3TC #MM79| Paradise

Welcome to the daily Three Things Challenge.
Use your imagination and creativity using one, two or all three words that may or may not be related. There are no restrictions regarding length, style, or genre, though please keep it family friendly.

Tag your responses with 3TC, #threethingschallenge or TTC, and you can add Di’s logo if you wish.

Your three words today are:
CLEAN
CLEAR
CEDAR

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Joanna needed to get away from the city. She was burned out at her bartending job, tired of the noise, crowds, and dirty air. A change of scenery would do her some good.

Her family owned a lake house in Eagle River, WI. No one ever used it this time of year. Maybe she’d ask her boss for a week off and clear her head.

As it turned out, Joanna didn’t have to worry about asking for time off. When she went in to work that afternoon, there was a pink slip attached to her timecard announcing that she had been fired. It was due to last week’s incident when she roughed up a customer known as Cheese Brain, who was giving her a hard time. He was commenting loudly on different parts of her body, making her and the other patrons uncomfortable. She gave him many warnings which he ignored, and then she snapped. It was if she stepped out of her body and watched herself grab the jerk by his shirt and tie, yank him across the bar so they were face to face. She then advised him to shut the hell up, drink his drink and get the f*** out. Then she pushed him back into his bar stool.

Luckily, he followed directions well. When he got up to leave, the bar applauded.

Joanna smiled at the memory. It felt so good to finally let out the rage, so refreshing! He was a big guy, too. She made him pee his pants and everyone laughed. Joanna ripped her timecard in half and tossed it in the trash.

Screw this dump.

That afternoon, Joanna packed up her ’69 Ford Torino and headed for Eagle River. She loved that car. Her grandfather left it to her when he passed away, so it had extra special meaning to her.

It was about a six-hour drive from Chicago to Eagle River. She’d be at the lake house around 7:00pm barring unforeseen circumstances.

The drive was pleasant and uneventful. Joanna felt the tension easing up and she began to relax. Right around 7:00pm she pulled up to the lake house. It was just as she remembered. It was almost two hours until sunset, so she had time to unpack and grab a few things from the local market.

When Joanna returned, the sun was beginning to set. She poured herself a glass of chardonnay and settled in to watch the reflection of the kaleidoscopic colors on Cranberry Lake.

The air was thick with the scent of cedar. Fireflies were out en masse putting on a light show of their own.

This has got to be what they mean by paradise.

Joanna sipped her wine and gave some serious thought to moving up there permanently. She’d have to check with the family, but they probably wouldn’t mind. In fact, maybe she’d get to see them once in a while.

I wonder if I could find a job… I’ll think about it tomorrow.

With that, Joanna emptied her wine glass and went inside, forgetting to lock the door behind her.