Killing 2 Birds With One Stone

3 months ago a mother and daughter rented the house next door to me.I helped her and her daughter move their belongings in their new home. Stephanie, age 32, said she was going through a nasty divorce.She told me it was having a stressful impact on her and her 10 year old daughter Amber.I tried to console her that things would get better. About 45 minutes into helping them, I decied to take a cigarette break. Stephanie told me that smoking is bad for you. I told her that I already know that, but that is how I deal with stress. She sure did pay a lot of attention to me as I smoked my Virginia Slim Menthol Light 120 . After I helped her move her furniture in the house, she asked me if she could borrow something. I said sure, what would you like to borrow? She looked around to make sure her daughter Amber wasnt nearby. Then she asked if we could step in my house. I said sure. As soon as I walked inside, she came in and asked if she could try a few drags of the cigarette.I said so you are a smoker. She said no, but lots of my coworkers have told me the same thing you did. Its how they deal with stress.She said that she is so stressed with the divorce, she would at least give it a try.I lit a Virginia Slim up and blew the smoke towards her. She commented that it actually smelled pretty good. I handed her the cigarette and started to teach her how to do it.Teaching her to take small drags and inhale to avoid coughing fits. We shared two cigarettes together that night. She asked if she could borrow a few, so I handed her the pack with like 7 or 8 cigarettes in it.Then she said thamk you and wnt home. A couple of days later she saw me smoking on the porch when she came home.After Amber went inside, she came over again. She thanked me again and told me her stress level was going down since she started smoking. She asked me if she could borrow a few more, until she could buy her own starting tomorrow. So I gave her about 5 to last her the night.She told me she would smoke when Amber went to sleep at night.About three weeks later she came home and asked if she and Amber could come over. I told her she could come over anytime they wanted. About a half hour later, they came over, We went inside and I asked if they had eaten. They said no.I told her I would cook for them if they would like. They said sure.Stephanie came in the kitchen and said I need to tell you something, but please dont freak out. I told her that I am too laid back to freak out. Stephanie pulled out her pack of Virginia Slims, lit one up, and put the pack on the kitchen table.I asked her to light one up for me too. She then proceeded to take two out of the pack, lit them both, and blew out smoke. I said cool, now you smoke two at a time! She said no, I caught Amber smoking in my room the other morning, and decided to let my daughter smoke too. She is just as stressed as I am about the divorce.Amber came up, took the cigarette out of her moms hand, took a cheek hallowing drag, and blew the smoke out so elegantly.I told her it was cool with me. I started smoking at age 10 also.