Second Hand Smoke
We have new neighbors. They’re a family–a mother, father, and two small children. They’re quiet and better than other neighbors we’ve had. There’s just one problem. They smoke.
In cheaply made apartments like the ones we occupy, noises seep through the walls along with smoke. The smoke is mostly evident in the bathroom. One day, my husband went into the bathroom and came out coughing dramatically.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Smoke. Our neighbor smokes.” He poked to the bathroom door that he’d pulled tightly closed behind him. While I had on many occasions seen the mother happily puffing on a cigarette, I didn’t know what that had to do with our bathroom.
Thinking he must be over reacting, I opened the door to check. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought that my husband had just smoked a few cigarettes in there.
The strangest part is that the smoke seems to come up through the drain in the sink. I picture our neighbor standing in the bathroom blowing puffs of smoke down the drain as her children nap quietly in the next room.
We’ve solved the problem by keeping the bathroom door shut. Whenever we need to use it, we just hold our breath.
