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Several months later...
"Are you ready for this?" Chance asked.
"I can't believe we actually got here. I really never thought we'd make it," I said as I slipped my strappy sandals into my totebag and zipped up my boots.
Chance wrapped his arms around me and bent down to kiss me. I backed off a bit giving him a light kiss.
"I know we have to go, but be prepared, when we get home tonight I will definitely be messing up your hair and makeup," he said. "You look amazing. Of course, I thought you looked hot wearing the tool belt with the paint in your hair the other day."
"You in a tool belt should require a warning label," I said. "Now let's go see this fancy soiree Laurie planned for us."
We parked in our reserved spot behind the building and walked into the employee entrance of the Munroe Wilkins Research Foundation and Museum. It was deserted, but that was all going to change in the next hour. Chance and I had a shared office in the building. We hung up our coats, and I changed my shoes.
"Care for a tour?" Chance asked, offering me his arm. I linked my arm through his. We peaked into Krista's office which was next door to ours, and then looked through the windows at the lab. Next up was the research library which now housed all the books from Harry's, plus several that had been donated by Mr. Meecham.
We made our way to the front door of the museum. There was a small gift shop beside the front desk. I looked up and saw the thunderbird feather that I'd found in the woods near the BITES lab. It was suspended from the ceiling on thin wires that allowed it to move in the air currents.
In the center of the room was a large display case covered in black fabric. We stopped beside it. "Are you sure about this?" I asked.
"Kind of late now," he said. "I think we're committed."
"Or maybe we should be committed," I joked. When Chance first shared his idea for the main display in the museum, I'd been skeptical as always but, much like mixing the enhanced bigfoot with an existing bigfoot population, it made sense to hide the truth by making it very public.
"It should be a fun night," I said.
"It's going to be amazing. Dad and Harry and Renee would be really proud of what we're doing here."
"I think you're right."
Laurie walked in the back door. "You two look great. The photographers are going to love you guys. Everyone's gathering out front for the ribbon cutting and your initial remarks."
This was an important night for us and for Wilkins' Gap. "It's time to get the festivities started," she said once we were in place and the photographer was ready.
"Everly and I want to welcome you all to the grand opening of the Munroe Wilkins Research Foundation and Museum. This has truly been a labor of love for us. We were inspired by three legends in the cryptid world—my dad Dutch Munroe, Everly's Uncle Harry Wilkins, and our friend Dr. Renee Belamy. We know they're all smiling down on us tonight. Everly, did you want to say something?"
"I just want to thank y'all for making me feel so at home here in Wilkins' Gap. Chance and I hope these facilities will draw more visitors to town and help strengthen the community."
We posed for pictures and talked with the mayor and a local reporter.
Once we were inside, everyone checked things out at their own speed so the crowd thinned out a bit. We had closed Hairy's early so the staff could come, and I was pleased they all showed up.
"What's wrong, Babe?" Chance asked, when he found me in our office in tears.
"I'm sorry. I was just thinking about Jim."
He handed me tissues and held me until I got over my crying jag. Laurie knocked on the door and poked her head in. "Sorry to interrupt, but there are some folks out here who'd like to see you."
I took a minute to compose myself and follow Chance back out into the main display area of the museum. "Rene. Loren. I can't believe you came," I said, hugging the two Canadian cryptid hunters who helped us so many times. While Chance and I were talking with them, I looked up and saw Gracie Layne walk in with Agent Chris Driscoll. "Excuse me, my sister's here," I said, walking over to greet them. "This is so great. When did you get into town?" I asked.
"We just drove over from Spokane today," Chris answered. Hum. Sounds like maybe my sister's been spending time in Spokane.
I was really pleased they came. It meant a lot that so many people who'd been part of my cryptid adventures were at the party.
A loud bell rang out and everyone turned their attention to where Laurie stood beside the covered display. "Please direct your attention to our central display. Chance, do you want to explain?"
"Over the past few months Everly and I, along with some of the other folks here tonight, have been involved in an adventure. Through the journals Harry Wilkins kept and the work of Dr. Belamy and others, we learned that a group tied to the Nazi movement had been running experiments in this country and others that involved trying to merge human and bigfoot DNA. There's still a lot of research to be done on exactly what happened. We believe they may have been trying to weaponize bigfoot. Luckily for us, things didn't go as they plan," he said, casting glances around the room to those that were involved. "The investigation continues, so I can't share a lot of the details." He motioned to Laurie who, with the help of Krista and Tom, pulled the cover off the central display.
As we hoped, the crowd gasped. In a multi-sided glass display case was a life size model of the bigfoot male we'd met in Argentina. The model maker captured his eyes perfectly—kind rather than terrifying. The display case contained Harry's journal with the observations of the bigfoot family along with some of Renee's slides and other evidence. The crowd surged forward focused on the display. Chance grabbed my hand and pulled me through the crowd and into our office.
"That went well," I said when he closed the door on the noise from the museum.
"Yeah. I hope it catches people's interest in the story. It would have been nice to have the book ready, but there was just no way to get it done in time."
"We're making good progress. I think it was important to get the display open and get the story out. We can have another event to celebrate publication of the book."
Chance's plan to keep me safe was to keep us in the public eye—hiding in plain sight. Once the story was out, it would be more difficult for anyone to come after us. I'd been hesitant to be known as the crazy cryptid lady, but if it kept me safe, I was willing to go along.
"We'll have another celebration when the movie premieres," he said, "but right now there's another big event I want to talk to you about."
"Chance, we've barely opened the doors on this place, and we're still working on the book and the movie. I was kind of looking forward to having less projects to work on not adding more," I said.
I turned to see his reaction and found him down on one knee holding up a velvet ring box. "I know our lives together have been crazy so far, but whatever comes next I want to share it with you. Marry me, Em."
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