Popeye Cigarettes and Aspic

Asparagus with fennel and cumin seeds served on Rubbermaid dinner-plates with bone serviette-rings. Weiner-dog wieners served with Gibbs’ hard mustard and pickle brine aspic. A roll-your-own tamped in a sleeve of Zigzag roll-your-own Whites. A belly-stove match--red-tipped with a blue sulfur neck--struck on a greatcoat zipper. He ate Jelly-bellies off the scup of her tongue, lolling on and suckling the hard outer casing. Once he’d sucked the coating off he’d savor the soft inner-belly, twisting and plaiting his tongue round the edges where the milk of her spittle had flavored the candy with a tangy saltiness, just enough to make it seem softer and gentler in his mouth. She liked Licorice Babies and Black Cat chewing gum and real authentic Indian chewing tobacco, and paraffin cigars filled with juice and Popeye cigarettes, the flaming red tips clenched between her teeth, a childish sneer on her face.