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The brighter, cleaner appearance of Hairy's seemed to be a hit with everyone. Gus offered to frame the stuff I wanted to put back on the walls, so I was adding back our cryptid heritage as he brought back the finished pieces.
Tom called every night, but I think he was keeping as low a profile as possible to avoid having to answer too many questions about what happened to his face. I hadn't run into any of my guyumvirate for a couple of days which was good. I was still trying to sort out what happened between Chance and I, but I wasn't making much progress.
The only one I told was Krista. She sided with Chance in the "follow your passion" camp, but I was still committed to the idea that Tom was a better relationship fit for me. I just finished the final tweaks to the draft menu when my phone rang.
"Hi, Everly. How are you today?"
"I'm good, Tom. How are you feeling?"
"The face is much improved. Well, it's the same face, but the bruising and swelling is much better today which is why I'm calling. Do you want to have dinner tonight?"
"If you're sure you're ready to try round two," I said.
"Ready and anxious."
"Do you think it's safer if you come over here?"
"I'm not afraid of you, Everly. What happened was just a crazy accident. Come over at seven."
"OK. See you tonight."
I posted a copy of the draft menu in the kitchen and asked the staff for their feedback, before I headed upstairs for the night.
I ran a steaming hot bubble bath and was just ready to step in, when there was a knock on the door. I slipped into my robe and opened the door to find Jim standing there.
"Hi, Em. Did I wake you?"
"No. I was just about to get into the bath. Come on in. What's up?"
"I wanted to give you an update on some of the open items we have."
"Good. Do you want coffee?"
"No. I'll make it quick so your bath doesn't get cold. We verified that Helen Kepler was an alias used by Dr. Renee Bellamy. I haven't found anything to suggest why she needed to use an alias, but it crops up in public records for the first time a few years ago. The interesting part is that Dr. Bellamy was employed by BITES, since they're the government agency tasked with cryptid hunting, it seems there's another link. I don't know if she resigned under duress or was fired, but her employment with them ended about a year ago."
"Have you learned any more about Jerry Lucas?"
"It's definitely an alias, but we may never find out his real name. If I had to guess, he's probably a DHS employee who was tasked with surveillance on Dr. Bellamy when she left employment with the organization."
"They wouldn't do that for all their employees, so why the need to keep an eye on Dr. Bellamy?"
"Good question, and one I still haven't been able to answer."
"Sounds like we're doing the best we can to figure this out with the information we have. Was there anything else?"
"Yes, actually. Something personal."
"What is it?"
"I've heard that you're dating Tom exclusively. Is that true?"
"It is. That's why I needed to break up with you. I want to see how things work out with Tom."
"He seems like a great guy. I know you and Laurie are friends. I'm thinking of asking her out, but I didn't want there to be any awkwardness between us."
"That would be great. I think you and Laurie would be good together. Go for it. I'm sure she'll accept."
"You'd better get to your bath. I'll see you at the planning meeting for your next expedition."
My bath water was cold and my time to relax was gone, so I let the water out of the tub and opted for a long shower instead. I was nervous about my date with Tom because of what happened between Chance and me. I needed to know if Chance said anything to Tom about it. I couldn't imagine why he would, but they seemed to share a lot of information about me. I picked up my phone and called Chance. I put it on speaker and laid it on the bed, so I could get dressed while we talked.
"Hi, Chance. How's your day been?" I asked when he answered.
"Hi, City Girl. I heard you have a date tonight. Please try not to hurt him."
"I'll do my best."
"I'm sure you will."
"Look, I'm getting dressed. I don't have much time."
"You keep finding reasons to call me and tell me that you’re not dressed. It puts ideas in my head, City Girl."
"I'm sure there's no shortage of those ideas already in your head. Look, I need to know if you said anything to Tom about what happened between us."
"Did something happen between us, other than you calling and describing your state of undress?"
"Chance, cut the crap. I need to know if you said anything to Tom."
"Tom's my friend. Why would I want to hurt him? Of course, I didn't say anything. What happens between you and I is personal."
"Thanks, Chance."
"Have a good night, City Girl. Hope it ends early and without incident."
My date with Tom was blessedly uneventful. It was a pleasant date night with limited making out due to a combination of my guilt over what happened with Chance and Tom's still uncomfortable broken nose.