Sterile

They come in sterile white boxes

50 pairs of dental examination gloves

They smell sour and rotten

They are the same off-white latex gloves that my dad has worn for years

Fine powder rises up in a mist when he snaps them against his hand

They are smooth against one another, like rubbing two pieces of satin

But they leave rough, cracked cuticles in their wake

I chewed one once; they’re tasteless. The only flavor is that of your hand

They’re fun to blow up but the sound when they burst is alarming. It always makes my heart race

I blow them up anyway. I like to bounce them on my finger tips like birthday balloons

Their stretch has a limit – too often I have slapped my skin with ricocheting rubber

They pull at your lips before they are wetted

Then they slip over your teeth and gums like a blade over ice