Sarah and Elly took pictures with their enormous flower bouquets and bears. They giggled together, making silly faces.Finally, Bent reappeared back in the kitchen. He still wore a stony expression.”Bent, come here!” Elly called. She waved him over to the kitchen table. He frowned, realizing her intention. “I’m not a fan of taking pictures,” he murmured. Elly groaned. “Well too bad. We all look AMAZING. I want to capture everything!” She dragged him down into a chair beside her. Kurl and Sarah were already seated. Sarah, who was now sitting uncomfortably close to Bent, could feel his soft hair tickling the sides of her face. “Smile, everyone!” Elly said. She held out her phone and snapped their picture. Immediately, she inspected the image. “We look SO GOOD!” Elly giggled, happily. “I’ll text it to all of you, too.” Bent stood, seemingly annoyed. He checked his blinking watch. “Our reservation at the restaurant is in less than an hour.” Elly’s eyebrows shot to her hairline. “WHAT? We’ll never get there on time! We’re at least an hour’s drive away!” She looked as if she was about to burst into tears. Kurl rubbed his chin. “So when do we get to know where we are even going, Prince?” He didn’t try to hide the challenge in his voice. Bent took Elly by the hand and hauled her out of her chair. Elly gave a slight squeal of happy surprise. “You’ll see when we get there,” Bent said, mysteriously. “But given the timing is tight, I guess we’ll have to take alternate transportation.”Elly gave him a questioning look. Sarah stood up from her chair, looping her arm with Kurl’s. Bent started to pull Elly along with him to the opposite side of the room. Sarah and Kurl followed close behind. Using his free hand, Bent approached a kitchen cabinet. Opening it, he hit a button. A ding sounded. The wall in front of them slid open…to reveal a hidden elevator. “Whoa, dude! A secret passage!” Kurl exclaimed. He scrambled excitedly into the small space. Sarah laughed as she followed Elly and Bent into the elevator. As the doors shut, a dim light illuminated the floor. The buttons on the wall blinked from one number to the next as the group slowly descended. Sarah squinted at the numbers, trying to read where they were going. The last button lit up. Instead of a number, she saw it read ‘Tunnel.’ She gave Bent a curious glance. His face was stern, unreadable. His jaw was clenched. He stared at nothing in particular.Kurl bobbed his head. He looked as eager for adventure as Bent’s huskies. The elevator dinged. The doors parted. The group stepped out into an equally dimly lit room. Sarah waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. But she didn’t have long to wait. Motion-activated lights shot on. The entire room became visible. The group stood in a narrow tunnel. Similar to Bent’s garage, this tunnel was air-conditioned. Sarah, and even Elly, started to shiver slightly. “What is this place?” Kurl asked, starting to skip on ahead down the tunnel. Bent stepped between the girls. He put an arm around each of their shoulders. Sarah immediately felt warmer. “Don’t worry, Kurl,” Bent said. “You’ll understand right away once you turn the corner.” What Sarah assumed was a dead end ahead of them, was, in fact, just the wall curving slightly to the right. When they rounded the corner, Kurl stopped so suddenly, Elly and Sarah almost crashed into him. “Kurl, what gives?” Elly complained. But when she looked up, her eyes bulged. Sarah followed her gaze. Her mouth dropped open. She craned her neck, trying to decide if what she saw was actually real. Kurl spun around, gaping at Bent. “Dude! No friggin’ way. Is that…is that what I think it is?” He looked completely awestruck. And that was not a look typically seen on Kurl. Bent smirked, nodding his head. “Yes, Kurl. You’ve got it right.” He licked his lips, enjoying the group’s stunned silence. “All aboard.”