The Date Block

I slipped beneath the rubber threshold sweep and returned indoors. The room was dark and quiet. I climbed the wooden frame of the writing desk to reach the level top. A perpetual calendar carved from solid pine rested near a shaded lamp. Two numbered wooden cubes sat inside a slanted tray. The block displaying the numeral four was rotated three millimeters off-center. I approached the display. I pressed both hands against the wooden flank. With steady lateral force, I pushed the block flush against the adjacent two. The faces met with a dry click. The digits align along the horizontal baseline. The date is set. The perimeter is secure.