Hiya ,
I understand. A shop can't have everything you might want on the shelf, ready for you to buy. Most of the time, it's not a problem. If I want something that they don't have, I can order it.
That's definitely true in a book shop. It doesn't make sense for the shop to have every book possible ready to sell. There are just too many books!
It's the same at a wool shop. They need to have a few balls of each different wool they sell, but they can't keep some of each colour in the store. I'm quite happy to order the wool I want.
The one place I thought you would be able to get what you needed without waiting for an order to arrive was a chemist's (1). If you're sick and need medicine, they should have something in the shop that they can offer you. Well, that's what I thought, anyway...
It's springtime. With spring comes pollen, and that means I can get hay fever and asthma. I have some medicine, but it has nearly run out (2), so I went to the doctor's to get a prescription (3).
Straight after that, I went to a chemist's shop. I was a little confused when the assistant told me that they couldn't get the medicine I had been prescribed. Quickly, I asked if there was something she could give me as a replacement. She said there was (yay!).
Then she told me that they didn't have any in the shop and they'd have to order it in for me. I wouldn't have to wait long, just a day (or two, due to the Good Friday (4) holiday).
That wasn't a problem. I wasn't sick and didn't need it straight away. It was more of 'just in case I need it' in the next few weeks. Nevertheless, I was really surprised. It wasn't just tablets for aches and pains (5), but I still thought it was something that a chemist would have in the shop all the time!
Have you been to the chemist and they haven't had what you wanted (or needed!)? What did you do? Did you go to another chemist shop or did you order what you needed from the shop you were in?
Stay healthy,
Andrea
(1) chemist's (shop) - British English for pharmacy (American English), a place where you buy medicine (and make up and other things)
(2) to run out - to become empty, use it all so that there's none left
(3) prescription - the note a doctor writes, saying what medicine you need. You take the prescription to the chemist's to get your medicine.
(4) Good Friday - the Friday holiday that is part of the Easter weekend. It is before Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday.
(5) aches and pains - when different parts of your body hurt. It's not pleasant, but the pain isn't super strong. We say 'aches' like 'cakes', but without the 'c' ('akes').
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