Page 86 - Reason To Sing by Kelita Haverland

Reason To Sing

“You ever see this before?” He holds out a small brown
lump.
“No!” Vian and I respond in unison.
“This is hashish. Some of the very finest.” He raises the
ball up to his nose and takes a deep breath. “This is called Red
Lebanese. Just smell that.”
I lean over and take a whiff. Smells kind of weird to me.
Jimmy pinches the ball with his thumb and index finger.
The crumbled hash fills up the pipe’s bowl. After lighting it,
he takes a big puff deep into his lungs. He holds it in for what
seems like a very long time and then finally, he exhales. He
takes a few more deep puffs, making this all look like pure
pleasure. Closing his eyes once again, he leans back into his
chair, resting his head. That python has him totally in its
embrace now. Jimmy looks completely at peace. He sure has a
way of making all this look incredibly inviting. The music, dim
lights, the incense and now the hash wafting through Jimmy’s
sanctuary. It does create an other-worldly atmosphere. Vian
and I have landed on a different planet.
Jimmy stirs and lights up the pipe once again. “Here, you
have a puff.” He holds it out to me. Me? What? Really?
“Are you sure?” I question, feeling anxious.
“Heck, yeah. You wanna relax a little with me don’t ya? It’s
just going to feel so good.”
Well, why not? I want to feel good. I want to feel at peace,
like my brother. And I sure don’t want to be a wimp! I take the
pipe and place the hard metal mouthpiece between my lips.
Just a little puff. Wow, that tastes different than cigarettes, that’s
for sure. I cough loudly as Jimmy passes the pipe to Vian. She
takes a puff too. Back and forth we go with this magic pipe. I
am starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. There’s tension building
inside of me. I think it’s been there since we came downstairs;

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