Ensenada is a reference to the city in Mexico, not a street in LA. The narrator is talking about "being" in two places at once: he's literally down-and-out in Echo Park, but in his mind he's also "there with her in Ensenada." Whether Carmelita has left him and gone back to Ensenada or that it just represents a better ideal place where they'd both like to be is not clear.
The pearl-handled deck that he's "playing solitaire" with is a handgun. The obvious interpretation is that he's playing Russian Roulette, but he could just be holding the gun and mulling over thoughts of suicide.
Ensenada is a reference to the city in Mexico, not a street in LA. The narrator is talking about "being" in two places at once: he's literally down-and-out in Echo Park, but in his mind he's also "there with her in Ensenada." Whether Carmelita has left him and gone back to Ensenada or that it just represents a better ideal place where they'd both like to be is not clear.
The pearl-handled deck that he's "playing solitaire" with is a handgun. The obvious interpretation is that he's playing Russian Roulette, but he could just be holding the gun and mulling over thoughts of suicide.