A Bookmark in Waiting

Wandering past the coffee table this morning, I spotted a paperback left splayed face down on the edge of the woven carpet, its spine arched under strain. Leaving a good book bent like that simply would not do. I knelt down, took a moment to inspect the cover, and gently eased it open to inspect the folded corner of page forty-two. Nearby on the rug lay a smooth wooden ice-pop stick. With deliberate care, I slid the flat stick deep into the center crease to hold the reader's spot, then closed the front cover flush. A tidy stack, ready whenever you return.