Mick and Pamela Patterson were on the patio behind the Caldwell home.
Brooke and Ken were with them. Meanwhile their four girls were huddled on
the other side of the patio around a table playing an intense game of
Scrabble.
“Pamela, it’s been really fun getting to know you and Mick,” Brooke
offered contentedly. “God, I never would’ve thought we’d ever become friends
like we have these last two weeks.”
Pamela nodded. She shook out another cigarette from her pack and put it
in her mouth. The ashtray beside her chair was full of butts. She quickly
clicked her lighter. “Yeah, it’s been real nice, Brooke,” she agreed
heartily as she lit up. Turning her head she released a long thick exhale.
“Since I started smoking again we’ve found out we have lots in common!”
Ken Caldwell’s eyes were riveted on the tall blond Patterson woman
smoking. He smiled at her. “Tell me, Pam, now that you totally backslid,
just how much do you smoke these days?”
Pamela let out a nervous laugh. “Oh God, Ken, I don’t know,” she hedged
with a guilty grin. “A lot. Yeah, I’m smoking really a lot now. God, I did
backslide totally, didn’t I?” She furrowed her brow and thought. As she did
she dragged on her long white cigarette. “Well, at this point I guess I
smoke about a pack and a half of cigarettes a day,” she slowly answered at
last. “Sometimes more. Weekends it’s nearly two packs. God, that’s bad, I
know,” she grinned naughtily, turning her head to exhale into the breeze
again. “But I don’t care. I never even think about it anymore. As soon as
I finish one cigarette I almost always feel like lighting up another one
right away. So usually I do,” she shrugged, blushing. “Both of you can
relate, can’t you?”
“Yeah, totally,” Brooke giggled in quick agreement. “Pamela, last Sunday
I smoked _over_ two packs. Think of it. Over forty cigarettes in a single
day! But Ken never seems to mind,” she added with a nod at her husband. “He
never minds my smoking, do you, honey?”
Before Ken could answer Pamela spoke. “Yeah, Mick’s just the same with my
smoking, Brooke. He says he’s so glad to finally see me happy again, just
like I was when we first got married and I used to smoke all the time.” She
hit hard on her cigarette and snap-inhaled. “He says I’m less stressed, more
contented and much more tranquil now that I smoke constantly. I honestly
think he’s glad I started up again. I think Mick truly likes it. Don’t you,
dear?”
Mick answered with a bashful smile. “Yeah, well, I do like seeing you so
happy, honey. It’s undeniable that smoking calms you down, makes you mellow.
Most people would think this is crazy. But I actually think the cigarette
fairy did all of us a big favor visiting Pamela. You know, though, it’s the
funniest damn thing. Believe it or not the last couple weeks I started to
find cigarettes in my pockets and my car. That damn cigarette fairy’s at it
again and this time he or she is after me!”
“That’s weird. So I take it you never figured out exactly who’s doing
it?” Brooke Caldwell wanted to know.
“Nope,” Mick said, shaking his head. “We never did. When I started
finding cigarettes in my coat pockets I thought Pam might be playing a game
of payback because despite my denials she was sure I was the cigarette fairy.
Then I figured it must be Taylor but she says it’s not. I even asked Candice
if she was doing it.” He glanced over at the Scrabble game across the patio.
“But of course that’s ridiculous.”
Pamela lowered her voice. Discussions about the cigarette fairy still
filled her with anxiety. Her husband was being bombarded just like she was
and she knew Mick suspected her. She wanted to change the subject. “Hey,
you guys, you must tell us. What’s it like around your house now that
Ashleigh has begun to smoke with you all the time? It must be so weird. I
mean, how do you really feel about it? I could hardly believe it when I
heard you were actually letting her smoke!”
Ken grinned. “To tell the truth it’s been fine having Ashleigh smoke. It
doesn’t seem weird at all. Brooke and I agreed it was really no big deal,”
he continued earnestly. “After all, Pamela, weren’t you a teenage smoker?”
The tall blond nodded; he continued. “Yeah, well, we were, too. So Brooke
and I decided we’d be hypocrites to forbid Ashleigh to smoke if she wants to.
Hell, she’d just smoke behind our backs if we said no. We decided we’d
rather have it out in the open. It’s honestly been a great way to build
rapport with her. Ash now feels totally comfortable sitting down with us in
the evenings and joining us for a cigarette or two. We talk about stuff
together. I think it’s actually been good. Don’t you agree, honey?”
Brooke nodded. “Ken’s right. I’ve been surprised how nice it’s been,
Pamela. It’s so mellow hanging out with Ashleigh in the evenings and all
smoking while we talk. Really!”
“But you know, since Ashleigh started smoking it’s made me worry about
Taylor,” Pamela went on in a whisper. “I mean, she spends _so_ much time
with Ashleigh! Now that Ashleigh smokes you don’t think Taylor’s going to
try it, too, do you?”
It was Brooke’s turn to grin. She didn’t let on what she knew. “Pamela,
don’t be such an ass. Of course she’ll want to smoke! Sooner or later
Taylor’s bound to. Oh come on, honey. Don’t give me that surprised look.
Think for a second. How could Taylor _not_ want to now? You’ve become a
walking advertisement for nicotine addiction. It’s obvious you love it. How
can Taylor _not_ be interested with both her mom and her best friend
transformed before her eyes into shameless unrepentant smokers, total
nicotine fiends?”
“God, I guess you’re right,” Pamela slowly assented. She nervously hit on
her cigarette. A reluctant smile followed. “Taylor would have to be blind,
deaf and dumb not to see just how much I love it,” she sighed. “Obviously
Ashleigh loves it, too. But that’s no surprise, is it?” She looked over at
the Scrabble game where Ashleigh had just fired up another cigarette. “So if
Taylor were to tell us she wants to smoke, what do you think we should do?”
“How about offer her a light?” Brooke laughed sarcastically. “Right,
Ken?”
“Yeah, no question,” Ken quickly concurred. “Look, Pamela, you can’t
fight the inevitable. Don’t even try. If Taylor wants to smoke she’s gonna.
It’s just the way it is. Nothing you or Mick do or say will stop her;
unless, that is, you decide to quit, Pam. Even that may not be enough to
discourage Taylor now. So you may as well bless it instead of vainly trying
to forbid her.” He cocked his head. It was time to float a trial balloon
about their 13 year olds just to see what’d happen. “You know, ladies, with
Ashleigh smoking all the time I suspect that very soon Nina and Candice will
also want to experiment with cigarettes.”
Brooke was the one who now spoke in hushed tones. “You know what, honey?
I think Nina may already be doing just that!”
“Oh?”
She nodded breathlessly. “This morning I carried some laundry up to
Nina’s bedroom. The smell of stale smoke nearly overwhelmed me. Ashleigh
doesn’t spent _that_ much time in her little sister’s room.” She shivered
involuntarily. “I think Nina may be secretly smoking in her bedroom at
night.”
Pamela was speechless. “Shit, Brooke. Nina’s just 13. Oh my God, that’d
be awful!”
Ken again played peacemaker. “I don’t know about that,” he said with a
shrewd smile. “Tell me, Pamela. At what age did you have _your_ first
cigarette?”
The tall blond woman hesitated. “Oh God, I don’t know ?.” She pondered
while hitting on her Marlboro Light 100. “Shit, Ken, I suppose I was no more
than 14.”
“Both Nina and Candice are nearly 14,” Ken responded. “I tried my first
cigarette about that age. So did Brooke. All of us probably did. Frankly
I’d be shocked if Nina hasn’t already experimented with smoking at least
some.” He gave a casual shrug. “No big deal. It’s just the way teenagers
always are. They’re curious about things like smoking. They want to check
it out, so eventually they do.” He smiled. “And who can really blame them?”
“But if Nina _is_ experimenting with cigarettes,” Pamela began in a
conspiratorial hushed tone. “Shit, that means Candice probably will too
before long. They’re together all the time.” She glanced at the Scrabble
game. “Like Taylor and Ashleigh, they’re best friends.”
“Look, Pamela,” Brooke smiled. “The afternoon you first backslid you
admitted that most kids with parents who smoke sooner or later smoke, too.”
She raised her shoulders in a careless shrug. “I’m with Ken. All of us,
with the exception of Mick here, now smoke. So it’s almost inevitable for
our kids. I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it if I were you. Anyway there’s
nothing you can do about it; unless you want to quit like Ken said!”
“Quit? God, no!” Pamela shivered with a mortified smile. “No, I’ll
never quit. I don’t want to. I don’t even want to try,” she added with a
not very subtle wink. She looked at Mick. “Honey, Ken and Brooke are right.
Like it or not, almost certainly both our girls will wind up smoking like me,
and probably sooner rather than later.” She crushed her spent cigarette in
the overflowing ashtray. “Despite my earlier angst I guess I’m resigned to
it. So when Taylor ultimately does decide she wants to smoke I think I’ve
decided I won’t stand in her way.” After her last resolute statement she
automatically reached for another cigarette. Putting it in her lips she
swiftly lit it up. “After all, how can I tell Taylor not to smoke when I
myself do this over 30 times every single day?” She released a cloud of
smoke with a big smile.
“I think you’re right as far as Taylor’s concerned, honey. But what if
Candice wanted to smoke?” Mick asked. “Would you react the same way with
her?”
“God, I dunno,” Pamela shrugged without resistance. “Candice _is_ only
13. But that’s not so young. I started smoking about that age.” She
thought. “Brooke, you say you’re resigned to the fact that one day Nina will
smoke. Hell, it sounds like Nina may already be a smoker,” the blond added
wryly. “Taylor almost surely will want to smoke like Ashleigh does since
they’re best friends. Shit, Taylor may be smoking already. And if Nina is
also already smoking and she persuades Candice to try it ?. Hell, I suppose
there’s nothing we can do, is there? I guess whenever it happens we just
roll with the punches.” She laughed smugly. “Shit, I wish to God my parents
have done that with me when they discovered I smoked at that age!”
“Smart move, Pamela,” Ken interjected. “There’s really no other way to
handle it, is there? And when it does happen I’m sure that both your girls
will appreciate you taking such a realistic approach instead of freaking out
and going ballistic like most parents do nowadays.”
The Scrabble game broke up. The four teenagers sauntered over to the
adults’ area. Ashleigh smiled broadly at them. “So, when are we gonna eat?
We’re hungry!”
Ken smiled at Mick. “Hey, buddy, what do you say we fire up the grill?”
“Sounds good to me, Ken,” Mick grinned back. The two men got up and
walked across the back lawn to the grill.
“Taylor and I are going to go up to my room to look at the latest Vogue,”
Ashleigh announced with a twinkle in her eye. “Call us when the food’s
ready, Mom.”
“And Candice and I are going inside to play my Playstation,” Nina declared
with a nod at her comrade. “We’re gonna close the door so make sure you yell
when it’s ready.”
The four teenagers left. Pamela turned to Brooke. “Do you think the real
reason Taylor wants to go up to Ashleigh’s room before dinner is because
Taylor wants a cigarette?”
“Dunno,” Brooke lied with a sly grin. “But it wouldn’t surprise me,
Pamela.” Her neighbor hit the nail on the head. She knew Taylor smoked
nearly as much as Ashleigh did and watching her best friend smoke throughout
their Scrabble game must’ve driven the poor Patterson girl nuts. “So I take
it you’ve decided it wouldn’t bother you too much if she did?”
“Yeah, I guess I’ve reached that conclusion,” Pamela bluntly admitted.
She hit on her cigarette as Brooke lit up another. “And you know what,
Brooke? I’m just gonna ask Taylor. I mean, hell, if Taylor’s already
smoking I guess Mick and I should just give the poor kid the same smoking
privileges that you give Ashleigh. It’s only be fair.” She looked over at
her husband who simply nodded from across the way. “What do you think of
that?”
“I think it’d be real smart, Pam,” Brooke said with a calculating grin.
“But the bigger question is if Nina and Candice are doing the same thing in
Nina’s bedroom now. Why else would she announce that her bedroom door will
be shut, and probably locked, too?”
“Till this minute I never thought of it,” Pamela confessed. “But you may
be right.” A brash smile appeared on her lips. “If Nina’s smoking then
probably Candice is. Hell, so what if she is? Maybe I don’t give a shit.
Maybe none of us do. Am I right, Brooke?”
Brooke exhaled an endless stream of milky white smoke through her smiling
lips. “Yeah, you’re right, Pam. I probably wouldn’t care too much. Like
Ken said, we can’t fight the fuckin’ inevitable, can we?”
As the women smoked in silence they overheard Ken and Mick’s conversation
at the grill. “So, Mick, tell me. How is it that you never started
smoking?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Ken.” His answer was a bit too diffident.
Ken prodded. “Don’t play coy, Mick. You love watching that lovely blond
wife of yours smoke, don’t you?” He paused. “Come on, big guy. Don’t deny
it. I’ve seen the look in your eye. You know the one! Every time Pamela
lights up a cigarette you ogle her. Plus, I see how you stare at my Brooke
each time she does. You love seeing pretty women smoke, don’t you?”
“Well, it makes Pamela happy,” Mick fudged. “I like that.”
“Yeah, it does, but you like it for reasons other than just because it
makes Pamela so happy. You don’t fool me, guy. You think she looks damn hot
smoking! I can tell by how you stare at her. You love seeing Pamela take
long hard drags on her cigarette. You tingle each and every time she slowly
exhales smoke from her mouth and her nostrils in that cute way she always
does.” Ken gave his embarrassed friend a big grin. “Shit, don’t worry,
Mick. I feel the same way. That’s exactly why I started smoking myself.
I’ve always felt much closer to Brooke if I smoke while she does. You should
try it, Mick.”
“Oh, I don’t know, Ken,” Mick continued to waffle.
“Bullshit! If you’ve never smoked before, Mick, then it’s high time that
you learned.” Ken lowered his voice, talking just loud enough so hopefully
Brooke and Pamela could still hear. He wanted the girls to overhear but
wanted Mick to believe they couldn’t.
“I bet Pamela would love it if you smoked, Mick. Hell, Brooke prefers it
when I smoke along with her. It makes her feel much less guilty about
indulging herself constantly all day.” He grinned lecherously. “You _do_
want Pam to indulge herself, don’t you, Mick? I know you do. You want your
lovely wife to be as happy as she possibly can be about smoking, right?”
Mick gulped. “Well, yeah, I suppose I do.”
“Don’t be embarrassed, Mick. Loads of guys love seeing good-looking
females smoke, just like us. It’s no big thing.” He smiled evilly. “But
once you learn to smoke _with_ Pamela, Mick, and once you light up a
cigarette each time she does, God, it’s even better. It’s really a turn-on,
if you know what I mean!”
Mick blushed. “Well, Ken, I must admit the sight of Pam smoking seems
sort of sexy.”
“Sort of?”
“Okay, I confess. I think it’s really, really sexy when Pamela smokes,”
Mick laughed nervously. “I never talked to anyone about how I feel about
girls who smoke,” he whispered, wiping his brow. “God, it makes me
uncomfortable talking about this!”
“Naturally,” Ken smiled. “But I’m a kindred spirit, Mick. Trust me. I
love to watch girls smoke. Why do you think I smoke so much myself? I mean,
hell, I like it and everything. But the thing I really love is doing it with
Brooke. Even after all these years it’s still fuckin’ hot to smoke alongside
my nicotine addicted wife. God, it’s the best!” He narrowed his eyes to
slits. “Wouldn’t you like to try doing the same thing with Pamela? I bet
you would!”
“God, I never really thought about it. Do you really think I should?”
“Absolutely! You sure as hell should,” Ken laughed. This was easier than
he thought. Nina and Candice would be fuckin’ proud of him, those little
bitches! “Here’s what to do, Mick. Before bed tonight tell Pamela you want
to try smoking with her. Tell her you’re intrigued by all of the pleasure
she gets from smoking her cigarettes. Insist you want to share her smoking
experience. Initially she might object. Pay no attention. It’s just guilt
talking. Ignore it. Stick to your guns. Tell her you really want to learn
to smoke _with_ her, that your desire is to share the experience and learn to
enjoy it as much as she does. Girls love all that sharing shit. In the end
Pamela will love the fact that you want to share her smoking experience and
do it with her.” He paused. “Do you really mean to say that you never ever
smoked a cigarette?”
“Well, I tried it a few times as a kid,” Mick confessed. “I only I did it
because, well, because I loved seeing girls smoke so much.” He had a guilty
grin on his face. “But I never kept at it, if you know what I mean.”
“So you _have_ smoked! But you’ve never done it in tandem with a
beautiful babe like Pamela, smoking at the same time with her, have you?”
Mick shook his head ‘no.’ Ken honed in. “You’re missing one of life’s great
pleasures. Do this. Tonight tell Pam you want in on the fun she’s having as
a smoker. Ignore any lame protests she halfheartedly offers up about not
wanting you to make the mistake of becoming a smoker. Tell you already know
how much she loves smoking and you’re tired of feeling left out. Tell you
_need_ to smoke with her. You want to share the experience with her because
you love her so fuckin’ much. Trust me. In the long run Pamela will thank
you for it. She’ll adore smoking with you nearly as much as you adore
watching her suck on those long white cigarettes with her gorgeous red lips
and pull all of that thick, creamy rich smoke deep down into her lungs.” He
grinned. “Am I right?”
Mick put a steak on the grill and smiled at his neighbor. “You know, Ken,
you might be onto something.” He nervously poked the meat with a fork.
“Maybe I will.”
“Great. Let me know how it goes, buddy,” Ken laughed wickedly. “But just
between us, I bet you anything that it’ll turn out fuckin’ great both for you
and for Pamela, too!”
Ken lowered his voice to an unintelligible whisper, so soft no one else
did hear. “And if you like seeing pretty girls smoke, Mick, I have some
other stuff that I’d love to show you.”
“Oh?”
His whispering continued. “Do you ever check out internet sites with
pretty girls who smoke? Come on, be honest!”
Mick blushed even redder this time. “Uh, what do you mean?”
“You know what I mean, damn it,” Ken continued to whisper. “I can tell.
Listen, buddy, I’ve got some great smoking videos that’ll blow your mind.
They’re so hot! We’ll get together in private and I’ll share ’em with you.
They’re the kind of videos our wives don’t need to know about, if you catch
my drift.” He gave Mick a stealthy smile. “What do you think, big guy?”
A grin slowly appeared on Mick’s face. “Sounds great, Ken. Yeah, sounds
really good.”
Ken continued murmuring so the girls couldn’t hear from the patio.
“Excellent. You know, Mick, I never thought we’d ever have a thing in
common. But now our wives share a common bond as hopeless female nicotine
addicts. As a fellow fetisher I guarantee you’ll love my smoking videos. If
you take my advice you’ll also love smoking with your wife.” Then he, too,
finally turned his attention to the steaks on the grill.
Brooke at last stopped trying to hear the conversation at the grill. She
turned to her neighbor, who was lighting up yet another cigarette. “God!
Did you hear that, Pamela?” she whispered. “They were talking about how much
they like to watch us smoke and Ken’s trying to talk Mick into smoking with
you! What do you think of all that? Are you pissed?”
“Yeah, I heard,” Pamela smiled softly. She hit on her cigarette. “No,
I’m not pissed. I’ve known for a long time that Mick loves to watch girls
smoke. After I quit we fought about it many times. But now,” she said
wistfully, pausing to manicure her Marlboro Light 100 in the overflowing
ashtray. “Now maybe it’s good that he likes to watch me. I think Ken’s
right. It might be nice for me if Mick tried sharing my habit.” She sealed
her lips around the filter of her cigarette for another lengthy pull. “Yeah,
it might be _real_ fuckin’ nice to smoke together!”
“I love to smoke with Ken,” Brooke giggled. “Always have. I’m _so_ glad
Ken smokes. It makes me feel less pressured about smoking all the time. I
know he understands and I also know that he likes to smoke with me.” The
buxom brunette lit up another consecutive cigarette and joined her
chain-smoking neighbor. “So, Pammy, what _will_ you do tonight if Mick says
he wants to join in and smoke with you?”
Pamela giggled with a devilish grin on her face. “God, you know exactly
what I’ll do. I’ll just hand Mick a cigarette and offer him a light before
he can change his mind!” Meanwhile her neighbor Brooke who so quickly had
become her good friend exhaled a stream of smoke into the evening air.
Pamela pensively watched the smoke dissipate. “But know what, Brooke? I
still wish I knew who is the cigarette fairy. Not for the same reason I used
to. Before I wanted to know so I could lash out and get revenge. But now if
I knew I’d give that cigarette fairy a great big smoky kiss!” She laughed
before she again hit on her cigarette. “God, I’m happy being a smoker.” She
sighed and released smoky bursts as she talked. “I’m also happy being your
friend, Brooke. I not only love to smoke; I especially love having you as my
smoking buddy right down the street.” She hit once more on her Marlboro.
“Hell, I’m not even upset that my husband is about to take the plunge and
smoke with me, or that right now all of our kids are probably secretly
smoking and turning themselves into nicotine addicts. I really don’t mind.
I don’t give a shit!” She expelled twin streams of smoke from her nostrils.
“See, Brooke, I’m just as laid back as you now. Since the cigarette fairy
visited me, everything’s gotten a hell of a lot better at our house! You
know what I mean?”
“Yeah. Except for the cigarette fairy, Ashleigh never would’ve started to
smoke, either,” Brooke nodded. “Ashleigh and I are much closer now that she
smokes just like I do. It’s real nice, Pamela. I’m sure you’ll find the
same thing with Taylor now that she smokes.”
“Aha! So Taylor _is_ smoking?”
“Oops, I didn’t say that,” Brooke grimaced. But the look on her
neighbor’s voice told her the cat was out of the bag. “Hell, Pam, it can’t
be a surprise. You already knew, didn’t you?”
“Let’s just say I’m not shocked,” Pamela chuckled. “Like I said, now that
I love to smoke so much, how could Taylor not be curious? So, how long has
this been going on?”
“You should ask her yourself,” Brooke smiled sweetly. “Use it as a chance
to bond a little. Then offer Taylor a cigarette and see what she does with
it,” she giggled mischievously. “Yeah, Pam, your lovely 16 year old daughter
smokes all the time at our house. She has been for awhile,” she admitted.
“I’ve let Taylor smoke with us for two weeks. I promised her I’d never tell.
But now I don’t think it matters, does it?”
“Nope,” Pamela nodded. She drew thoughtfully on her shrinking Marlboro.
“Nope, doesn’t matter at all. Not to me. So I guess tonight I’ll sit down
privately with Taylor and tell we need to talk. I’ll close the door and get
out a cigarette. I’ll light it up and just hand it to her.” Pamela giggled.
“Actually, after listening to you talk about your situation with Ashleigh,
it’ll be kind of nice to have Taylor smoke with me!”
“Yeah, almost as nice as smoking with Mick later tonight,” Brooke
countered with a devilish grin. “The cigarette fairy sure as hell did change
your life, huh Pam?”
“Sure did, Brooke.” Pamela cackled. “Plus, if your suspicions about our
two 13 year olds are right then very soon I’ll be having that same discussion
with Candice. I guess I’ll let Candice out of the closet just like you’ll
undoubtedly welcome Nina into the fold. God, think of that! Soon all four
of our kids will be joining us as official, out in the open smokers. Who
would ever have thought? But you know what? That sounds amazingly nice to
me right now!”
“Yeah, to me, too, Pam,” Brooke had to admit. “Real nice!”
——————————————————————————-
“Nina, smoking in your room like this scares the hell out of me,” Candice
muttered nervously. “What if somebody comes in and catches us?”
“Shh,” ordered the brunette 13 year old. “Shut up. I’m trying to hear
what they’re saying out there!”
Candice waited, anxiously dragging on a cigarette. “Well?”
Finally Nina backed away from the window. She flashed a victorious smile.
She took the cigarette from Candice and put it to her lips. “Sounds like
smoking in secret won’t be necessary much longer, Candice.” She tilted her
head and released a smoky exhale. “My dad’s totally gotten to your dad.
He’s gonna ask your mom to let him smoke with her tonight. And now our moms
are talking about letting you and me smoke. They’re going on and on about
not fighting the inevitable and shit like that. Believe it or not both our
moms sound totally ready to just let us smoke if we want to. Not only
Ashleigh and Taylor, but also you and me, Candice!”
“No shit?” Candice wiggled her fingers. Nina handed back the cigarette.
The gangly blond hit on it. “Wow, I never thought our plan would work this
fast.”
“Yeah, well, congratulations, cigarette fairy. It finally worked. You
did it. We win. We’re gonna get to smoke!”
“No, _we_ did it, Nina,” Candice laughed. “With a little forced help from
your dad.”
“Don’t worry about Dad, Candice,” Nina laughed. She took a last drag from
the cigarette before crushing it in an ashtray hidden under her bed. “Daddy
didn’t mind helping us. Despite all his bitching I think he actually liked
helping us do this. In fact, I’m sure of it!”
Candice looked out the window and saw Ken Caldwell earnestly talking to
her father. She smiled. “Yeah, I think you’re right, Nina. I bet your
dad’s as happy about this as we are!”
“Almost, Candice,” Nina corrected her with a giggle. “Not quite, but
almost. Come on. Let’s go downstairs and eat. God, before tonight’s over
we may all get to come out as smokers, you and me and Taylor, too. Just
imagine the four of us girls getting to light up together and smoke
cigarettes in peace without any fear of being yelled at by our parents!”
“God, that’d be great,” Candice sighed. “I hardly believe it. That’d be
fuckin’ great!”
And it was!