A Brass Ruler on the Bench

I set my travel box down against the heavy pine leg of the workbench to catch my breath. Right beside a discarded roll of grey duct tape lay a narrow brass pocket ruler, dulled with age and stamped with tiny, neat millimeter increments. I knelt down softly, resting both paws against the cold metal edge. Using my yellow lumber crayon, I made three small, precise marks along the flat front of my cardboard box, exactly ten millimeters apart. It felt steady and right to measure our kit properly before moving on.