The door from the garage opens straight into the kitchen, and Neptune follows immediately, eager and alert, already claiming the space as his own. The kitchen is a little outdated, just like the listing photos showed—older cabinets, classic counters, nothing fancy—but it’s clean, functional, and bright. It opens into a massive living room, and I stop in my tracks when I see the windows stretching across the back wall, floor-to-ceiling glassfacing the Pacific Ocean, light pouring in from every direction, blue water and open sky filling the space.
For a moment, I stand there, trying to process that this view is real, that this house is real, that this is my life now.
I walk to the back door and open it, and Neptune bolts into the yard like a kid released onto a playground, sprinting in circles, ears flapping, joy pouring out of him in every direction. Laughing, I pull my phone from my back pocket and record him running, the ocean stretching behind him like a postcard backdrop, then send the video to my sisters with a simple message.
Me:
Home sweet home.
Almost immediately, my phone starts ringing.
I answer the video call, and both April’s and June’s faces fill the screen at the same time.
“Oh my God.” June gasps immediately. “Look at that smile.”
April lets out a full-on scream of joy, and when I catch my own reflection on the screen, I see it too—a huge, uncontrollable grin stretched across my face.
“This place is unreal.” I flip the camera around, pointing it toward the backyard, the open space, the ocean stretching out behind it like a piece of art.
“Oh my God!” they both squeal at the same time, and I can’t help but giggle.
Neptune hears the chaos and comes running toward me, which immediately sets them off again.
“Neppy!” June shouts. “You look so happy!”
“Oh my God, he’s so fucking cute!” April screams, and I laugh as Neptune stares up at the phone, clearly confused but fully enjoying the attention, his tongue lolling to the side of his face.
“Show us everything!” April demands.
I slowly turn the phone, showing them the rest of the yard, the open space, the way the ocean sits so close it feels like part of the house.
“Oh my God, look at all those windows,” June moans. “Stop it. I’m quitting my job. I’m coming over right now.”
“Seriously,” April adds, “I’m booking my flight. There’s no way around it. What the fuck.”
“I literally just got here.” I laugh between giggles. “I haven’t even seen most of it. Let’s do a tour.”
I walk them around the yard, show them the proximity to the ocean, and when they start asking about fences—because Neptune—I walk the perimeter and discover there’s a full fence running along the edge of the property near the cliff.
We make our way back inside, and as soon as I open the door, Neptune trots in and sprawls out in front of the windows.
“I guess that’s where his bed’s going,” I tell them, and they both laugh.
We wander through the downstairs together, opening cabinets, poking into corners, testing the worn but big leather couch. When I open one of the cabinets and find the weird built-in compartment, April immediately jumps in.
“That’s for bread storage,” she explains confidently.
I blink. “We really do learn something new every day.”
Upstairs, the oohs and aahs continue, even though there isn’t much to see. Only one bedroom is furnished, and of course, it’s the one with the biggest windows and a king-size bed.
I sit on the bed and prop my phone up as we keep talking.
“Well, I’m definitely coming over.” June grins. “That couch downstairs looks comfortable enough.”
“Get in line,” April fires back. “I claim the couch first.”
“Over my cold, dead body.”
