“Okay, Rose,” I said. “Lead on. Tyler can come with us.”
Up in the cousins’ room, final touches were being put on scenes and costumes. With the play delayed several days, the triplets had decided they had time to tweak several scenes and make a whole warehouse full of props. Rose led me over to one corner, where Gabe and Iris were essentially frothing at the mouth. Iris noticed me first. “Shira! Tell Gabe hehasto be an elephant. We need more elephants in the scene where the Maccabees are harrying Antiochus and his army, and herefuses.”
“It wouldn’t make sense.” Gabe jutted out his chin, atwelve-year-old lawyer in training. “I’m thekingof the Seleucids. I can’t pop up as anelephant. It’ll confuse the audience!”
“You’re the king in theother story line. It won’t confuse anyone,” Iris said hotly. “And you’ll be wearing a trunk and ears. They won’t recognize you.”
“It undermines my authority as an imperial emperor.”
Iris whirled on me. “Shira! Tell him! It’s my play.”
“I’mthe talent,” Gabe said. “It screws with my performance if I have to transition back and forth from emperor to elephant.”
I rubbed my forehead. “How many elephants do we have right now?” WasIan elephant? Surely I would know if I played an elephant.
“One. Oliver. No one’s going to be impressed by an army with only one elephant.”
“I think one elephant is still really impressive.” I chewed on my lip. “What if Gabe isn’t an elephant but a general? So you get another impressive soldier but Gabe gets to retain his, ah, imperial, militaristic attitude.”
“I suppose,” she said grudgingly, then looked behind me. “I hope you don’t expect a role.”
Tyler spread his hands. “I could be an elephant, if it helped.”
Iris turned bright red and looked away. “You can build sets and make props.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“We don’t have to make props,” I told Tyler, because what ifhe had only come here to make out, not hang out with my giant, demanding family? Though he hadn’t indicated he wanted to so much as brush my shoulder with his again.
He grinned at me, his real smile. “It sounds fun.”
We made swords, cutting blades and pommels out from cardboard with X-Acto knives, wrapping the blades with tinfoil. “Arbiter of elephants and emperors.” Tyler’s eyes twinkled. “I’m impressed.”
“Elephants, emperors, video games, toys, blankies, dreidels—I’ve done it all.”
“I’m surprised you’re not the captain of team sports.”
“Are you kidding? I like a chance to relax,” I said automatically, then paused. I’d actually never even considered team sports, I’d been so focused on piano and skating, and teams suggested a camaraderie I wasn’t used to. But I supposed keeping my family on task was practically a sport.
“Since Isaac’s gone, who are you seducing?” Tyler snagged a leftover sufganiyah from a nearby plate, taking a bite and getting powdered sugar all over his fingers and mouth, not to mention raspberry jelly.
Relief bloomed in my chest. So we were still flirting, at least. “Why? Are you angling for the role?”
He valiantly tried to lick himself clean, catlike. “If you have to seducesomeone, I’d rather it was me.”
“You should be so lucky.” I grabbed a tissue from the boxnearby and handed it to him. “Anyway, I’ve been demoted to handmaid.”
“Maybe the handmaid needs to seduce someone.” He raised his brows. “An off-the-clock soldier. I bet the two of them would have a great time when Judith is beheading generals.”
“Maybe.” I said, heat curling through me. I wanted to scoot closer to him, to climb onto his lap and twist my arms around his neck, only we were surrounded by my family, and I didn’t know if I’d be brave enough even if we weren’t. Tyler flirted with the same ease as breathing, so while I wanted this to mean he liked me as much as I liked him, it could simply mean we’d established a solid friendship. “Probably only in order to murder him, too, so they could get away without witnesses.”
“At least he’d die happy.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re too much. And you have jam on your cheek.”
He wiped at one cheek. “Gone?”
“No.”
