Tracey Miller Creative

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The day was finally here! Sadie, Aria, and Chloe had been working nearly 60 hours a week for the last four months on a major project. Several things had gone differently than planned, and they had felt like the last few weeks had been spent putting out fires. They made the final handover yesterday. Time for vacation!

First stop: the hair salon. The three women all enjoyed a little pampering and the first taste of escape from work. Chloe even chopped off her waist-length hair into a chic bob!

The next day, Sadie, Aria, and Chloe loaded up the car and headed for the quaint mountain cabin they had booked for the week. Luckily, it hadn’t been as expensive as they had feared.

After settling in, the women went out to sit by the lake, enjoying the sounds of ducks quacking, birds chirping, and the wind rustling through the trees. Slowly, the crickets started their evening song, and the fireflies lit up the twilight. As the sun continued to set, the women began to unwind and relax. They could do this all week!

With some extra money to burn, they decided not to waste it and rent a pontoon boat for the day. It was a glorious day exploring the lake and soaking in the mountain scenery. Chloe was thankful for her shorter, more manageable hair after she took a bit of an unexpected swim off of the boat. Their legs were all a bit jittery after getting back on land, but it had been a wonderful day.

As the vacation drew to a close, the three friends start to dread returning to work the next week. Just then, they each got an unexpected phone call. Their company was going to have to lay off all three of them because several contracts fell through. Fortunately, they would be receiving a generous severance of two months’ salary and any vacation time they had still accrued but not used. Whoa.

Once the initial shock wore off, Sadie had an idea. She called the cabin rental agency and was able to extend their stay other week at a 30% discount!

Job hunting could wait. Lake life could continue for another week.

This post is written in response to a prompt from the guided writing journal Write The Story (Piccadilly, 2020).