Anna’s aunt said it was Anna’s father who had gifted her her first Newfoundland twelve years ago. This one was her second. She told Anna her brother had sent her the picture of Anna’s dog placing at Westminster. “You looked so happy in those pictures!”

Aunt Jules told her that her husband was still sleeping, so she put Anna in the guest room, a converted garage with a heavy sliding wooden door. When Anna crawled into the loft bed, she smiled because she could hear the ocean down the street.

Anna spent the entire next day under an umbrella on Broad Beach, sitting next to her aunt, who was reading a book and hadn’t asked her one question about why she was there, except to inquire if her father knew where she was. Anna explained her parents thought she was at Coachella, and they weren’t expecting her home until Monday night. “Okay, I’m not going to pry,” Aunt Jules told her. “When you’re ready to talk, we’ll talk.”

Anna was so grateful for her aunt’s laid-back attitude that she welled up, but before one tear fell, Kimba, her aunt’s brown Newf, sat up and licked her face. Anna had never swum with a Newfie before, but she did that day. She texted Steven and told him she was in Malibu and that she’d meet him and Lolly at LAX on Monday, so they could fly home together. She apologized for stealing off like a thief in the night, but what she wanted, no, what she needed, was some time alone. Steven was happy to hear from her and apologized for not being the best acid trip guide, but promised to help her navigate their parents’ anger, since he had plenty of experience in that department.

Anna spent the following day at the beach, from the moment she woke up until after dark. Dogs weren’t allowed on the beach, and the rangers came twice a day to ticket the rule breakers, but once they left, Kimba was welcome to come down. Anna texted Aunt Jules when the coast was clear, and she and Kimba appeared ten minutes later. There was something incredible about watching a giant dog navigate the mighty Pacific Ocean, and Anna felt like she could sit there and do this forever. After dark, Anna and her aunt walked down the beach, and Anna told her the whole story. It felt good to talk about it with an adult who wasn’t a parent, and since Aunt Jules wrote for TV and movies, Anna figured she wasn’t the type to judge her.