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“I’ll look into it.” But I was trying to prove myself to my dad, and leaving in the middle of a project wouldn’t go over well.
Alice patiently gave Maggie the name of each shell. She even had a framed card with drawings of seashells and the names listed underneath as a guide.
I stayed standing while their heads came together over the shells, and I took the opportunity to look around Alice’s room. I hadn’t been in here since the day she moved in. The closet doors were open, and it was filled with the boxes she’d brought in that day. Moving closer, I could see there was an open box displaying an array of colorful ceramic tiles.
On the desk, there was a bowl of smaller glass shards and a work in progress. It was a starfish with different colors of glass—blue, green, and white.
“I have a starfish. Let me get it.” Maggie raced out of the room before I could remind her to walk.
That’s when I noticed the finished pieces displayed on her shelves, a pink heart resting on its side, a yellow and green turtle, an orange and red leaf, and one shelf of crabs sitting side-by-side—one blue, one red, and another red, black, yellow, and white.
“You did all this?” I asked Alice, who still sat on the floor.
She blinked at me in confusion.
I gestured at the bookshelves.
She stood, her gaze darting from the shelf to the desk. “Yeah.”
“They’re amazing.” I wondered if she sold them at a shop in town. I had no idea she was an artist.
“Why a crab?” I pointed at the three crabs arranged on the top shelf. They were the most impressive to me.
“I love creating anything related to the ocean. An owner of a shop in Maryland reached out to me about carrying them in her shop. Apparently, crabs are a thing there. The black, red, and yellow one is for the Maryland flag.
“Are you going to do it?” I asked, impressed that an out-of-state shop owner had requested her work.
Alice shook her head, her cheeks flushed. “I don’t think so.”
I tipped my head to the side, trying to figure her out. “Why not?”
Alice gestured at the bookshelf where her work was displayed. “I make these for myself, not to sell.”
“How did a shop owner in Maryland find out about them?”
Her skin flushed a deeper red. “I film when I’m making them. Give a little tutorial, explain why I chose the colors I did, or explain who it’s for. My viewers ask questions about my process, and I’m happy to share.”
“You film in here?” I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. If it was in the bedroom, it probably wasn’t a big deal. But filming yourself and posting it online was the opposite of not wanting to be seen.
Alice stood, swallowing hard before meeting my gaze. “I haven’t done any since I moved in here. I promise, I wouldn’t do that without your permission.”
If she filmed in her room, it was fine. “Let me know when you need to film, and I’ll keep Maggie out of your hair.”
“I don’t need to do it. It was just something silly I did to pass the time.”
Her characterization of her work irked me. “This is what you’re doing in the evenings?”
Alice’s hand moved lovingly over a half-finished starfish on her desk. It looked like it was missing the coating or glaze that went on the top.
I bet anything she got the same satisfaction from making these that I did from transforming a home.
I could see the mosaics on a shelf in one of the shops downtown. Tourists would pay big money for one of these. I couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t want to sell them. To lighten the mood, I said, “You know Maggie’s going to want to help.”
Her lips tipped into a smile. “Oh, I don’t mind. She can watch, but she’s too young to work with the glass.”
Glancing at the small shards in the bowl, I said, “They look sharp.”
“They are when I cut them into pieces. But she can help me pick out colors for one. Maybe she’d like one for her room?”
