gerald watched , sadly , though with a trace of fascination , these many mouths gulping down so much ice cream , so many fries , so much coca-cola , so many tongues licking so many lips with satisfaction , and damn it if his father wasnt smiling in the middle of all these pictures swirling around him , consuming , and then , in the middle of this avalanche of consumption , it was as if someone simply shut off the projector : while his smile remained , everything else around him turned still .