To Catch a Leaf by Kate Collins Read Free Book Online

colored bottles that were tossed out to sea and have been cooking in the ocean for decades,” Mom said. “When they wash ashore, they’re smooth and beautiful, in colors like aqua, foam green, orange, yellow, and even some rare cobalt and red ones. Sea glass has become very valuable.”
    â€œValuable broken bottles,” Lottie mused. “Can you beat that?” Shaking her head, she shut the cooler and headed for the workroom.
    â€œAnyway,” Mom said, “I brought back a big jar full of sea glass shards, but I didn’t know what to do with them. Yesterday, as I reached for my reading glasses, I happened to spot the jar sitting on my bookshelf, and it came to me.”
    She opened the box and removed a bald manikin’s head onto which she’d painted a woman’s face in full makeup—bright red lips, pink spots on her cheeks, purple eye shadow that coated black-rimmed eyelids, and shell-shaped ears, into which she had stuck knobby white pins. As a finishing touch, she’d borrowed a nose from an old Mr. Potato Head set and jabbed that in the middle of the face. The only thing missing were eyebrows, and because of that, the manikin had a weird, space alien appearance.
    I stepped back for a better look. It wasn’t as tall as her giant bowling-pin hatstand, but it was just as scary. And where was the sea glass?
    â€œSo you made a painted wig stand?” I asked.
    â€œNot even close.” Mom rubbed her hands together. “Prepare yourself for the big reveal.”
    Was that possible?
    She pulled out a pair of sunglasses whose entire frame, including the bridge of the nose, was covered in small, smooth pieces of blue-and-green-colored glass.
    â€œSea glasses!” Mom sang out, mounting them on the head. “So you can see by the sea.”
    â€œSee by the sea,” I said, nodding approvingly. “Clever.”
    She smiled. “Then you like them?”
    â€œYes! They’re very pretty.”
    â€œThank you, Abigail. I think they’re my best work so far. I’m considering making a line of reading glasses, too, but we’ll see how these sell first. I’ll have my hands full if they catch on.”
    They had a better chance of catching on fire. “How much are you going to charge?”
    â€œConsidering that each pair is a one-of-a-kind fashion statement, I think fifty dollars is a fair price.”
    Fair for whom? I glanced inside the box and saw a dozen more pairs.
    â€œNow we have to figure out where to display them,” Mom said.
    As she reached for the manikin, the Mr. Potato Head nose popped off, unable to withstand the pressure from the heavy frames. The sunglasses slid down over the face and lay against the chin, hanging on by the two white push pins. The orange plastic nose skittered across the floor, attracting Simon’s attention. He leaped from the top of the armoire to the settee, startling Mom, and from there to the floor, where he batted the nose through the purple curtain into the workroom.
    Mom shrugged. “My model isn’t quite right yet.”
    â€œWhy don’t you take the glasses and the manikin home with you so you can refine your design?”
    â€œThere’s nothing wrong with the glasses’ design, Abigail.” She handed me a pair. “Try them on and see for yourself.”
    I donned them and checked my reflection in a brass pot. Yeesh . Thank goodness there were no customers in the shop. My temples started to pound so I handed them back and massaged the bridge of my nose.
    â€œWell?” she asked hopefully.
    â€œThey’re a little tight, Mom. And heavy. Maybe you should cut down on the glass pieces.”
    â€œReally? Your sisters-in-law said the glasses fit fine. You must have inherited your father’s wide head.”
    I did not have a wide head, and my sisters-in-law were big fat liars.
    The phone was ringing, so I excused myself and dashed to the front counter to