Shortly after sitting down, Mom took out a pack of Kent cigarettes and lit one. Her first drag was rather unspectacular after which she set the cigarette in the ashtray. In a motion that might surprise some, she then picked up the pack and offered her daughter a cigarette. The girl scrunched her nose and declined while simultaneously reaching into her blazer pocket and extracting a pack of Newport 100's. She placed one to her lips and accepted the light offered by her mother.

The aforementioned bookish image ebbed immediately as her cheeks caved in twice in succession to form a world class double pump. The inhale that followed carried smoke to her toes. The smoke that did fill her lungs remained there for what seemed like ten seconds after which she tilted her head up slightly and exhaled a voluminous and almost endless plume.

She repeated this sequence at least three times per minute, alternating her enjoyment of her cigarette with sips of her soft drink.

Meanwhile, Mom did not seem to be enjoying her cigarette at all and she said something to her daughter about it. The young girl took a final power drag on her Newport, crushed it out in the ashtray and with a practiced fluid motion picked up the pack, removed and lit another of the cork tipped cigarettes. This time she offered her mother a Newport and Mom smiled and accepted. Her satisfied expression was evidence that the stronger cigarette was more to her liking.

They sipped their soft drinks & engaged in a cell phone conversation with the husband/father of the family all while finishing their second and lighting their third cigarettes.

At this point they left the restaurant and walked, smoking, toward the parking lot. It was not a hard guess. The two-seat Mercedes convertible had to be their car. Mom handed the keys to the girl who placed her cigarette between her lips and held it there as she entered the car, engaged the safety belt, started the engine, adjusted the mirrors, backed out of the parking space and drove out of the lot into traffic.