Not Stupid

There is a vent between the living room, right where my favorite chair is, and Brian's bedroom where Olivia is currently staying. Last night, as I sat here working on a sudoku puzzle, I smelled cigarette smoke coming through the vent.

So I knocked on Olivia's door and opened it fairly quickly. I asked if she had been smoking. She said no, while sitting on the floor, next to the cracked window. "Funny, I could have sworn that I smelled smoke." "It must just be on my clothes. The girls at Mandy's smoke."

I have her my patented "I'm not stupid look" and said, "Okay. Well, if you did smoke, I would prefer for you to do it outside. And do shut that window before you go to sleep; it is below freezing outside." "Oh, yeah, I will!"

So I went to the bathroom to get ready for bed and she came out of her room. "Yondalla?"

"Yes?"

She trots up to me. "I hate lying to people. I just feel so guilty. I was smoking. I'm sorry."

"I figured it out."

"So you don't mind? I mean, if I smoke outside?"

"Well, I mind. I don't think you should smoke, but I have a pretty good understanding about what I can control and what I can't."

She nods, knowing herself how unsuccessful I would be at getting her to stop smoking. She laughed and told me how she burned her fingers putting out the cigarette when I came in. She told me that Mandy accepted that the other girls smoke but since she is Mandy's niece it bothers her more. "So it is okay if I just go outside?"

"Go outside, don't leave any butts lying around, and I would prefer that Brian not see you smoking."

"Okay." Pause... "Will you not tell Mandy?"

"Not unless she asks."

I didn't add, "But, you know, she's not stupid either."