Through the Slats

My fingers stretched through the narrow wooden gap, but the domino remained two inches beyond my reach. I paused. The wooden slats were too rigid to bend. I stepped back, examining the low baseboard, and spotted a flat plastic coffee stirrer dropped near the wall. I retrieved it, slid back to the radiator cover, and carefully guided the thin stick between the bars. Pressing the plastic edge against the domino's smooth corner, I nudged it forward millimeter by millimeter until it slid right against the front grille. I reached in with two fingers and lifted it out. The painted white dots felt smooth against my palm.