Always Florence Read Online Free PDF

approval. “That’s going to be gorgeous!” She pointed a pumpkin-painted fingernail at a pale blue flower petal in the paper. “What is that?”
    “I dried hydrangea, and took one of the petals.” She indicated another spot. “That’s a hawthorn leaf. And that longer yellow petal is from a forsythia I saved from the spring.”
    Sandy gave her shoulders a squeeze. “You are so clever. And that’s what I came to talk to you about.”
    Bobbie opened the white bag. Sandy had brought a berry scone from the Astoria Coffee House downtown, one of Bobbie’s favorite indulgences.
    She looked up at her friend suspiciously. “Thank you, but what do you want from me that requires a bribe?” The girls came closer at the possibility of treats. “Can I give them a bite?”
    “Just a little one.”
    Bobbie broke off two chunks and offered them to the girls, who accepted greedily. Then she tore one off for herself.
    “Astor School needs someone to help with a couple of art classes for the lower grades. The budget for that kind of thing is gone this year. Would you do it?” Sandy waited expectantly.
    “How do you know they need someone? Your kids aren’t even in school yet.”
    “My boss is on the school board, and our office is donating supplies if we can find a teacher.”
    “But I’m here only until January.”
    “Holidays are when the kids get restless, and art gives them something fun to focus on. What do you think?”
    “Sure. I guess.” She wanted to help, but wasn’t certain she was qualified. “I don’t know a lot about teaching children. I suppose I can find projects on the internet.”
    Sandy opened the big tote she carried as a purse. A sock monkey wearing a tutu and ballet shoes tumbled out as she withdrew a large paperback. She held it up. The title was Holiday Art Projects for Elementary Grades. She handed it to Bobbie, while Zoey rushed to rescue her ballerina monkey.
    “Thank you.” Bobbie flipped through the book. The projects were simple and she’d seen them before, but that was probably good for children. Maybe she could handle this.
    “So, you’ll do it?”
    “What’s the schedule?”
    “Once a week, Friday mornings, ten to eleven-thirty—until the kids get out for Christmas break.”
    “I’m still working on the pieces for your office, remember.”
    A wave of Sandy’s hand dismissed that as a problem. “I know you to be brilliant. You’ll get it all done. And what’s an hour and a half a week?”
    Bobbie hadn’t intended to get this involved in her temporary residence, but she remembered how exciting her art periods had been in grade school. She liked the thought of providing that sense of fun and discovery to kids. And her father would love knowing she was spending time away from her studio.
    “Okay, I’ll do it. Should I call the teacher?”
    “I put her name, number and email on the bookmark.” Sandy indicated where it protruded from the book. “She’ll be thrilled. Great! Okay, girls.” Bobbie’s friend shepherded her daughters toward the door. “Can we come by and trick-or-treat?”
    She got up to walk them out. “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t. In fact, I made you something to put on your front porch.”
    The three followed her into the kitchen, where she retrieved a medium-size pumpkin sporting a cat face. She’d cut off the top and cleaned out the seeds, then carved part of the eyes and nose. With a special tool, she’d removed only the orange skin and thinned out the pumpkin flesh in a few places, defining the cat’s features so that a candle would shine through. The cat had a whimsical expression, wide eyes, whiskers, and a tongue protruding from his scalloped mouth. She’d placed a flameless candle inside and turned it on to demonstrate.
    The girls giggled and squealed. Bobbie felt as fulfilled as if she’d sold a 24” x 36” oil on canvas.
    She pointed to two smaller pumpkins she’d made with less interesting faces, but that she’d drilled to