I smoked and smoked and smoked and smoked for the next two hours and thirty minutes, finishing the final one at 9:31. I was feeling very queasy from the smoking. I was relieved I finished in time, not wanting to mess this up. She didn’t waste any time after I finished, before she got up and returned to the living room with another pack and the trash can. She opened the pack with expert precision like she does several times daily with her own packs. She pulled five cigarettes from the pack and held them by the filters in her hand. She handed me the first one and said eat it. Not the filter though, just the tobacco. I placed it into my mouth and started to eat it. I just about got it down before I got sick into the trashcan. This taste was disgusting. I cannot compare it to anything I’ve ever tasted before or after. As soon as I had a moment to recover she handed me the second one and said eat it. I managed to get this one down and the next two as well. The fifth one caused me to get sick again. You’re done for tonight she said. Not feeling well I went to bed and slept.

She woke me at 6 o’clock and said breakfast is ready. We ate and then she said part two begins at 7 o’clock, be at the kitchen table with an unopened pack. We repeated the process from the night before, only this time I had ten less minutes. I had to smoke faster than last night. Smoking faster took its toll; I got sick to my stomach at number 18. I did manage to finish in time and then got the same ending as the night before, eating five cigarettes. I was starting to have doubts about my desire to annul the agreement as I was feeling like death warmed over.

I ended up taking a nap for about three hours and was woken up by her at 1 o’clock. Part three begins at 2 o’clock she mentioned. Better get some lunch in you so that you’ll have something in your stomach. I ate a real light lunch. At about 1:45 the doorbell rang, it was her youngest daughter Lindsey. Lindsey came in and her mom asked if she’d eaten, saying there was some extra if she wanted lunch. Lindsey declined, saying she’d just stopped by to visit. Lindsey was twenty-five and not unlike her older sister Stephanie, looked just like her mother. Lindsey lit up one of her Marlboro Light 100’s and sat down and talked with her mom. I was overjoyed at the moment; a little reprieve I thought to myself, hopefully Lindsey will stay for awhile. What are you guys up to Lindsey asked her mother and I. I almost died when Michelle, my girlfriend, nonchalantly told her daughter; Craig decided he wants to start smoking again, so I am making him prove it and earn it. Lindsey laughed for a moment and then realized her mother was serious. In fact, he starts part three in about five minutes. I was more than a little bit embarrassed, but what could I do, I wasn’t going to give up now, I’d invested too much time and lung power.