Watching Her

"I haven't thought about it, as all night, all I can see on my closed eyelids is rather prettier self in the mirror enjoying more and more smoke in my lungs.'" Lucy replied pursing her lips together pensively as they both brought their filters to their lips.

They exhaled away from each other in a mirror image before locking eyes together again. "Your gran, us, who else has the mirror done this too?" Tammy asked.

Lucy shrugged her shoulders as they both in perfect symmetry flicked the cigarette with their fingers, the ash fell and swirled with the wind before dropping on the floor. "Do we, can we actually worry about that?"

Confusion and intrigue reigned on Tammy's face as she thought about it. "Are you not intrigued? It could have been a lord or lady, a famous 1930's movie star trained to smoke by their mirror?

Lucy smiled and shrugged her shoulders "I am not sure?" she replied.

"Did you as a kid know about the mirror?" Tammy asked before they both took a long cheek hollowing inhale, before turning away from each other and exhaling again.

"Err, it was there, but I don't think I ever sat in front of it."

"Where you like banned from her room?" Tammy asked before taking yet another hit.

Lucy shook her head, "I don't think so, but I was so young, the last time I visited her house, I can't remember it. I must have played in her room, hallway, children do?"

"Surely?" Tammy asked tilting her head inquisitively.

Lucy shook her head, "All I can ever remember about her is the smell of cigarettes permeating my clothes when we got home, and mum almost marching me to the bath to wash my hair and putting my clothes in the washing machine and thinking about it, that when with Granny she always had cigarette between her wrinkly fingers." She audibly gulped as she looked down at the burning white cylinder between her slim smooth hands and then just had to bring the filter back to her lips.

Tammy flicked the long ash off the cigarette just as her Reflection had taught her "Do you know why your dad kept it all; he could have flogged it, or given it all to a charity shop?"

Lucy twisted her mouth as she thought, "I think Granny and Grandad dying so relatively young, comparatively I think he wanted to keep hold of the memories. Our house was full of her knickknacks that he just couldn't part with, it drove mum mad. She refused to dust or clean any of them, so at the weekends Dad would run round with a duster!"

Tammy stifled a giggle "Was he addicted to them?"

Lucy nodded "I think he is, was, certainly attached to her memories, I think that is why I have got all the furniture, he is passing her on to me, I think."

"Which is why you are now smoking; he has replaced her with you?" Tammy asked looking on.

Lucy shrugged her shoulders "Or the mirror at least has, it has skipped a generation?" she winced at the thought and for comfort brought the filter to her lips, her cheeks collapsed as she closed her eyes as she pummelled her lungs with the smoke.

"This is different though, isn't it?" Tammy asked as Lucy pursed her lips together for long cone of an exhale.

"What is?"

"This, we, the smoking?" Tammy suggested.

Lucy shook her head, then bit her bottom lip and screwed her face up as she thought, "Tam, no, it can't be, I don't think so."

"Oh, but we will be alright, won't we?" Tammy asked for conviction before they both took a final longing drag on their respective filters before standing up and taking in turns of stubbing the cigarette out on the silver ashtray bolted on the side of the shelter.

"Err, yeah, absolutely, oh talking of being alright are you coming to Zumba with me this evening?" Lucy asked as she double checked she had her stuff together.

Tammy smiled and twisted her mouth and then grinned hopefully, "Err, no, I was thinking whilst you were out, I could, err, possibly sit and have some time on my own in front of the mirror?"

Lucy wryly smiled and shook her head as she stood up "In that case we might need a couple more packs on the way home then, come one let's get back to work!"

Part 4

Lucy was still fast asleep in bed, tired from last night's Zumba overly hard exertions. It had practically killed her again, but for Lucy it was the first time in what felt like ages that Tammy hadn't followed her like a lap dog everywhere she went. Preferring to stay at home alone for some quality time, as she called it with her Reflection in the mirror. But now Lucy was lying there faced with her recent reoccurring dream of her smoking. From what should have been a nightmare, it was a pleasant dream, made better every single time she lit up, her head turned to the side and smiled as the angle light suddenly flicked on, she grinned at her Reflection and then the delight where she could watch in the mirror as both her and her Reflection lit the cigarette and then smell the smoke, and feel the nicotine repetitively flooding her system.

She opened her mouth and felt the gently flow of smoke into her lungs. She stared deep into her blue eyes as the grey smoke drifted out of both their noses, as the last whisp of smoke wafted out, she sniffed the air and smiled as she watched as her hand as it followed her reflection and again took another drag.

As her hand returned from her mouth and they exhaled she glanced down at the white cylinder burning ever closer to her fingers and frowned, the cigarette was nearly at the orange filter, it had only been just lit, she panicked, it was over far too quickly, the Reflection smiled again and pulled yet another cigarette out, they used the butt to light the next one and away they went again, the smoke dancing in front of them with every breath.

Lucy again sniffed the air, she smiled, she could still smell fresh smoke in the air and then as the smoke drifted from the cigarette directly up her nose she coughed and suddenly woke up. With one eye open, the other was stuck with sleep, she looked at her ceiling, and rubbed her eyes with both hands as she yawned as she watched the cloud of smoke drift over her head, she tilted her head up and tutted as she saw the angle light on and dark mass of hair and the naked back of Tammy through her halo of exhaled smoke.

"Morning you" Tammy grinned happily as she saw Lucy's face appear in the mirror whilst still in bed.

Lucy groaned as she sat up in bed, pulling her duvet protectively up with her. "Morning!" she croaked and coughed again.

"Sorry about this I just couldn't wait this morning, I've been lying there for ages waiting, and you were sleeping so soundly!" Tammy grinned as she refocused her glance in the mirror as she copied her Reflection as she flicked the ash off her cigarette.

With a wry smile Lucy nodded "Its fine, I was having an amazing dream, anyway I know the feeling, especially if you spent the evening in here, shuffle up!" she replied groggily and as she pulled her duvet for warmth with her as she padded around the bed until she was sitting beside Tammy.

She dropped the bedclothes and looked up and smiled at her topless and perfect looking Reflection, her hair was nicely brushed, and up in a ponytail, all ready for the day, the mirror image was taking no account of Lucy's obvious bed hair and tired makeup free sleep face.

"Morning you!" she grinned at her Reflection as it fluttered her eye lashes in return as they pulled out a cigarette from the pack on the table and placed it between their lips.

"Hey" Tammy responded as if the question had been directed at her and smiled warmly in the following silence as the click of the lighter and she looked out the corner of her eyes as Lucy and her Reflection hurriedly put the flame to the cigarette between their lips, their cheeks deeply concaving as they delt with the morning cravings.

Once Lucy exhaled Tammy finally spoke again "Sorry again for creeping in, I tried to be as quiet as possible."

Lucy ran her tongue along her lips and a smile crept across her face, "You know like I said the other day, there are no house rules...as such I don't care if you smoke in your own room?" she reminded Tammy as she flicked the ash from her cigarette and returned the filter between her lips as her cheeks collapsed deeply around the cigarette again.

Tammy nodded as she dragged in parallel "Yeah!" she said with her exhale, "But I don't get to see, you know, I rather like watching...her..." She trailed off as she turned her head and focused her attention on her naked Reflection with the stylish hair, make up already done. She looked studding wth her impressively large, if slightly sagging, breasts with large dark brown areolas with the chilled erect nipples pointing directly back at the mirror, as they both manicured their cigarettes, simultaneously their chests and breasts rose up in the mirror as they inhaled deeply on the cigarette.

As the smoke from the exhale drifted in front of them Lucy turned to Tammy "But didn't you spend the whole time I was at Zumba sitting here, with her, in front the mirror?" She asked and Tammy winced as if she had been found out and nodded as they sat there, cigarettes burning between their fingers, smoke drifting up lit by the mirror beside them lost in the moment, but their silence and peace was then broken when then both jumped instantaneously on their shared seat as Lucy's alarm clock noisily went off behind them. They looked at each other, both gently coughed and then giggled "I guess we both need to get ready for work!" Lucy stated briefly wiping her nose the back of hand before putting the cigarette back between in the corner of lips, she proud the Reflection had shown her how to dangle it as she made her way across the room to turn the increasing frantic and loud noise off.

"Yeah, but maybe, just maybe I can have just one more with...her?" Tammy asked as she leaned into the mirror and studied her smoking hot Reflection once more.

Lucy put the alarm clock down with a thump and removed the cigarette from her lips and let the smoke drift out, she stood against the bed with her arm across her slim belly and the other with the cigarette held away from her naked body and chuckled "Tam, you can do whatever you want!"

She placed the cigarette back between her lips, the cigarette went erect as she again dragged hard as the tip burned bright red in the dusky semi-darkness in the corner of the room before she clamped her fingers around it, removed the filter from her lips and volleyed the smoke from her lungs out across the bed, Lucy then with a big smile sauntered back to the dressing table flicking the ash in the very full ashtray as she sat down.

Lucy looked at her Reflection who fluttered her eyelashes at her and then across at Tammy reflection "Yes Tam, we definitely have time for one more..." she grinned as the flipped open the pack.

"I like that idea!" Tammy grinned as she pulled the cigarette out of the pack.

"But Tam, one thing, I know we are short on time now, but we do need to tidy up a little downstairs before we go, I think my Mum is visiting today!"

"What? You should have told me!"

Lucy smiled "It's a good thing, she normally brings food!"

Part 5

Wendy smiled as she opened the front door carrying a bunch of flowers in her right hand and a large orange bag of life over the left arm. She sniffed the air and gently shook her head as and gasped, there was the obvious fresh smell of recently sprayed air freshener still potently lingering in the front porch, she smiled at her daughters' fragrant attempt to tell her the house was clean.

She put the bag down on the clean kitchen counter, put the flowers in the empty sink and rummaged around in the cupboard, the vase was exactly where she had left it a few weeks ago. She filled it up using the tap and then looked in the drawer and found the scissors in the first one she looked, she nodded to herself at the accomplishment. Lucy had put them in the same drawer she would have done.

The stems of the flowers were snipped along with the plastic bag of plant food, and the flowers were roughly arranged. She smiled at herself for making it look good. She placed the vase on the coffee table by the sofa, tutting at the layer of dust already on it. Wendy singing to herself then opened the fridge and put her precooked food in there, clocking the lonely single carrot, a large leek, and small head of broccoli in the vegetable tray, but the two bottles of white wine in there.

The fridge door was closed, and she happily pottered back to the car and picked up a pair of denim jeans off the passenger side seat and carried them back in. She looked at the back of the sofa and pursed her lips as she looked around the room as she thought where to put them.

She shrugged her shoulders and headed up the stairs sniffing the air as she went.

***

Wendy pushed open the door and instantly screwed up her face and coughed as breathed in the dark thick fuggy air of the room and instantly walked across the room to the window. She pulled back the curtains to give the room light and whilst tutting pushed the creaking window open to get a blast of fresh air in. As she turned, she looked in her handbag pulled out her phone and then squinting through her bifocals as she lined up her sight to get the ten-year-old mobile that Lucy had given her to line her fingers up with the cracked screen so she could ring Graham before sitting down on the stool.

"Grey" Wendy nearly hyperventilating as she waited until he eventually answered, "She smokes!"

"Wend, we have gone over this hundreds of times."

"No, not your mother, our Lucy!"

"Pardon?"

"I'm sitting here in her bedroom..."

"Oh Wend, remember she told us not to go in there!"

Wendy dismissively shook her head "Grey, I know what the majority of her dirty sweaty thongs look like, I've washed enough of them over the years, anyway as you know I only came over to drop off the casserole and roasted chicken for her and Tammy, and she had left those jeans with the popped button with us the others day, I was only going to put them on her bed..."

"Yes Wend, slow down, take a deep breath."

"Grey, I'm here sitting at your mothers' awful brown Victorian dressing table that you kept, and her room stinks, its vile, and the dressing table it's, I really don't believe it," she shook her head and then coughed again "but it's literally littered in cigarette ash, and there is your mother's ashtray full of disgusting smoked cigarettes." She stated pointing with her finger.

"Are you sure they are our Luce's? She did say that she had found the ashtray?" Graham asked.

Wendy bit her bottom lip and winced as she surveyed the scene and nodded as she held the phone close to her ear. "Yes Grey, there are two opened packs cigarettes here on the table, you should see the God-awful picture of the lungs with cancer on them, they are foul, I know our Luce is better than this Grey. She really is." She stated as she picked up the top pack and studied it.

"Wend, she is an adult, we really can't do anything about it, it's now her choice?"

"I am sure it's due to that friend that's moved in as a lodger, bet she has led her astray."

"No Wend, that Tammy girl sounded lovely. She has worked with her for years!"

Wendy nodded, and again bit her bottom lip and sniffed the air as she slowly looked back in front of her and stared at the mirror. "Oh, wow Grey, there is something really strange here!"

"Are you okay darling?"

She jumped as the lamp beside her flicked on, "Errr, yeah, the lights are playing up just like she keeps saying...but...I'm fine darling...all good, er, yes Grey I will, er, call you back before, er, I, er, leave." She stuttered as her mouth fell wide open, and without looking at the screen she hung up and dropped the phone on the table. The plastic clattered loudly on the wooden top, creating a small cloud of ash as it landed, before she had chance to listen to Graham's response.

Wendy leaned with her elbows digging firmly into the dressing table for support which was required as she was sitting there looking at her Reflection in the mirror. But very confusingly for Wendy it was a vision her eighteen-year-old self. The hair, the makeup, and just as she remembered, her gorgeous smooth kind face and she had a double take. Her now completely grey hair was bright red, she smiled at the memories as she used to spend hours in front of the mirror perfecting her look, she narrowed her eyes once more. The Reflections stylish blue eyeliner was sparkling. She groaned and closed her mouth as her eyes followed down her nose to her subtle pink lipstick covered lips as there between them was the image she had long banished from her memories. A long white cigarette was gently dangling in the corner of her of her mouth, with smoke now enticingly drifting gently out of her nose.

The end...again!