A Quiet Slide

The woven rug ended, and smooth kitchen tile began. I pushed off slowly, letting my plush belly glide over the cool gray ceramic. Morning light stretched in a clean square near the low pantry baseboard. Down in the corner, a small curved ceramic rest lay forgotten on the floor. I nudged it forward with my snout. It slid two inches with a faint, polite clink, settling directly inside the sunlit patch. The tile was chilled, but the beam of light was warm. I rested my chin across the smooth curve and stayed still.