Page 128 of Flirtasaurus
Epilogue
Three Months Later
“You find something?”
Ralph saunters over to me, Mexican dust and dirt all over his sweet face, and places a small rock into my palm.
“Yeah,” he says, his eyes glittering with excitement. “What does this look like to you?”
I study the rock, then beam up at him.
“Amazing, isn’t it? That after over sixty-five million years, there are still more to be found?”
“Shall we add it to our collection?”
“We shall indeed.”
I cradle the rock safely in my pocket with one hand while the other hand reaches out and threads its fingers through his.
“Sun’s getting low,” he says. “Want to start heading back?”
“You bet.”
We share a sweet, soft kiss, then stay connected as we walk hand in hand toward the sunset.
Now wait a damn minute.
You’re wondering how the hell we got here, right?
That’s fair.
All right. Quick recap. So, after the gala night, everything was immediately awesome. The heads of the museum came up to me and thanked me for my unique spin on the evening and for my contributions to the Trix and Monty Project on the whole. Gala guests formed a line to talk to me, commending me for my honesty, telling me how inspired they were now to go out and find a love of their own and to never let that person go. Not only did I keep my internship, but I got promoted to a full-time position with an amazing benefits package and my very own office.
Are you kidding me?
No, theydefinitelyfired my ass. Tout suite. Job over. Internship credits denied. In fact, I was instantly banned from attending any museum events for the next year until I learned how to “conduct myself” like an adult. The official firing came from the president and CEO, who was none too pleased that evening. I’m assuming Dr. Knowles could have stepped in to plead my case for me if she wanted to, but she didn’t. And I don’t blame her one bit. I would have fired me too. Though I have to say, if they did an honest poll of the gala attendees? I think most would agree that Ralph and I provided way more entertainment that night than the stuffy proceedings they were expecting. I daresay they definitely got their money’s worth and more on this one.
Oh, and it probably goes without saying that I was also axed off the South Dakota dig, yeah? A heartbreaker for sure, but again, fully expected and understood.
I didn’t see or speak to Dr. Knowles for weeks after that night. She didn’t even come out to say goodbye to me on that humiliating Monday morning when I came to collect my things from my intern nook, adjacent to her office. So you can imagine my surprise when I received the following email:
Dear Miss FitzGerald,
My name is Harold Zanger. I’m one of the head excavators and scientists working on Project Impact in Mexico. As you are likely aware, we have been stationed in the Yucatan Peninsula for over four years studying the Chicxulub crater. It’s an exciting time here. We have astronomers, paleontologists, and geologists alike onsite, constantly gathering new evidence and illuminating the mysteries of what occurred here over sixty-five million years ago, an incident which has proved to be the biggest event our Earth has ever experienced.
My colleague and dear friend Dr. Eileen Knowles recommended you as someone who would be a wonderful asset to our team this summer. If this is of interest to you, please respond to this note, and we’ll set up a time for an over-the-phone interview.
Wishing You all the Best,
Dr. Harold Zanger
Project Impact
She did it again.
She gave me a chance to make my way in this world.
She believed in me even when I didn’t deserve it.
