Fear Of Flying, Part 8

Fear of Flying
by kalithanatos
CHAPTER EIGHT

Maria arrived home on Sunday morning to an unusual smell in her home. Had
someone been smoking in here, she wondered? The house smelled like Stacy's
had last night. She entered the kitchen area to find her mum making
breakfast. It was then that she noticed a burning cigarette in the ashtray.

"Do we have guests?" Maria asked.

"No, why do you ask?" Janet responded.

"That," Maria indicated, pointing the ashtray.

"Oh no, that's mine," Janet said, and in one move picked up the cigarette and
took a deep, satisfying drag.

"MUM!!!" Maria shouted, "What are you doing?"

"I'm smoking, silly!" Janet mock shouted back.

"But why? When?" Maria responded. "I'm confused..."

Janet answered, "Because I like it and last week, to answer your questions,"
taking another drag before stubbing the cigarette out in the ashtray. "Do you
mind?"

"I don't know!" Maria said, "It's never came up before. I suppose not, if
that's what you want to do. Does dad know?"

"Yep, I told him last night," Janet said, omitting any further details of
what else went on the previous evening. "He doesn't mind at all."

"So is this an occasional thing or are you a committed smoker now?" Maria
asked, finally regaining her composure.

"Oh, I think this is going to be a full-time thing. I never realised how good
smoking was until I tried it, and I don't want to stop now!" Janet exclaimed.

"Really? That's what Stacy was saying last night, too..." Maria said.

"Stacy smokes? I thought she was a goody two-shoes?"

"She normally is," Maria said. "I couldn't believe it when she told me she
had started. She's the last person in the world I thought would smoke. Apart
from you, that is!"

By now, Janet had finished eating the bacon roll she had been preparing when
Maria came in. She had left David in bed sleeping as she hadn't the heart to
wake him - he looked so peaceful and content lying there this morning, his
fantasies coming true. It was a pity for him really - he had already missed
Janet smoking four cigarettes that morning, and she was just about to light
her fifth.

"I know what you mean, actually," Janet said, lighting up. "I never thought I
would start either, but I only tried one to get over my fear of flying and it
progressed from there. Smoking was really good at getting me through a
stressful situation."

"That's what Stacy said, too," Maria started. "She told me that all the
studying for her exams was getting on top of her and one day she just picked
up one of her mothers cigarettes and smoked it. After that, she hasn't looked
back. She told her mum the next day she had started smoking and she wasn't
going to stop, and that was that."

"So Gwen knows her daughter smokes and she has no problem with it?" Janet
asked.

"Not at all. In fact, she positively encourages it; last night, she was
handing them out like sweets when we took a study break. She kept asking me
if I wanted one!"

"And did you?" Janet asked.

"Of course not!" Maria responded. "Although, she did make it sound tempting.
I think she put on a little display for me, actually. You know how theatrical
she is about everything."

It was true, Janet thought. Gwen and Janet were not close, but they were
friendly to each other. Gwen always dressed in flashy clothes and made
extravagant gestures in a loud voice when she spoke. This sounded exactly
like the type of thing she would do.

Maria continued, "Actually, there was one moment where I nearly did smoke
just to shut her up! She left a cigarette and a lighter right in front of me
and told me that if I smoked it, she would leave me in peace for the rest of
the night. I did actually pick it up and put it in my mouth, but I couldn't
go through with it."

This piece of information surprised Janet; so Maria actually had a cigarette
in her mouth last night? That was interesting. She wondered what her daughter
would look like smoking. Maria was very pretty, and a cigarette would only
enhance her looks.

"You know, if you were to start smoking, I wouldn't be cross with you," Janet
said.

Maria looked at her mother, puzzled. "It sounds like you want me to smoke,
mum," she replied.

"No, no, it's not that. It's just if you wanted to smoke, I couldn't very
well be angry, could I?" Janet said, taking another drag from her
half-finished cigarette.

"I suppose not. How did you start anyway?" Maria asked.

Janet then proceeded to tell the tale she had just told David, emphasising
how it was stress that made her smoke her first cigarette and how it was the
fantastic sensations that made her continue. Maria was spellbound, her mother
making the whole story sound so sexy and fun. The whole way through Janet had
smoked, her face showing the pleasure she felt with each drag. Maria watched
and listened intently, and at the end of the tale, she was starting to wonder
if she was missing out on something after all.

Janet had noticed her daughter watching her and saw the way Maria's eyes had
glazed over, almost as if she was wondering what her mother was feeling when
she inhaled the luxurious smoke. Then suddenly, without knowing why she did
it, she moved her cigarette towards her daughter's mouth. A momentary look of
shock passed over Maria's face, but with a nod of Janet's head to show her
daughter it was okay, Maria wrapped her lips around the filter and took a
tiny amount of smoke into her mouth. Janet pulled the cigarette away and took
a drag of her own to show Maria what to do next, and Maria emulated her
mother, breathing the smoke into her virgin lungs. She held it for a second
before exhaling it in a small puff, followed by a little cough moments later.

"What did you think?" Janet asked, amused.

"It was okay. Better than I thought it would be, but not great." Maria
replied.

"That's because you're not used to it, yet," Janet said. "Would you like to
try again?"

Maria thought for a second and then said, "Okay."

This time Janet passed the cigarette to her daughter, who took it between her
fingers and looked to her mother for guidance.

"Put the filter in your mouth and breathe a small amount of smoke in." Maria
did as instructed. "Now," Janet continued, "open your mouth and let the air
mix with the smoke, then slowly breathe in. That's right. Hold the smoke for
a second or two, and then gently breathe out." Maria followed all her
mother's steps, and this time was able to exhale a decent amount of smoke in
a conical exhale without coughing. "There, you did it. Was that better?"

Maria had to admit it was. She nodded her head and took another shallow drag,
still testing the waters. This time was even better, and Maria found herself
actually enjoying the sensation. She especially liked the minty taste the
cigarette provided. There was room for one more draw, and Maria took it. This
time, however, she attempted too much too soon and took a fairly big drag,
which induced a coughing fit.

Janet laughed gently, removed the cigarette from her daughter's fingers, and
stubbed it out in the ashtray. She passed her glass of mineral water to Maria
to help clear her throat, which Maria gulped down gratefully.

"Wow, that's enough of that," she said. "I don't know if I want to go through
that every time!"

"Don't worry about it, the urge to cough quickly goes away. The pleasure you
felt the first few times is what you look forward to every time you light
up."

"Well, I don't know if I will again, but thanks for letting me try. I must
admit, I've been curious about smoking since Stacy started, but I don't think
I want to do it every day."

"No problem, but just know, if you want to smoke, I won't stand in your way."

"Thanks mum, you're the best!" And with that, Maria kissed her mum and went
upstairs to shower and study.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. Janet continued to smoke, smashing
her previous record of ten cigarettes in a day by one o'clock that day and
finishing off at twenty-two by the time she went to bed. Of course, in the
bedroom it was a different matter and she smoked six in just under an hour,
satisfying both David and herself in every way imaginable. The only other
thing of note that happened was that Janet contacted all the people who had
made the last week so special and invited them to a dinner party at the
Morris house. David was going round to Gavin's to watch some football match
or other, so it would be a girl's only night. Janet also asked Maria if she
would like to come, asking her if she would like to invite Stacy and Gwen,
too. Thankfully, everyone accepted the invitation and arrangements were made
for six o'clock the following Saturday.

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