Stairs, Part 1

Stairs

Part 1 - Saturday

Pamela woke earlier than usual Saturday morning. She felt a special something
as she stretched over to her bedside light and the packet of Player's next to
it. Efficiently she tapped the end of her strong, unfiltered cigarette, and,
drawing strongly, made sure to get a good even light. Inhaling while
replacing the lighter, she started her double pump, direct-inhaling her first
glorious lungfuls of the day. Nothing like it, Pamela thought, as she held
all the smoke in; then exhaled through her nose to be able to pull another
long luscious draw deep down inside her. 

While her smoke exerted its magic, her mind awoke and she started thinking
about yesterday's final decision. Yes, they were going to permit fourteen
year-olds to smoke cigarettes the very day after her daughter Suzy's
fourteenth birthday. There was no time to lose! 

Direct-inhaling puff after puff, Pamela now took a last double pump off her
Player's, stubbed it out, and reached for her packet again. With her second
cigarette her cheeks drew in even more as her chest awoke and could suck
longer, stronger drags into her lungs.  

Having been a model herself, Pamela wanted Suzy to win modelling assignments
for lots of TV and cinema commercials now that they could target cigarette
brands at fourteen year-old girls. Since it would be illegal to shoot
underage girls smoking, Pamela reckoned they would not start casting till the
new law went through. She had less than three weeks to get Suzy smoking like
a pro - and she knew exactly how to do it.

Pamela finished her cigarette, pulled out a fresh Player's, and left the bed
after taking a deep double pump. It was nice to feel the smoke penetrating
deeply into her lungs as she stood up. She dangled it while putting on her
dressing gown, taking the deep draws she loved when smoking hands-free.
Pamela continued strong pulls on her Player's as she went to the bathroom.
She returned to her bedside table, put out her cigarette, and lit her fourth
one of the day, one for the stairs, pocketing packet and lighter to bring
with her. Taking a long double pump before heading downstairs, she let her
posture and movement pull the strong tobacco smoke right down to the bottom
of her lungs. Suzy needs to get to at least this stage, she thought, her
lungs tingling a little in satisfaction. A booster drag helped her top up on
entering the kitchen, where the sunshine caught tendrils of smoke escaping
Pamela's nose despite her best efforts to absorb it all.

First thing was to put the kettle on with freshly drawn water, after which
she retrieved her Player's from the ashtray. She sucked down a good long
draw, and held while getting ready all the other bits and bobs needed for the
tea. She poured the boiling water, returned her cigarette to her lips, and
took a good double drag as she walked to the far end of the lounge.
Stretching up to open the first curtain, Pamela felt her smoke go right to
the bottom of her lungs, so she dragged again before reaching for the second
curtain. By the time she got back to the kitchen, she pulled strongly once
and again, to finish her ciggy, and made morning tea for herself and Suzy.

Only this was morning it was tea with a difference. She'd occasionally woken
Suzy while smoking a cigarette before, but today she wanted to gauge Suzy's
tolerance to cigarette smoke and smoking in general with an eye to this
evening's delicious debut. Come to think of it, Suzy had never complained
about her mum's continual smoking, except when she'd forgotten to open a
window during a car journey. And come to think of it, she had recently caught
Suzy watching her take long drags and deep inhales. She'd look away if Pamela
turned towards her. Pamela smiled: she was ready, all right.

Pamela placed the mugs of tea and an ashtray on the tray and lit a Player's
for the stairs, double pumping perhaps more strongly, and carefully put the
packet and lighter back in her dressing gown pocket. She followed this by a
another double pump as she stepped on to the stairs and climbed, letting all
the smoke sink down to the bottom of her lungs. A tightly pursed exhale
later, she was pulling hard as she stepped off the staircase and stopped
outside Suzy's room, letting the smoke seep right through her lungs. All that
exertion made her want to inhale again, so she made sure it was another long,
deep drag off her unfiltered cigarette to keep her topped up.

She opened Suzy's door, exhaling as little as possible, quietly seething with
excitement. After setting the tray down on the bedside table, mum sat on the
side of the bed and leant over to within an inch of Suzy's face. "Good
morning, darling. How did you sleep?" came out along with the fragrance of
strong cigarette smoke on her breath. Suzy smiled and opened her eyes. 

"Just fine, thanks Mum. Is that tea already?"

"Yes it is, and none too early!" Before Suzy could gripe at not sleeping
longer, Pamela added, "Today's a very special day for you, and for me, and
we've lots to do." Letting Suzy's curiosity grow, she took a long deliberate
draw on her cigarette and inhaled deeply, closely observed by Suzy. 

Casually she exhaled in front of Suzy as her daughter breathed in normally,
and continued, "You'll be fourteen in three weeks. It's time to prepare for
being a young lady and doing grown-up things ... but no more details till
you're down for breakfast. Sorry, but I'd never get you out of bed
otherwise," she smiled. "Come down when you've finished your tea, and I'll
make a start on breakfast." She took a last double pump off her cigarette and
put it out, half exhaling and then kissing Suzy on the cheek.

"See you soon then, Mum," Suzy said with a gleam in her eye, Suzy who hadn't
batted an eyelid at her mum's very smoky breath or close exhales.

During the course of the orange juice and cereal and toast and marmalade and
more tea, and more cigarettes for mum, Pamela explained that she wanted to
take her shopping to get some new, more grown-up outfits, followed by lunch
in town. Then it would be a trip to the hairdressers to have her deep auburn
hair restyled. She'd then have a manicure and professional make up. "We
should be back by the end of the afternoon, hon, just in time for afternoon
tea. That'll be a good time to teach you how to smoke cigarettes, too," she
dropped in.

Bang. Suzy, whose face lit up more and more with each thing mum mentioned,
stopped dead in her tracks. Her smile extended from ear to ear. "Wow, Mum,
you're fabulous. I can't believe how lucky I am. All that in one day, and
especially learning how to smoke. I've been really dying to try it for ages
now, and I'll actually be smoking a cigarette myself tonight." She came round
the table to give her mum a huge hug and kiss. She was thrilled beyond words.

It was great shopping for clothes with mum. Suzy was surprised how Pamela
pushed her to be adventurous, as long as everything was classy and well made.
She felt at least sixteen, maybe eighteen, as she tried on her first pair of
shoes with a real heel. Even better, she and mum picked out a cute handbag to
go with her new shoes, just big enough, mum explained, to hold keys, a purse,
a little make-up, two packets of cigarettes, a lighter and spare. Suzy
thrilled to think that in a few hours' time she'd be smoking her first
cigarette ever!

They ate lunch together at a charming little restaurant. Suzy couldn't help
noticing how many other women smoked, and quite a few of their daughters were
sucking on cigarettes, though they were all older than her. With heightened
interest, Suzy watched her mother enjoying cigarettes both before and after
the meal. She realised mum smoked in a stylish and very feminine way while
pulling long drags deep into her lungs. She would try to smoke as beautifully
as her mum, noting how elegant she looked with her cheeks fully hollowed as
she extended a draw. That's the look I want when I smoke, she thought.

Mum's hairdresser did a cute and sophisticated job on Suzy's hair, a simple
bob but curled up at the ends. She couldn't believe how grown up she looked.
Once the make-up and manicure girls had added their finishing touches, it was
definitely a new Suzy who walked into the world. What a transformation. Yet
she hardly dared think of what was still to come, so excited was she at what
was planned for afternoon tea.

Of course Pamela was only too well aware that her own smoking was on show,
and on the way back in the car treated her daughter's eyes and nose to two
Player's smoked back to back with nonchalant strong draws and long holds.
Neither Pamela nor Suzy opened a window.

They got back to the house a little after four o'clock. Pamela secured the
handbrake and lit a cigarette to dangle while helping carry Suzy's bags into
the house. She loved to take strong drags direct into her lungs as she
dangled her cigarette, and then feel the smoke go right down as she
straightened up. It had been a long day and both mother and daughter looked
forward to putting their feet up with a nice cup of tea. Actually, both
mother and daughter looked forward to putting their feet up with a nice cup
of tea and a cigarette. Not long now.

Mum said they should both take a quick shower to freshen up, taking care not
to get the new hair and make up wet. Meeting up afterwards in the kitchen,
Suzy watched her mum make tea and cut some cake while taking long draws off
her Player's. Neither spoke much, instead thinking about a forthcoming event
in Suzy's life that was now very close. Pamela put out her cigarette and
poured the tea. They took their tea and cake into the lounge and made
themselves comfortable on the sofa, lounging back on the cushions though not
wholly relaxed.

Pamela sipped her tea and nibbled her cake to compose herself for her
daughter's big moment, her first cigarette. Suzy did likewise, on tenterhooks
for what was to come next. Finally, mum spoke. "It is exceedingly important
that you learn to smoke properly, in a feminine and competent way." She
paused. "I'll be teaching you in easy steps to let your body get used to
cigarettes, and I expect you'll be smoking your own cigarettes by early this
evening. All going well, you'll be smoking properly by Sunday lunchtime, so
we'll be able to smoke together for the rest of the day. Won't that be good?"
Suzy nodded enthusiastically.

"Smoking properly is all about breath control, so I want you to always
remember two things every time you draw on a cigarette, until it becomes
natural and automatic. First, you must breathe out fully before drawing,
otherwise there'll be no room for you to inhale correctly. Second, and very
important, you must inhale as deeply as you can. It's not only better for
you, but you'll feel it more too - it's more satisfying. So what are the two
things to remember, Suzy, each time you draw on a cigarette?"

"I must exhale fully before drawing, Mummy, then I must inhale as deeply as
possible," she quickly replied. "Excellent, darling, I think you're ready to
start." Suzy could hardly contain herself, stopping herself from smiling too
widely. "We'll start with a little preliminary step to get you used to
smoking cigarettes. I'm going to inhale a puff off my ciggy and, with our
mouths nearly touching, blow the smoke into your mouth for you to inhale.
It'll be mixed with lots of air to make it easy for you to take down. Come
and sit next to me and we'll begin."

Pamela carefully lit a fresh Player's and directly inhaled a long second
drag. Through talking exhales, she explained that she wanted Suzy to breathe
out whilst she took a drag and hold her breath during her inhale. They'd then
move their mouths together and Suzy would be able to suck in mum's cigarette
smoke straight from her  mouth, and she'd be direct inhaling properly from
her very first puff.

"Here goes, darling. You're ready? Now start breathing out." Pamela took a
smaller than usual drag, sucking it right back while watching her daughter
exhale then hold her breath, exactly as instructed. She moved her face in
front of Suzy's, and began to blow between her parted lips as she drew
breath. To her credit, Suzy expanded her chest and pulled the smoke back as
far as it would go. Not knowing what to do next, she held the smoke in till
mum said, "OK, hon, blow out gently through pursed lips." To Suzy's delight,
she could see a faint cloud of smoke escape from her lips, and felt very
pleased so far. She wanted more. 

"How was that, hon? Do you feel OK?"

"Fine thanks, Mum," she replied and waited for more.

Pamela took a stronger and longer pull on her Player's this time, checking
that Suzy was breathing out, and inhaled deeply. Moving to Suzy's lips, she
let her smoke gush forth as Suzy sucked in all the way. She really felt it
this time deep inside her virgin lungs and her face lit up. Gently she blew
through her pouted lips and saw a real exhale grow from barely a wisp. She
felt a little lightheaded but fine, and this time she caught the flavour of
rich Virginia tobacco. 

"That one looked good. Shall we do it again?"

"Yes please, Mum." Suzy started exhaling as Pamela sucked strongly on her
cigarette, giving it an extra count of two. She inhaled fully, held a few
moments and made her smoke available to Suzy, who sucked as much in as she
possibly could. She felt the extra volume of smoke go right to every part of
her lungs. Wow! She thought, that's a great sensation. It felt so nice that
she only released some of the smoke during a short exhale; she was thrilled
to see more smoke emerge from her mouth and nostrils as she exhaled a second
and third time.

"You're doing really well, darling, for an absolute beginner," Pamela said
encouragingly, impressed by her daughter's ease in inhaling so far. "There's
only one problem. When I take a draw, you only get a small amount of my smoke
because I've inhaled it so deeply." She paused to take a long draw for
herself without sharing, and enjoyed it in her lungs. Exhaling, she
continued, "This time I'm going to take one draw for me then, before
exhaling, take another draw which will be for you once I've inhaled them
both. So make sure you really breathe out fully this time while I'm inhaling.
Ready?"

"Oh yes please, Mummy. I'm breathing out now." Pamela sucked strongly on her
filterless Player's cigarette, inhaled, then started a long deep double pump,
and breathed in. Suzy was in position straight away. She sucked in a much
greater volume of smoke from her mum's double pump, sat up straight and
grinned as she felt a wonderful full feeling in her chest. After a while, she
began a series of gentle exhales, interrupted when her mum said, "Breathe out
through your nose, hon, for a last one." More of the same felt so delicious,
Suzy inhaled more deeply than ever, her eyes sparkling with pleasure.

Pamela finished the Player's with a double drag, stubbed out and reached over
for a fresh one. "Darling, you've passed the first stage with flying
colours," she announced after lighting up. "You're almost ready to smoke a
cigarette of your own. While you take a pause, why not take a cigarette out
of the packet to get the feel of it. That's it, you push up from the bottom
of the pack and gently pull one out with your finger tips. Hold it between
your two fingers while you close the packet. That's fine. Now put the packet
back on the table and take the lighter. As you've seen me do, tap the ends
smartly against the lighter - you can also use your thumb nail - and it's
ready to light. Hold on. Sorry but I'll be lighting your first ones for you."

"I like the packet with the navy blue stripe," Suzy said. "What's so good
about Player's?"

"Quite simply, they are everything you want from a cigarette. Being untipped,
they draw beautifully so it feels extra good to direct-inhale as much smoke
as you want to. They're reasonably strong so the rich Virginia flavour makes
inhaling them very satisfying when you really pull the smoke down to the
bottom of your lungs. That's why they say `Player's please!' You just have to
make sure your lips are dry or have a little lipstick or lipgloss on before
you draw on your cigarette. Sure, you'll get a speck of tobacco on your lip
or tongue occasionally, but that's easy to deal with when you know how. Like
most things, Suzy, it's all a matter of practice, so the more cigarettes you
smoke the better you'll get, won't you?"

"I can't wait to smoke my own cigarette, Mummy. Can you light it for me?"

"Not so fast. First hold the cigarette comfortably between your lips, close
your lips round it and suck through the cigarette, straight into your chest -
it'll be easier once it's lit. That's right, try again but this time
straighten up as you suck to make sure you're direct-inhaling properly. Very
good, just like that. I'd better light it for you!" Pamela did her customary
long double pump on light up, and inhaled deeply. She continued, "I'm going
to hold it to your lips while you take a short puff and inhale, like this."
Pamela took a quick pull, exaggerating her chest movement, and inhaled. "Now
breathe out," she told Suzy, with a talking exhale. Suzy's lips wrapped
keenly round the end of the Player's as she sucked a short drag from the
bottom of her chest, inhaling as fully as she dared. Wow! Even better than
the last big puff from Mum. She pursed her lips and saw a stronger stream of
smoke come from her own mouth. As she turned to her Mum for more, Pamela
said, "Suck a little more strongly." She really felt this inhale filling her
chest with smoke, and kept inhaling till her Mum said, "Purse your lips and
gently exhale. That was good, darling. On your next draw, I want you to pull
more strongly still,  so make sure you exhale fully first. Here you go," she
encouraged, as she brought the Player's once more to her daughter's lips.

Inevitably Suzy's draw lengthened as she sucked her smoke in more strongly.
She direct-inhaled right off the end of her Player's and smiled as she
straightened up while inhaling fully. She found she quite naturally wanted to
start exhaling through her nose, a new sensation Suzy liked a lot, realising
it kept more smoke in her lungs to re-inhale. It took several more gentle
exhales before smoke stopped coming from Suzy's lips and nostrils, while mum
took a crafty drag off their shared ciggy.  

"One more puff for now, hon, then you'd better have a break before smoking a
whole cigarette of your own before dinner." 

"Yes please, mum." Suzy gleamed.

"Breathe out fully and make it a good one," Pamela said as she brought the
cigarette back to Suzy's lips. Suzy took a good strong draw to a count of
two, and inhaled, and inhaled again perhaps to keep this last draw a longer
time inside her. Mum polished off the Player's with a double drag, stubbed
out and reached for her next cigarette.

"We'd better make a start on that dinner," Pamela said, lighting up again,
and she walked to the kitchen trailing cigarette smoke. Suzy snapped out of
her reverie and followed mum. The two of them busied themselves preparing a
tasty casserole, which then needed most of an hour in the oven, so they set
an elegant table for Saturday night, on this occasion including a wine glass
for each of them.

Mum said, "How about a nice cigarette before we freshen up for dinner?"
leading the way back into the lounge.

"That sounds good, Mum, let's." They settled back on to the sofa. 

"And this time I'll light you one to smoke all by yourself," mum casually
said.

"Mmm, yes please, Mum," Suzy said, hardly able to suppress her excitement.
Pamela took out two Player's and tapped them both at the same time. She
carefully lit one with her usual double pump, inhaled sharply, and handed it
across to her daughter. While she lit her own Player's, Pamela watched Suzy
breathe out then pull sharply and confidently on her own cigarette. She
inhaled greedily then nose exhaled as she brought her ciggy up for another
good strong draw. Pamela noticed how she was starting to control her smoke
better, so that both her confidence in and enjoyment of smoking cigarettes
grew with every inhale. Only too soon was her ciggy smoked to the last inch.
Mum advised: "Take two last puffs, yes, close together, that's right", she
must have been watching me, Pam thought, "and fold over the burning end to
stub out. Good girl! Well done." 

They both went for a bathroom and bedroom session, Suzy putting on a chic
white blouse from her new wardrobe; after all it was Saturday night. She
carefully touched up her make-up, fixed her hair, and added a swish of
perfume to her wrists. She was definitely ready for a grown-up dinner with
mum. 

The ladies seemed in great heart during their meal, enjoying the casserole,
hungry after a busy day, sipping their wine, all the while chatting and
laughing. Soon enough, they had eaten their fill.

"Would you like to try an after dinner cigarette darling?" 

"Oh, I would, please, Mummy." Pamela lit a Player's for her and gave her her
second cigarette of her own, her third cigarette counting the shared one.
Suzy felt really proud of herself as she drew hard on the lit ciggy, inhaling
fully and deeply. A cigarette really tasted and felt good after a meal, as
she'd heard everyone say. The two ladies said hardly a word while savouring
their cigarettes, pulling time after time on their Player's till they were
finished.

In the afterglow of a good meal and satisfying cigarette, Pamela was in a
relaxed mood, so she poured another glass of wine for both of them. Of
course, after a sip or two, Pamela could not resist lighting another ciggy,
only to feel Suzy's eyes glaring at her, as if to say, "That one's for me,
hand it over!" Which she did, completely understanding her daughter's desire.
"Nothing like a ciggy with a glass of wine," they seemed to blurt out
together and burst out laughing. Suzy drew deeply while mum lit a cig of her
own.

After enjoying the first puffs from her freshly lit Player's, Pam said to
Suzy, "I just wanted to say how well you're doing smoking your very first
cigarettes. I'm very impressed, darling, and with attention and plenty of
practice, I'm sure you could be very good indeed and enjoy all the pleasures
of cigarette smoking. Naturally I'll be helping you succeed all I can, but
it's up to you too to concentrate on getting it right and put in the
necessary practice on your own as well as with me. Are you sure you like
smoking enough and do you understand what lies ahead if you carry on?" Pamela
took a long double pump after all that and inhaled audibly. 

"Oh Mum, I really adore smoking already. Of course I'd love to keep smoking
cigarettes and don't mind in the least all the practising I know I need to
do."

"That's my girl," mum enthused. Now she wanted to instill in Suzy the idea of
smoking cigarettes regularly. "OK then, for the rest of the evening, I'll
allow you one cigarette every hour or so but I'll still be lighting them till
you've completed certain important lessons tomorrow morning. We'll really
take on your smoking technique then and I'm sure you'll progress quite
naturally from there." Suzy got up to kiss her mum on the cheek. "What a
wonderful mum I've got."

It was already nearly nine o'clock so they repaired to the lounge to watch
television, Suzy settling into her usual armchair, mum taking the sofa
opposite where she immediately lit a fresh Player's. Suzy looked across
enviously, wondering when she'd next be allowed to smoke.

There was a good drama on and Pamela got absorbed enough to light cigarette
after cigarette without thinking about it, or about how smoking almost
continuously would come to appear normal for Suzy in due course. The second
commercial break began and Pamela lit another cigarette. As she inhaled, she
gestured over to Suzy with it. Suzy needed no further prompting to come
straight over and take the cig from between mum's fingers. 

She dragged all the way back to her armchair, inhaling as she sat back down,
and noticing how her smoke went in deeper than usual. She made a mental note
to try that again. She noticed too that it was only forty minutes after she
last smoked, much sooner than the hour mum mentioned. She felt so happy as
she drew hard on her cigarette and sucked all the smoke deep into her lungs.
She tried nasal exhales and tight cone exhales to deepen her holds, and loved
the feeling that suffused her chest and whole body when she inhaled.

It could only have been half an hour later (and two maybe three more
cigarettes for mum) that Pamela again waved her arm to Suzy with a freshly
lit Player's between her fingers. "This one's for you, hon." Suzy was ready
for another cigarette by now, losing no time in collecting it from mum. At
this stage, she would only drag for a count of two but she'd already learnt
to draw hard to pull more smoke from her Player's and inhale open mouthed to
deepen her satisfaction. She fully inhaled and thoroughly enjoyed every puff
from her cigarette.

By now after her two glasses of wine and, she realised with glee, six whole
cigarettes, Suzy felt quite relaxed. In fact she was slightly startled when
the comedy they'd been watching ended a quarter of an hour later, and mum lit
another ciggy and said, "Time for you to head upstairs shortly darling, we've
plenty to do once you're up and about tomorrow. If you want a last cigarette
before bed, you'd better have this one."

"Mmm, please Mum," she replied, reaching over again in what was becoming a
practised movement. "Thanks." Suzy drew hard, inhaled, then drew again and
inhaled, in the knowledge that this was her last cigarette before the
morning. Lovely cigarettes, she thought, as she pulled smoke down inside her
again and again. 

"If I've not seen you up by nine-ish tomorrow, I'll come and wake you," said
mum. "Come downstairs for a cup of tea and your first cigarette of the day if
you feel like one. I don't want breakfast too late so we can get started on
your next lessons."

Suzy sucked down her last double pump and stood up after stubbing out. She
paused for a few moments to let a few wisps of smoke emerge reluctantly from
her nose, kissed her mum good night, and went happily up the stairs to bed.
Mum had a big smile on her face and reached over for another Player's. She
lit up and leant back.  During long luscious pulls off her cigarette, and
impossibly long  holds in her chest, Pamela felt completely satisfied with
her daughter's progress. In fact she was intensely proud of Suzy's smoking
accomplishments today: not only had she learnt to direct-inhale with ease and
relish, she had smoked no fewer than seven full-strength unfiltered
cigarettes on her very first day on cigarettes; come to think of it, all her
cigarettes were only from just after four o'clock when she inhaled cigarette
smoke for the first time. Great going, and well on track for mum's plans. 

Pamela decided to light a fresh cigarette for the stairs and went up to bed,
where she was still so thrilled that she allowed herself four ciggies in bed
instead of her customary two or three.

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