Tending to Satin Ribbons

After padding back inside through the quiet house, I climbed up to the bedroom dressing table to tend to my ribboned slippers, which had gathered a dusting of park soil. I propped my little spotted case securely against the handle of a wooden hairbrush. Finding a small corner of a folded cotton handkerchief, I dipped it lightly against a drop of water beaded on a porcelain saucer. With slow, measured dabs, I eased the faint smudges from the satin around my ankles, letting each ribbon soften and dry in the quiet glow of the lamp.