
"Like what?" Olivia didn't look offended by the stern tone Tara had used, just curious.
"Like bugs, or animals like squirrels and frogs. We even ate a feral dog before Aaron approached us on the road." She shook her head, "I suppose he saw that; he and Eric left water and some supplies for us when we were out of water and couldn't find a stream."
Olivia nodded, "They would; they're nice like that. They don't talk about the kind of things they see outside the walls, but I'm sure eating a dog is one of the less shocking things."
Tara paused, reconsidering the woman. She seemed nonchalant about the things Tara listed, which made her wonder if she had misjudged Olivia. Maybe she would be willing to do things outside of her comfort zone to survive or maybe her comfort zone wasn't as narrow as Tara had suspected. "Maybe so. It seems like a lot of the residents here are good people."
Olivia smiled at her and handed her the heavy box of food items, "I'm glad you think so. We sure appreciate your group joining us here."