Frowning, I dried my hands, still on high alert, and there it was again, almost a gasping sound, like someone in distress. It sounded as though it was coming from the side of the building away from the beach. As I left the restroom, I headed right instead of left. The building butted up against a grove of trees. The light that illuminated the beach was on the opposite side, so it was fairly dark, but I couldn’t miss someone sitting there in the dirt, leaning back against the wall, gasping. Possibly hyperventilating.

I was halfway to her when I realized it was Magnolia.

I wanted to walk away.

I wanted to jog back to the beach as if I hadn’t heard anything.

The sounds she made were alarming though, and I didn’t have time to be petty or vengeful. I hurried to her and crouched down next to her.

“Put your finger over one nostril,” I said. “Hold your breath while I count to five.”

She didn’t do any of it, and I wondered if she’d heard me.

“Magnolia,” I said, then repeated my instructions.

Her hand trembling, she eventually covered one nostril. It took me repeating myself several times before she seemed to make sense of everything. I counted to five for her and she held her breath for several rounds. Eventually, her breaths came more evenly, but her level of upset was still alarming.

“I’m going… to lose everything,” she said into her hands, and the words were muffled enough I questioned if I’d heard her right. “Eve… ry… thing.”

“What are you talking about? What did you lose?” I glanced around the dirt and gravel surrounding us, thinking maybe she was missing an earring or something.

“I broke up with that asshole,” she said between gasps.

“Slow down or you’re going to hyperventilate again.”

She sucked in a slow breath with a finger over one nostril, nodding, tears streaming. Magnolia was a wreck, and that in itself was alarming because I’d never seen her anything but in total control and on the attack.

“You broke up with your fiancé?”

Nodding, she managed, “He never wanted to be with me anyway.”

“That’s not true,” I said logically. “He asked you to marry him. He must’ve wanted to be with you.”

“It’s… not like that.” The sobs got more intense again.

“Hold your breath, Magnolia.”

She sputtered and then did as I said while I counted aloud.

“You don’t understand.”

Ah, there was the scornful, condescending tone I expected. And I thought my social skills were lacking.

I fought down the urge to walk away and leave her there by her miserable self.

“Why don’t you explain then. What is it like?”