A Neat Little Row

I slipped back under the front door and headed straight for the dim space beside the bedroom wardrobe. A shallow metal tin lid was resting upside down against the baseboard, holding three loose wooden coat buttons. I nudged my flat base over the smooth tin rim to take a closer look. Each button had four neat holes drilled right through the center. Using the side of my chin, I nudged the buttons into a tidy ascending row, largest to smallest, until their rims touched with a faint click. They look remarkably orderly aligned against the brushed metal edge.