Bev knew that Andy had some money, but never in her dreams expected what had just happened. Everything happened so fast. Her entire world turned upside down in less than a day. Bev and Andy had been dating for just over five years, and he had finally hinted about marriage just over a week prior to the big reveal.
Then, on one very early Saturday, Andy claimed he had a big surprise for her. He flew her to Las Vegas, proposed, she said “Oh my God! Yes! Yes! Yes!”, they got married that late morning, flew back to his home in San Diego, and suddenly she found herself standing in front of a magnificent creation.
Bev never even knew that Andy had a basement. Apparently, he had dug the whole thing himself, over many years, so he could hide a new invention. It was an invention that could change everything.
There, seeming to appear right before her eyes, was Italy. She could see a Gondola ride in the foreground, and the Rialto Bridge in the background. She had always wanted to visit Venice. For a moment, she thought she was watching a video, until she felt the breeze, and smelled the Italian air.
She reached her hand out toward the scene, and gasped when her hand went straight through. Andy grabbed her arm and pulled her hand back. “Whoa! They can’t see us unless you stick your hand in there,” Andy cautioned. “We can actually go through, but I need to turn the portal in every direction first to make sure nobody can see us. We also need to dress appropriately. A wedding dress may stand out a bit.”
Andy walked over to a nearby chest and pulled out clothing for each of them, and two small luggage bags, containing everything they would need for a two-day vacation. “I’ve got everything ready. I only packed for two days, but I plan on staying for a month, if you’re up to it. We can just come back through the portal to grab whatever we need.”
Bev was silent. She did not realize her mouth was wide open, and a bit of drool was about to overflow out of her mouth. Andy reached over closed her mouth, and she found herself slurping. She suddenly realized where she was, and her face became red hot from embarrassment.
“What if someone from over there accidentally falls through?” Bev was suddenly concerned that anyone could just pop though at any time.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered.” He pulled out a small device that looked like a remote control. “Nobody can walk through from that direction until I reverse the field with this. Besides, it will only allow two people through. You and me.”
Bev’s mouth fell open again, and she looked through the portal, shaking her head in disbelief. “H-How? W-What?” She felt herself swaying, and had to lean against Andy to balance herself. “How did you do all of this? How long did it take?”
“Well, I came up with the invention about 15 years ago, but I was afraid to share it with anyone until now. I couldn’t trust that it wouldn’t be used as a weapon, but I didn’t want to let the technology go to waste. I retired from work, and took 15 years to build this basement, and perfect the technology. Then I met you.”
Bev looked over at the clothing and supplies Andy had pulled out of the chest. “My favorite dress! I can totally rock this look in Venice!”
The couple got dressed, leaving the fancy rented suit and wedding dress on the floor. Andy looked down at the fancy clothing. “I just realized, I forgot we need to return these.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Oh well, I’ve got money. We can return them when we get back in two days.”
Andy swung the portal in every direction using his little remote control, then stopped it, facing toward a walkway where nobody was paying attention. They picked up their small luggage bags.
“There are still a lot of people around, won’t we draw attention when we walk through?” Bev asked.
“They aren’t paying any attention in this direction. You can practically appear right in front of a person’s face, and they will think their eyes are tricking them. The key is to start back here, and just continue walking, as though we’ve been walking on that side the whole time.” Andy stepped back about five feet from the portal, and Bev followed.
They looked at each other, held hands, smiled happily, and began walking. They passed through the portal with no problems, and started their honeymoon adventure.