Elaine picked up the phone, crying. It was two in the morning, and she hated herself. When she got that down, she knew there was only one person who could help her.

"Jerry? It's me."

"Elaine? Are you okay?"

"No," she sobbed. "I'm not okay."

"What's going on?"

"I'm so ashamed of myself. I don't know how this could have happened to me."

"Elaine, you're scaring me! What have you done this time?"

"I'm in the closet."

Jerry was shocked. "You mean to tell me you're..."

"That's right. I'm a closet smoker. I don't know how this could have happened to me..."

"Oh." For once, Jerry was speechless.

"Jerry, you there?"

"I'm here. I had no idea...how long has this been going on?"

"For four months."

"Four months? Elaine, how could you keep something like this a secret from us...from me?"

"I don't know. I don't know. Do you think I'm proud of myself?"

"I don't know. How did this all start," Jerry asked.

"It started at work..."

"You work in a smoke free environment!"

"But there's a gang who goes outside every day at ten, twelve and two. I wanted to see what the fuss was about."

"There's a gang? A gang of smokers? Do they ride motorcycles and have tattoos of 'mom' on their forearms?"

"Jerry, be serious. This is serious."

"I'm serious. I had no ideas had their own gangs. Do they have colors? I've heard red is a very dangerous color."

"If you're not going to help then maybe I should just hang up!"

"I'm here to help you, Elaine. What are you doing now?"

He could hear her inhale right before he spoke again. "You're doing it now, aren't you? You're smoking when you're talking about how you want to quit!"

"I know. I'm sick, sick I tell you! Can I...can I come over?"

"Sure. You still got the spare key?"

"I'll be over as soon as I get a cab. And Jerry...thank you."

With that, Jerry hung up the phone, wondering just what he had gotten himself into. Little did he know how his life was about to change.