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Hairy's parking lot was about half full when I pulled in, so I rushed upstairs and packed an overnight bag. I left it open on the sofa, so I could add anything else I thought of while I was helping with the dinner rush downstairs. I decided I'd head back to Chance's at 7:00 PM. That left Chance on his own for a little while but not so long that I'd be crazy with worry.
Waiting tables in the cafe, I got some questions about my trip with Chance, but mostly, I got questions like "did you hear the one about the city girl and the famous hunter who went into the woods and only one came back?" It seems they treat their local heroes the same way they do bigfoot. It's hard to tell if they're defending them or making fun of them.
After putting in the order for dinner for Chance and me, I ran upstairs to grab my bag. I dropped my laptop and overnight bag in Chance's truck, before going back into Hairy's to pick up the food.
"Will you be back before we close?" Sally asked.
"No. I'm not sure when I'll be back," I said. "I'm staying at Chance’s."
I could swear I spoke the words in a normal inside voice that only Sally should have heard, but all conversation in the dinner stopped. At least it seemed that way.
"You mean you're going to stay with Chance at his place?" One of the regulars at the counter asked. He was an older guy, who was a friend of Harry's.
"Yeah. He needs some help for a few days until he's off the pain meds. It's no big deal."
"Don't think anyone's ever been inside Chance's house."
"I was inside today when I took him home from the hospital. He's got a nice place. It suits him," I said, deciding it wasn't my place to share info about Chance's life.
"Go. Have fun but be prepared for the inquisition when you get back," Sally said, handing me the bag of food over the counter.
I set the bag on the floor of the passenger seat and backed the big truck out of the parking lot.
I was pleased to see the outside lights on when I got to Chance's. At least he'd been alert enough to remember I was coming back.
When I stepped up to the door, he opened it for me. "I wasn't sure you'd be back. It was nice of you to take pity on me."
I dropped my bags by the stairs and carried the food into the kitchen. "It's not pity, Chance. I'm trying to help you, but it seems like I just piss you off. You're the one that suggested I stay. I'm happy to head back and sleep in my own bed tonight."
"Sorry," he said. "I think this medicine is putting me on edge."
Every time he'd say something to tick me off, I'd notice him limping around or see the chunk of hair missing where his head wound was. Fudge, this was complicated.
Over dinner, Chance quizzed me about who I'd talked to about our time in the woods.
"Don't worry. I haven't told anyone about the bigfoot noises or your belief a bigfoot saved you. Now that you're thinking more clearly, what do you think happened out there?"
I assumed that once he was back to normal, he'd realize how crazy it was to think a Bigfoot would rescue him. That set things off, I guess, and we spent the rest of the night talking about cryptids.