I was trying to set up a new release of the word processor on my PC. It's a lot of tedious file copying from the CD so I had plenty of time watching the smoking ladies opposite the street, including Samantha. I didn't see Betty until late, she was there with one of the ladies who usually left earlier. She had just been there for half a minute or something when I saw her cough. First, I assume she got a long, long rattling or something because she was bending her body forward but there were no sign of hacking. She cupped a hand over her mouth and coughed without interruption for almost a minute. Her face was red when it stopped. The other one smiled in a caring way and made a gesture towards the cigarette. Maybe, she told her not to smoke when she had that bad cough or something. Betty probably answered that she MUST have a cigarette and lit up. New coughing fit, but only for about 20 seconds. Another one after 15 seconds only. The older woman said goodbye, I thought, and left. It took Betty quite a long time to finish a cigarette because she got coughing fit after coughing fit. She tried to stand up and walk around while smoking, but time after time her coughing fits made her bend forward. Our eyes met after a while and I waved to her in the middle of her coughing fit. She released the hand from her mouth and waved back. I pointed at my chest and she smiled a little and nodded. Finally, she managed to finish that cigarette, then coughed again. She bent her body forward rapidly, then stood up again with her eyes wide open and a hand on her chest. She had probably coughed extremely hardly or something, so it almost hurt. She just stood there for about ten seconds, without moving, before she left.
The evening went on; I didn't see Betty for a long time but Samantha and I exchanged lots of glances. I guess we both looked forward to meeting again, but it turned out to be delayed, because the next day, Samantha called me on my mobile phone when I was at the university. She had got Betty's bad cold and sounded really bad. I asked if there was anything I could do for her, like help her with some shopping or just drop by to keep her company for a while, but she didn't want me to get ill too. I told her I would give her a call in the evening.

I saw Betty three times during the evening in the smoker's room, she seemed to have a deep, chesty cough. She got coughing fits almost every two minutes, each one lasting at least half a minute. She often stood up while smoking and coughed so she was either shakening, or had to bend forward. She also showed a terrific variation of expressions in her face, sometimes she looked tired of coughing, sometimes she looked like if she was in pain, and twice her eyes were wide open so she almost looked like in panic. A few times, we exchanged glances and waved. I talked to Samantha over the phone and she had by now got one of deepest coughs I've ever heard from anyone. She coughed so much so we could hardly talk and her whole chest was rumbling. I insisted on paying her a visit the day after, but she said she HAD to get to the office for some new report that must be written, and that Betty couldn't do alone. The evening after became a real show...
I was late this evening, I didn't get home until after eight o'clock. The first thing I did was to have a look at her window (without turning on my lights). She had a low-cut, dark brown dress but with a scarf around her neck, and it covered that normally naked part of her chest too. Poor Sam, she was coughing and coughing, typing at the same time. Sometimes, she had to stop typing, because she coughed so she had to bend forward. She sometimes covered her mouth with a white handkerchief, but when she was typing and coughing at the same time, she used both hands for typing, so her beautiful lips were visible. I understood someone, probably Betty, came into her room, because she turned her head, smiled tiredly and pointed at her chest. New coughing fit, her long body shaked intensively and she cupped four long fingers over her mouth and put the other hand on the chest, under the scarf. Soon, someone else's hand sneaked under the scarf too. Suddenly, Samantha got up and left her place. I moved away from the window but let the lights be off still. Betty and Samantha came into the smoker's room and turned on the lights. Betty coughed for almost 20 seconds in her hand, really deeply from what I could see, and as soon as Samantha had lit her cigarette, she started too. Betty dragged on her cigarette but got a new coughing fit and coughed out the smoke. Samantha's coughing fit just went on and on, and they sat in their chairs, coughing so I thought they would cause an earth quake any minute. Suddenly, something happened. Samantha tried to say something while still coughing, got up from her chair and over to Betty's. She pushed Betty's hand away and put her own hand over her mouth and Betty put her hand over Samantha's. They were so great together, coughing and coughing in each other's hands. I wished I was there, and I imagined myself cupping one hand over Betty's sweet, soft lips, feeling her warm cough on my skin, and the other hand cupped over Samantha's bigger, even more beautiful and soft lips to let it collect her deep, chesty, warm, almost hot cough. I felt an irresistible attraction to them and I switched on my lights and started to wave. They released their hands and Samantha stood up and waved, still coughing, while Betty's cough had subsided. Just as Samantha had waved and tried to smile, I saw her ending her coughing fit by coughing so she must have turned inside out. She rapidly turned around to the right, bent her body forward so I thought she would loose her balance and with all of her long, ten fingers over her lips. She stayed like that for a while, then slowly raised again. She smiled tiredly at me, massaging her chest with a hand, and opened the window with the other hand. I opened mine.
- Any chance you could drive me home in hallf an hour? I'm so tired so I don't think I can manage myself. We could have a cup of tea or something before I go to bed.
Needless to say, my hesitation was hardly noticeable...