One word is doing the lying

Just one. Just tonight. Just this once. You've heard those lines so often they slide right past you. Most of it is plain. One is a number. Tonight is a time. But one small word is doing a sneakier job. It sizes the thing up for you before you get to measure it. The liar in that sentence is the word just.

It works like the ninety nine cents on a price tag. Everybody knows $19.99 means twenty. It still works on everybody. The word just is the ninety nine cents of a craving. It shaves the cost down so you'll nod before you see the real number. One cigarette was never one. It always came with tomorrow stapled to it.

Take the discount off right now. Say the offer out loud with the word just crossed out. Under your breath if you're not alone. 'One cigarette.' 'Tonight.' 'This once.' Hear how bare that sounds. Nobody signs a deal when it's read to them plainly. A craving only sells when it mumbles.

Then hand the next few minutes to God and go do the next ordinary thing in front of you. You aren't fighting some deep need here. You're turning down a badly worded deal. And that small word finally gets an honest job. You just won this one.