I was in that situation once and I just refilled early. My regular pharmacy told the insurance company that it was a "vacation" refill (or some language like that) and it went right through.
Re deer in headlights, our health provider system closed all their pharmacies, which were great to work with. I was happy -- not a single deer there. So I tried CVS and Walgreens. Both we their own kind of train wreck. So now I am using a pharmacy owned by another large local provider system. No deer there either and -- get this --- the person answering the phone is both competent and knowledgeable. I am happy again.
Note: In our area, the grocery store pharmacies are typically operated by independent companies like CVS, Walgreens, etc. So Kroger may not actually be Kroger, further thickening the stew.