A Mother's Story, Part 1

From SmokeLover@aol.com Tue Dec 10 10:50 EST 1996
From: SmokeLover@aol.com
Date: Tue, 10 Dec 1996 10:49:24 -0500

   This is the first part of an ongoing experience.  The rest hasn't happened
yet, but as it unfolds there will be more added.  

   This is also my first attempt at this type of story and I'm still
learning... hope it's enjoyable.  Any constructive criticism is welcome, as
well as any comments.



               A Mother's Story

   Leigh sat in front of the mirror of her vanity, her favorite place, and
took two Virginia Slims menthol 100's from the neat row in front of her.  She
slipped them into her sterling silver double-barrelled holder, then, as she
held the cool, tapered mouthpiece between her slightly parted lips, she
flipped open her Zippo, thumbed the wheel, and slowly touched the yellow and
blue flame to the tips of the waiting cigarettes.  She dragged deeply,
inhaling a prodigious amount of smoke, and the twin embers glowed bright
orange in response.

   She turned to the mirror and opened her mouth to reveal the milky smoke
swirling inside.  She watched it hover there for a bit then slowly breathed
in, still watching as the creamy cloud split and disappeared smoothly down
her throat and into her lungs.  She closed her eyes and savored the
menthol-cooled smoke momentarily before very slowly exhaling twin streams
from her nose.  Then, with the smoke so recently within her still swirling
sensuously around her, she watched herself take another long drag.

   "Mom, can I come up?" called Kathleen, Leigh's 13-year-old daughter, from
the bottom of the stairway.

   "Sure, hon, come on up."  The smoke from her last drag seemed to
illustrate her words, coming in thick clouds from her nose and mouth as she
spoke.

   She took another drag from her twin holder and, still watching intently,
slowly and smoothly French-inhaled all but a tiny wisp of the thick smoke as
Kathleen rounded the corner at the top of the stairs leading to Leigh's
bedroom.  "What's up, Kath?" she asked as her daughter crossed the room to
stand next to her.

   Kathleen looked at her mother then down shyly without responding, but
Leigh thought she knew what her daughter wanted.  She took another long drag,
tilted her head slightly upward, exhaled a long thick stream through pursed
lips then said, "Come on, hon, it's okay.  You can talk to me about
anything."

   Kathleen hesitated for a few seconds then, still looking down, asked in a
barely audible tone, "Um, I was wondering if I could try one of your
cigarettes."

   Leigh looked at her daughter who was blushing furiously, took a quick
double drag, exhaling the smoke from the first through her nose as she took
the second, and said, "Sure Kath, if you want."  

   She offered the holder with it's two half-smoked cigarettes to her
daughter.  The smoke curled lazily off the tips of the cigarettes as if
beckoning the girl, but Kathleen said, "No, mom, I mean can I have one of my
own?"

   Leigh took another deep drag, then a quick glance in the mirror in time to
see a thick puff emanate from her mouth and be quickly drawn back in before
she answered, "It's okay if you want one of your own.  It would probably be
better to try one instead of two anyway, at least at first."

   She held the pack, her fifth of the day, out to her daughter who took it
and withdrew one of the thin all-white cigarettes.  The cigarette looked so
natural between her daughter's delicate fingers that Leigh was both proud and
a little surprised.  She took a long drag from her holder and, as she slowly
exhaled, the thick smoke enveloped both of them like a comforting blanket.

   She handed Kathleen one of her spare lighters, a Bic, and as she watched,
her daughter flicked the flame to life and touched it to the tip of her first
cigarette.

   Leigh took a quick pull on her nearly finished cigarettes, held it
unconsciously, and watched expectantly, waiting to see if she would inhale or
just puff, as her daughter took her first tentative drag.  She was amazed
when Kathleen exhaled a small thin stream instead of the uninhaled cloud she
had anticipated.  

   Leigh was both pleased and proud, and she released, in a smoky sigh which
caressed her as it floated lazily toward the ceiling, the breath that she had
held .  She could tell from that first hesitant, yet somehow also confident,
drag that her daughter was going to love smoking as much as she did.      
   -end of part one-

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