Securing the Ceramic Ring

The floor patrols grew quiet after dusk, so I set out to secure the coffee table's lower deck. Among the stray magazines rested a heavy ceramic coaster, thick and stubborn. I paused, mumbling around my pacifier to study its glazed rim. Too broad to lift outright. I planted my boots firmly on the smooth wood, wedged both hands beneath the curved edge, and heaved upward with steady breaths. It tilted, groaned across the shelf, and slotted solidly against the leg of a brass paperweight. A fortified observation ring, standing upright and unyielding.