The Hong Girls, Part 7

THE HONG GIRLS

by uciboy

PART SEVEN

Grace read the newspaper at the kitchen table, scanning over the headlines,
when she noticed Michelle walk in and move towards the sink to pour herself a
cup of coffee.  That's odd, Grace wondered, when did Michelle start to drink
coffee?  She watched her daughter sit down across from her at the table and
reach into her purse to pull out a cigarette.  After a free-handed light,
Michelle slowly drew the smoke into her body, put the lighter back in her
purse, and exhaled through her nose.  Her eyes moved towards Grace as she
brought her fingers to the cigarette and removed it, snapping back a puff
quickly before exhaling it in Grace's direction.

"Why are you smoking," Grace asked her with some confusion at what she was
witnessing.

Michelle continued to stare at her as she brought the cigarette up and held it
parallel to her face, the smoke rising high above her dark black hair.
"Because you want me to," she replied.

Grace felt paralyzed.  She could do nothing but watch her daughter smoke.  "I
want you to?"

"You want me to be strong," Michelle replied slowly.

Grace watched her move the cigarette into her mouth and take a small puff, but
Michelle began exhaling a cloud that filled the entire room.  Grace watched in
amazement as smoke billowed out of her daughter's mouth and swirled around
both of their bodies.  She felt a sense of comfort and peacefulness - even
pride.  Suddenly the calm was broken by a shout:  "Let her smoke!"

Grace awakened with a start.  She looked around the room, uncertain as to
where she was, and found Mike sleeping soundly next to her.  A dream, she said
to herself, only a dream.

It was already past 7:30 and she was eager to get on the road to Baltimore.
She leaned over to Mike who slowly opened his eyes as she caressed his face.
"Good morning, lover.  Time to get up."

****************************************************************

"Hey sis." Patty gave Michelle a nudge.  "Sis, wake up."

With sleep still heavy in her eyes, Michelle saw Patty looking over her.
"What time is it," she asked.

"It's 10:30.  Why are you sleeping on the couch?"

Michelle thought for a moment.  It had been more than a few hours since Kevin
had left.  She must have fallen back to sleep after saying goodbye to him.
Should she tell her sister?

"I, um...fell asleep talking to Kevin."

Patty looked at her with surprise.  "I know that yesterday was a big day for
you - your first day smoking and all - but I hope you didn't lose your,
uh,...."

"Don't worry," Michelle said sitting up with a yawn, "he was a real gentleman.
Are you just getting home now?"

"Oh - My - God, Michelle, what a night I had.  I'm so sorry I left you at the
party.  But I just couldn't resist Ann and Jen.  Come on, it's a beautiful
cool morning.  Let's go have a cigarette on the patio and I'll tell you all
about it."

***************************************************************

When Grace got home, she decided to park in the driveway rather than in the
garage.  She had some Christmas shopping left to do and she just wanted to pop
in to make sure the girls were okay before heading out again.

As she walked in through the front door, her eyes caught a glimpse of a full
ashtray on the coffee table - but these cigarette butts weren't cork-tipped
Saratogas.  She took a closer look.  Capri and Benson and Hedges.  Did Patty
have friends over last night?  The house looked too clean for a party, she
thought, and walked into the kitchen in search of the girls.

Through the kitchen window she saw Patty waving a Saratoga in her hand while
engaged in a lively conversation with Michelle.  But as Grace was about to
give them both a call, she stopped when she saw her youngest bring a thin
white cigarette up to her lips and take a puff.  She was stunned and literally
felt as paralyzed as she was in her dream earlier.  Michelle was now smoking.
"Let her smoke," she heard a voice say in her mind.

Grace felt a mixture of emotions.  Anger, for one, that Patty had disobeyed
her explicit instructions not to encourage her sister to smoke.  Guilt, for
another, that she allowed herself the pleasure of this image the night before
with Mike.  And yet she was surprised at the poise and maturity that Michelle
held as she smoked.  It was as if her youngest daughter had finally broken
through that shy shell she had always taken refuge in.  Could this be pride
that Grace was feeling as she saw a younger version of herself out on the
patio?

Grace didn't know what to do.  Neither of the girls had seen her, and so she
walked back into the living room, out the front door, and into her car.  She
pulled a Virginia Slim out of her purse and smoked it in less than two minutes
as she thought about her next move.  She was confused.  She needed to talk to
someone - and there was only one person who she felt would listen.

+++++++++++++++

Charlie was wiping down the glass case when he looked up to see Grace walking
into the smoke shop.

"Hello, Gracie," he said warmly with a hug.  "It's good to see you."  

"It's good to see you, too, Charlie."  

He reached under the counter and pulled out an opened box of Dunhills and
handed one to her which she took gladly.  "You know my weakness," she said
with a grin and moved forward to accept the flame from his lighter.  

"How ya doin', Gracie?"

Grace pulled a deep puff into her lungs and held it for several seconds before
letting it out in a heavy sigh.  "God, that's good."  She gave her cigarette a
tap and looked up at Charlie's face.  "You know, you're the only one who still
calls me Gracie."

Charlie gave a warm smile and replied, "Twenty-five years ago, a shy, 16 year
old Korean-American girl walked into my shop and bravely asked for a pack of
Dunhills."

Grace turned her head down with a smile as she took another drag, again
holding the smoke in her lungs before slowly exhaling.  "That was a long time
ago."

"Well," Charlie said gently touching her shoulder, "you were 'Gracie' then,
and as far as I'm concerned, you always will be."

Grace couldn't resist this old man's southern charm.  She had always regarded
him as a grandfather of sorts.  She bought her first pack of cigarettes from
Charlie, and over the years she's felt that she could trust him with anything.

"Now," he said after taking a puff on his cigar, "tell Charlie what's wrong.
What's a woman with two wonderful girls at home doin' in my smoke shop on
Christmas Eve?"

"Charlie, my youngest has started smoking and I don't know what to do about
it."  

Charlie couldn't hide the concern on his face, remembering that only the day
before he had warned Michelle that she couldn't hide her smoking forever.
"Have you talked to her about it," he asked, unsure whether to tell Grace
about his previous encounter with the girls.

"No," Grace replied with another tap on her Dunhill.  "I've suspected it for
several weeks, but had no proof until I saw her smoking this morning with her
sister.  I'm conflicted, Charlie.  She looked so grown up when I saw her
smoking.  It was as if I saw myself 27 years ago.  But I just can't help but
feel guilty about it.  She's only 14."  She turned to Charlie for an answer.

"Grace," he responded sympathetically, "kids, no matter how rebellious, look
to their parents as guides in life.  Your daughters see a beautiful and strong
professional woman and they want to be just like you.  In fact," he added
using his cigar with emphasis, "I don't think you'd want it any other way."

Grace stared blankly as she brought the Dunhill to her lips, thinking about
what Charlie had just said.  Could she really tell Michelle with a straight
face that she couldn't smoke for two years until she was 16?  Was this even
realistic with two smokers in the house now?  "Let her smoke," the voice said
in her head.

"I'm not about to tell you how to raise your kids, Gracie.  I know that you
are a good mother and that whatever decision you make will be the right one."
Charlie felt it was time to be honest with Grace, no matter what the
consequences.  "I promised them I wouldn't tell you this, but your daughters
were in here yesterday."

Michelle looked up at Charlie with surprise.  "Did you sell them any
cigarettes, Charlie?"

"No, no, honey, nothing like that.  Apparently they had already made a
purchase somewhere else, but I did tell Michelle that she was going to have to
fess up to you sooner rather than later.  Patty brought her in to buy a
lighter, and they looked at some holders."

Grace felt that she should be angry, but she couldn't hold back a giggle when
she imagined her daughters using a holder.  "Oh," she said with a shake of her
head, "they are their mother's daughters."

Charlie, relieved that Grace wasn't angry, added, "And Michelle was most
attracted to the mother of pearl holder."

Grace looked at Charlie with a wide grin as he gave a wink and a nod.  "I
think can finish my Christmas shopping now, Charlie."

***************************************************************

Grace decided to play it cool all day Christmas Eve, not revealing to her
daughters that she had seen them on the patio that morning.  But she did feel
that some sort of punishment was in order, and so she kept Michelle close by
her side all day while practically chain smoking.  Michelle found no
opportunities to sneak off alone and steal a cigarette.  She was able one time
to corner Patty for 30 seconds and take a puff from her Saratoga, but she was
in such a rough that she coughed from the strength of the tobacco.  

Michelle began to believe that her mother suspected she was now smoking.  But
how could this be?  She and Patty cleaned up the ashtrays as soon as they were
done talking on the patio.  Still - her mother was acting very weird.

Just to play it safe, she decided that she would hold off from smoking anymore
until her mother went back to work in a few days.  Then she found out that
Grace had decided to take a week's vacation so that she could spend more time
with her and Patty.  Ugh!!  How can I stand this, she thought to herself.

What surprised her the most was that the cravings would be so strong, if not
physiologically (she had, afterall, only been smoking for a few days), then
psychologically.  Michelle loved the act of smoking and wanted a cigarette so
badly that she snuck into her sister's room early on Christmas morning so that
she could ease her cravings.

When the Hong girls all got up to open presents, Grace asked Patty to join her
in the kitchen to help with the coffee.  "Honey," Grace said from the sink, "I
need you over here for a minute."  Patty picked up her cigarettes off the
kitchen table and lit one free-handed before walking over to her mother and
standing by her side.

"Now Patty, listen to me carefully.  I know that you disobeyed my instructions
to keep Michelle from smoking."

The blood drained from Patty's face.  Busted, she thought to herself.  "Mom,
I...."

"If you value your life, Patty," Grace said sweetly while pouring two cups of
coffee, "then you won't say a word right now.  Just understand that while I'm
not angry, there will be some penance required of you - to be discussed at a
later date."  With a smile, Grace handed her a cup.  "Merry Christmas, honey."

Patty was speechless.  She knew that despite this gentle tone, her ass had
just been raked over the coals - and that there would be more to come later.
She followed her mother into the living and sat on the couch next to Michelle,
smoking nervously, wondering what her mother's next move would be.

"Let's see what Mrs. Clause brought us last night," Grace said reaching under
the tree.  She pulled out a small jewelry case sized gift and handed it to
Michelle.  "You're so hard to buy for, honey, but I think you'll like this."

Michelle, oblivious to the conversation her Mom just had with Patty, opened
the gift like a bubbly school kid.  But when she took off the wrapping, the
box appeared familiar to her.  She opened it - and inside was the mother of
pearl cigarette holder that she and her sister had admired just a few days
before.  

Patty, in the middle of inhaling a puff, choked on her exhale as she looked in
shock at the holder in her sister's hand.  She glanced over at Michelle who
didn't know whether to be happy or scared that her mother was fully aware of
her smoking.

"Mom," Michelle replied with a gasp, "I...we...."  She couldn't say anything
coherent.

Grace reached behind her chair and revealed a carton of Capri 120's.  "Of
course, a holder is pretty useless unless you have the proper cigarette placed
in it."

Michelle could hardly believe what was happening.  Her Mom was going to let
her smoke openly.  "Thank you, Mom," she said as she ran over and hugged her.
"It's beautiful," and she looked closely at the pearl holder in her hand.

It took little encouragement to get Michelle to try out her new gift, and she
eagerly placed a Capri into the holder and lit it.  She loved the smoothness
that it provided to the smoke that filled her mouth and then her lungs.  Soon
the entire living room was filled with smoke as all three women happily
enjoyed their pleasure for cigarettes.

Grace couldn't help but feel proud as she watched Michelle smoke.  While there
were still some pangs of guilt, she felt that she had made the right decision
in letting her youngest smoke openly.  She looked forward to watching her
mature into the kind of strong woman that was of the Hong breed.

"Now," she said with a curious smile after lighting one of Michelle's Capris
in her own holder, "I'd like to know who was smoking Benson and Hedges here
two nights ago."

Michelle and Patty looked over at each other with a giggle.  "Oh, just a
friend," Michelle replied assuredly, and quickly handed her mother a gift from
under the tree.  She knew that smoking would bring her closer to her mother,
but there would always be some things that were better left unsaid.

END

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