“You weren’t supposed to see this,” he stammered, running a hand through his hair, a gesture of nervousness that was all too familiar.

“What is all this?” I demanded, gesturing to the makeshift sanctuary. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He sighed, his shoulders slumping as if a heavy burden had been lifted. “I was going to tell you, I swear. But I wanted to make sure everything was set up perfectly first. This… this is a rescue operation.”