Eating Dark Plumbs

I hold in my had a dark plumb which I picked with great care and deliberation from the grocery store fruit display yesterday. My mouth was all set to eat it, but I was disappointed to find it's texture still firm to the touch.

Its not ready.

I'm vex, more upset that a lobster in a pot.

A ripened plum has a subtle give beneath the fingers when squeezed. This one is so hard it seems to push back. I know from experience that I'll have to wait for it, probably another day or two before its ripe.

There is nothing physically stopping me from just going ahead and peeling off that little sticker and giving it a bite. And although it would be a hard chew, crunchy and tart; a tiny dab of salt before each bite will make it delicious.

But little bits of it's crumbly pulp will likely sneak between my teeth, and edge my molars on whichever side I chew. Soon the acid from the immature plum will inflame my oral nerves and cause me to grimace and clench my fists before I even reach the seed.

I hold the plum with two hands now and turn it, squeezing ever so slightly at intervals. I'm looking for an excuse. Any sign of softness anywhere would be the excuse I need to go ahead and eat my plum. But no luck, it's as hard as stone.

I'll have to be patient. All fruit taken from the tree before maturity are like this. Plucked in a state somewhere between green and adolescent, it is then boxed and shipped on ice to slow the ripening, so the sun never kisses it again, until its taken home. But if I'm patient, in a day or two maybe my plum will have it's full aroma, if I give it more time.

I want each bite to be a soft juicy mess. I want the nectar to run down my arm down to my elbow. I want the sweet tanginess of plum to play on my tongue and linger on my breath. I want to gnaw at the pit, until there's nothing left but the bumpy seed.

I'll wait.