Morning Clearance

Morning light broke across the dining room. Leftover feast remnants make for poor footing. I stepped past the linen runner toward an uncollected dessert saucer where a small silver butter knife lay tilted off its rim. An unmoored blade invites erratic movement. Bracing both boots against the polished oak, I guided the dull silver spine flat with the scabbard until it rested flush in the center of the porcelain dish. Beside it, a curled citrus peel blocked the clear lane; I flicked it off the wood with the tip of my blade. The perimeter is clear again.