The Boy has a love/hate relationship with spicy things — well, things he calls spicy. Coke is a little spicy, he says, and I guess there is something of a tingle in the flavor, a small little bite from the carbonation. Of course, we drink it so very rarely that that alone might account for it: he’s not used to carbonated drinks.

Yet he loves chips and salsa, and he prefers the medium salsa to the mild. And Aldi’s spicy salami? He’ll devour that.

Today, while out shopping with K, he was insistent on getting some Listerine to try, because he knew it was “spicy.”

His verdict tonight? Not too bad. His expression, though, belies his calm proclamation.