Kidnap, Part 16

Kidnap
slimv2001@yahoo.com
Part 16

Peter and Linda both agreed that Dr. Sally Freeman had saved their marriage.
With continued counseling Linda became more accepting of her addiction.  Of
course Peter was the key.  Linda's renewed self-confidence was a direct
result of his support.

What had happened to cause such a dramatic change in Peter's attitude toward
his wife's smoking?  Peter wasn't tolerating Linda's smoking.  He was
encouraging it.  He lit her cigarettes.  He kissed her often and told her
wonderful she tasted.  He must have told her she was beautiful and sexy 20
times a day.  Not only did he talk the talk but he also walked the walk in
their bedroom. There was no denying it.  Peter was infatuated with his bad
girl wife.

He took great pride in Linda's 10 pack a day addiction.  She had become his
trophy wife and he took advantage of every opportunity to proudly show her
off.  She basked in his attention and affection and felt good about her self.
She felt good about her habit.  Of course she was physically addicted and
didn't have a choice in the matter, but for the first time since she started,
she felt good about smoking.  Thoughts of Dr. Blacklung rarely crossed her
mind.  When they did, they didn't bother her.

Any leads on Dr. Blacklung's whereabouts were scarce and cold.  Detective
Ferguson had told them the chances of ever catching him were remote.  It
wasn't a huge priority either.  After all, it wasn't as if he killed any
body.  

Dr. Freeman was thrilled with the fast progress Linda and Peter were making.
She actually looked forward to their appointments.  

"So how is every thing?" asked Dr. Freeman as Peter and Linda sat down in
front of her.

Linda told her that their marriage had never been better as she held a
cigarette to her lips for Peter to light.  

"I'm so glad to hear that," said Dr. Freeman.  "And your sex life?  How is it
coming along?"

Linda smiled shyly, took a deep puff from her Pall Mall and looked at her
husband sitting beside her.

"Its wonderful," said Peter.  The sound of his voice and the look in his eye
told the doctor he was sincere.  

She turned and looked at Linda.  "Did you try smoking while you made love?"

Linda crossed her legs and giggled.  "I did," she said as she took a deep
puff from her Pall Mall.  "It was incredible.  I had my first orgasm!"  She
exhaled her smoke and put her hand on Peter's.

"That's just marvelous, such wonderful news," said Dr. Freeman.  "Was it a
one time thing or do you have orgasms regularly now?"

Linda took a deep drag.  "I have one every time," she said as she crushed the
butt in the ashtray and put a fresh cigarette to her lips for Peter to light.
"Peter makes me feel so sexy."

"Good for you Peter," said Dr. Freeman as she shook her head.  "Forgive me
for asking, but I can't get over how much you've changed regarding this
situation.  You seem so supportive of Linda's addiction."

Linda giggled, "He thinks I'm a bad girl now."  Peter blushed with
embarrassment.  "Its OK Honey," she said.  "I love being your bad girl," she
laughed.

Dr. Freeman glanced knowingly at Peter.  "Its OK if you're role playing
Peter.  Role-playing can add a lot of spice to the bedroom.  I imagine being
with Linda is like being with a different woman altogether.  Is Linda the
first smoker you've been intimate with?"

Peter nodded.  He was happy things were going so well between them.  And it
wasn't that he didn't like Dr. Freeman.  He thought she was great.  But
conversations about his sex life made him feel vulnerable and awkward.  It
was as if his perverted side was being examined under a microscope.

"So tell me Peter?" asked Dr. Freeman.  "I'm curious.  Its obvious to me that
you're sexually attracted to your wife's smoking."  Peter blushed.  "Don't be
embarrassed," she said.  "The look on your face was so loving when you lit
Linda's cigarette a moment ago.  I think it's refreshing to see a husband
light his wife's cigarette in public.  I get some couples in here where one
spouse smokes and the other doesn't and they're at each other's throats
because of it- a lot like you were when you first came to see me.  But what I
wanted to ask is; have you ever been tempted to try one of Linda's
cigarettes?  After all, you are an adult now."

Peter looked like a red tomato in his seat.  Was he really that transparent?
He thought about it all the time.  "No", he lied.  "I don't want to smoke."   

Linda sighed audibly.  She'd never seriously considered the possibilities of
Peter wanting to smoke.  But it was reassuring to hear him say he didn't want
to try it.  She couldn't imagine Peter smoking.  Just the thought of it made
her nauseous.  

"I'm glad to hear you say that," said Dr. Freeman.  "Linda is a very
attractive woman and smoking magnifies her sexuality.  I know a lot of men
who would give their right arm to have a wife that smoked three packs a day.
Linda is off the scale so I wouldn't be surprised if you succumbed to
temptation.  Its important to keep in mind that Linda has no choice in
whether or not she smokes.  You do have a choice Peter."

Part 17

Although the appointment with Dr. Freeman had caused him great embarrassment,
he was glad they went.  He had often wondered how Linda would react if he
started smoking.  Now he knew.

It bummed him out.  After all these years, he finally had the bad girl of his
dreams, but he couldn't be bad with her.  You can't have your cake and eat it
too he rationalized.

He knew Dr. Freeman was right.  It would be a tragedy if he started smoking.
He couldn't imagine what his mother would say or how his friends would react.
If he tried it and liked it he would probably wind up a closet smoker.
What's the fun in that?  He thought about it again, the part about the
closet.  But what harm would it do if no one knew?

Ten packs a day.  Who's going to smell a little extra smoke in this house?
The more he thought about it the angrier he became.  Why should he hide at
all?  This was his house and he was certainly an adult.  He could smoke if he
wanted too.  He didn't need Linda's permission or Dr. Freeman's or his
mother's for that matter.

He grabbed a pack of Linda's Pall Malls and a lighter and shoved them in his
pocket.  He told Linda he was going to the store to get some milk.  Tammy
asked if she could go with him.  He told her no.  The hurt look on her face
bothered him but the damage was already done.

He started up the car and drove to the Kroger store.  He pulled in a parking
space and prepared to light a cigarette when he stopped out of fear.  There
were a lot of people coming and going.  Some one was bound to know him.  He
started the car and drove behind the building, parking beside the dumpster.
Feeling relatively safe he pulled the pack of Pall Malls from his pocket and
took out a cigarette.

He was driven by fear and excitement as he put the cigarette between his lips
and lit it.  He adjusted the rear view mirror so he could see what he looked
like with a cigarette.  Not bad he thought as he put the Pall Mall to his
lips.  Not bad at all.  He pulled softly on the cigarette.  It burned faster
than he remembered the Winston doing when he was a kid.  It was just a little
puff but his mouth was full of hot unfiltered smoke.  What a difference a
filter makes he thought as he opened his mouth and inhaled.

The smoke was thick and harsh.  He felt as if he was drowning but fought the
urge to cough.  The back of his neck tingled from the high dose of nicotine.
He did it again and again.  A lightheaded feeling came over him.  He finished
the cigarette and threw it out of the car.

He looked out the window and watched the burnt down Pall Mall smolder in the
parking lot beside hundreds of its filtered brethren.  He probably hadn't
been the first person to experiment with a cigarette behind this building.
He smoked one more and drove back to the front of the store so he could come
home with a carton of milk.

When he walked in the house, Linda was in the kitchen preparing dinner.  A
Pall Mall dangled from her lips like always.  He walked past her and said
hello as he put the milk in the fridge.  Linda couldn't smell the smoke on
him but would she smell his guilt?

Part 18

Time flies when you're having fun.  It had been almost a year since Linda's
return.  Health wise she was holding up far better than Dr. Snider, her
pulmonary specialist, would have imagined.  She left her appointment with Dr.
Snider feeling better than ever.

He didn't say things were fine.  He didn't tell her that she could smoke as
much as she needed without paying the piper at the end.  However, he did tell
her that under these extraordinary circumstances she was faring much better
than he expected.  She wasn't kidding her self.  She knew she couldn't cheat
death.  The best she could hope for was heart failure in her sleep.  But she
didn't have cancer today and that was a moral victory.

Two years of heavy smoking had made an impact on her health, but it was
nothing she couldn't live with.  Walking up stairs had gotten to be a bitch.
She didn't tuck Tammy in bed any more.  She let Peter climb the stairs
without her.  Her fingers and teeth were permanently stained yellow but Peter
didn't mind so why should she?  She didn't miss her weekend runs with Peter
either.  Just the thought of running made her cough.  But Peter wasn't
running as much as he used to.  Perhaps he was getting older.

She stopped at a convenience store and paid the clerk almost $27.00 for a
carton of Pall Malls.  As the clerk handed her change from a twenty and a
ten, she thanked God that Peter had a good job and could afford her habit.
He never said any thing about it to her, but she knew her habit cost them
almost $10,000 last year.  Peter paid more for her to smoke each month than
most people spent on their monthly mortgage.

During the past year, Peter had become a very accomplished closet smoker.  He
had tried several brands since he started, but stuck with Linda's Pall Malls.
He smoked about 10 or 15 cigarettes a day and no one had become the wiser.
He wished Linda and his mother weren't such hypocrites and he often
fantasized about smoking with them.  He wanted to light up and straddle his
wife.  He wanted to share a cigarette with her after they made love.  It
pained him that he could only watch from a distance as she enjoyed her Pall
Mall in front of him.

Linda would be home from her appointment with Dr. Snider soon.  He turned up
the oven to 450 degrees.  The lasagna would be ready in about 15 minutes.
That would give him time to set the table and call Tammy in.

Peter went to the front door and called her name.  When she didn't answer, he
walked out side and called her name again but got no response.  He searched
for her behind the house.  Linda was pulling in the driveway as he walked
toward the front.  He asked her if she had seen Tammy on the street in front
of the house.  Linda hadn't seen her.  Maybe she was at a friend's house.

They called all of Tammy's friends.  No one had seen her.  Linda's nerves
were shot and she lit up one cigarette after the other.  Neither of them
wanted to think about it, but they had too.  Peter dialed Mark Ferguson at
home.  He told Mark that he knew he was over reacting but he was scared out
of his mind.  Tammy was supposed to be in the front yard but she wasn't
there.  None of her friends had seen her.  It had been more than two hours
since she had gone outside to play.

Detective Ferguson was on their doorstep within a half hour.  He tried to
calm their fears.  It was probably nothing, but he would call his precinct.
An hour later the neighborhood was full of cops and concerned neighbors.
They scoured the nearby woods and went door to door.  Had any one seen any
thing suspicious- a stranger perhaps or maybe a car they hadn't seen before?

Detective Ferguson stayed with the Torrances until almost midnight.  The
phone had rung many times but it was never the call they were looking for.

"Do you think its him?" asked Linda.  "Do you think its Dr. Blacklung?" 

No one told her it wasn't.  Detective Ferguson looked on helplessly as Peter
tried in vain to console his sobbing wife.

Coming soon?-  Kidnapped:  The Return of Dr. Blacklung

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