My mother suffers from an enlarged heart, along with several blockages. Due to the poor condition of her heart, after suffering three heart attacks and as many “light” strokes, her doctors have ruled out the possibility of surgery, except in the direst of circumstances. As a result of her health, she has been given a list of several “Don’t’s”. Number one on this list, of course, is smoking. Both my mother and father have smoked since their early teens, so quitting was never a pleasant thought, and when attempted by either, a seemingly impossible task.

My father, though still smoking himself, would become very angry with my mother if he caught her with a cigarette. My mother, because of this anger, took to smoking in secret, and hiding the evidence. Little did she know that she had a spy in her camp!!

One evening, my father was sitting on the side of his bed, reading. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the movement of some small object flying through the doorway into his room. Thinking that his eyes were only playing tricks on him, he continued to read. Soon, it happened again, and moments later, another small object was seen flying through the air to land on the rug. Finally, my father got up to investigate. Laying on the rug, just inside the door, were several cigarette butts. Examining them, he realized they were my mothers. How? Mom has the habit of biting the filter on her cigarette as she smokes. Each of the butts found there on my dad’s rug bore the distinct crimped pattern of tooth marks.

The ghost, apparently willing to squeal on Mom, had flung each cigarette butt into the room, purposefully catching my father’s attention, and effectively telling on her for her secret smoking. She was busted!!

© Paulette Boyd