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When I step outside, I find Lucy setting out granola bars, fresh fruit, and water to drink.
“Help yourself, everyone,” she shouts.
I grab a banana and a bottle of water.
“You should have more,” Lucy suggests. “Don’t forget we’ll be walking a lot.”
“What are you having?” I ask.
“I don’t know.”
“You can’t worry about me eating and not have anything yourself.”
“Fine. I’ll have a banana.” I hand over the one I’m holding and walk off to grab another one for myself. I also take a granola bar. I drop into one of the lawn chairs and observe everyone while I eat. The crew interacts like they’re a family, which isn’t surprising. After getting to know Lucy, I know she’s the reason. She inspires kindness in others. She notices me watching her, so I wink.
Ten minutes later, we’re trekking through the woods once more. It’s as beautiful as it was yesterday. The scent of pine laces the air, reminding me of the holiday that just passed. When we reach the area we’ll be shooting, the crew sets everything up.
“I’m going to ask you some of the same questions as yesterday, but don’t worry if your answers aren’t the same. We’ll be editing this footage in.”
“Gotcha.”
Barry shouts to let Lucy know they’re ready, and she signals to me that we’re beginning.
“What do you think your reaction would be if we saw Bigfoot right now?” she asks.
“That’s difficult to say because it would depend on many factors. How big is he? How aggressive is he? How close is he? What about you? What would you do?”
“I’d probably be so excited I’d scare him off. He’d be reminded why he hides in the first place.” Her reply makes me smile.
We’re coming to a part of the forest where the underbrush is thick, and we have to be careful where we step. One of the crew has moved ahead to get footage from that angle. “You go first, and I’ll follow your steps,” she suggests.
“Okay,” I agree. Whatever makes it easier for her, works for me. I move ahead, mapping out the easiest path to walk. “It looks like the underbrush thins just ahead,” I call out.
“Good. This sucks.”
Just as I reach the point where navigating my steps becomes more manageable, a giant, hairy brown creature jumps out from behind a tree up ahead and runs toward me. It takes a second for my brain to register what’s happening, leaving no time for me to do anything but defend myself. Widening my stance, I wait, but once I get a better look at it, I just laugh. It’s someone dressed in a Bigfoot costume. It stops before me and begins to break dance, and the entire crew erupts with laughter. When the dancing Bigfoot is done entertaining us, it reaches up and removes the costume’s head.
“Surprise!” Murphy shouts.
“You son of a bitch,” I say, grinning. “That was a great prank. You got me.”
Lucy comes over to stand beside me and I turn to her. “Did you arrange this?”
“Murphy contacted me, wanting to be on the show. He may have suggested we play a joke on you.”
“You got me good.”
Murphy walks over, and I clasp his furry paw as we hug. “You should’ve seen your face, dude,” he says, laughing. “I might need to keep this suit and jump out at unsuspecting people. It’s fun.”
“Yeah, until you give someone a heart attack,” Lucy says.
“What if he had given me one?” I ask.
“I knew you’d be fine. I wasn’t sure if Murphy would be, though.” She laughs.
“Are we really reshooting scenes, or is that part of the ruse?” I ask.
She smiles. “What do you think?”
