A Smooth Wooden Button

The quiet rooms had stayed peaceful long enough, so I slipped out the front door and strolled down the paved walkway to the neighborhood park. Under the low bench of a weathered picnic table, I spotted a giant, four-holed coat button made of smooth olive wood. I knelt down on the dusty dirt, setting both palms against its beveled rim. With a patient, steady heave, I tilted the heavy button onto its edge and rolled it across the packed earth. It traced a gentle curve before falling flat with a dull, hollow thud into a soft patch of dried clover.