Harold mentally patted himself on the back. Leaving the relationship had long been on his mind, but the means of making a clean getaway had been eluding him nearly as long. Shellie had been the perfect roommate. That’s the way it had started; roommates sharing rent, utilities, and the grocery bill.

It turned sour really quickly.

One minute they were roommates and the next they were lovers. Shortly after that they were quarrelers and nobody wanted to be the bad guy by calling it quits first.

The day Shellie came home to tell him she was being transferred to an office upstate was the day he knew he was in the clear. He could pack his things and be gone and on his own once again.

Harold twirled his imaginary pistol and pantomimed replacing it in his equally imaginary holster. “Ride that hoss, pahdnah! The Sheriff can’t catch us now.”

Famous last words and all that . . . there came a knock on the door.

Damn! It was Shellie.

“Harold! I can’t leave you,” she cried. “I want to make it work and I can’t do that from upstate. You love me, I know you do.”

The gunslinger pulled himself up and puffed out his chest. “Well, little lady . . .”

Inside Harold seethed. “Shit! I almost made it.”
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Trifecta’s Editors have again thrown down the challenge gauntlet. This time – the word is CLEAN – to be used in its third definition.

clean (adjective)

1: free from dirt or pollution
2: unadulterated, pure
3 a : free from moral corruption or sinister connections of any kind [a candidate with a clean record]
b : free from offensive treatment of sexual subjects and from the use of obscenity [a clean joke]
c : observing the rules : fair [a clean fight]
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That’s my entry above . . . now it’s your chance to make your literary splash. Come clean with us, and share your 33-333 words.