Tyler blinked and looked like he might pass out. “I’d love to. Thank you.”
I tugged on his arm. “We should really find Mom,” I said, and politely excused us.
“Did that actually just happen?” Tyler asked. “He said I could send him my résumé?”
I patted his cheek. “Nepotism. It really works.”
“That’s horrible.”
“I know.”
“Am I a bad person for taking advantage of that?”
“That’s between you and your therapist. More importantly, do you reallywantto do this? You like psychology. It’s not your job to impress your grandparents.”
He pulled at his hair, then smoothed it over and found a mirror, clearly aware of the staticky nature of the fine strands. “If I can try, though, shouldn’t I?”
I was debating how, exactly, to change his mind when Ethan bounded over to us, ceaseless in his energy. “Tyler! Here you are! With Shira! Again!”
“Hey,” Tyler said. “Here you are. Sharing your observations. Again!”
Ethan laughed. “How was your Christmas?”
“Merry.” Tyler grinned. “It was good.”
“Any great presents? I hear Christmas has lots of presents.” Ethan looked mournful. “We only get socks.”
“We also got candles,” I reminded him. “And you love socks.”
He perked up. “True.” He extended his feet like a ballet dancer, each clad in green-and-gray argyle. “They make my ankles look great, don’t you think?”
“You have beautiful ankles,” Tyler assured him.
“What did you get?” I asked Tyler, curious what his parents, the people who knew him best in the world, would have given him.
“A lot of books,” he said. “We mostly give each other books and food. Keeps things easy.”
“You should try socks,” Ethan said. “They’ll love them.”
During the short conversation with Ethan, the triplets had started circling, like cats eyeing a goldfish, reflected in triplicate. They finally coalesced before us, looking at Tyler with undisguised curiosity. “You’re here again,” Iris said.
“People keep saying so,” Tyler said with equanimity. He took in the three of them, Iris in a black jumpsuit, Lily in a floaty, romantic blue dress, and Rose in a skirt and T-shirt. “I would have thought you’d be in purple, white, and rose.”
The triplets gave him the kind of terrifying blank expression only masterable by preteens. He flinched. I smothered a smile.
“You’re very original,” Iris said flatly.
Tyler rallied. “How’s the play going?”
They regarded him silently for a moment, as though measuring if he was worthy of a response. “Good,” Iris finally said. “Though not everyone has memorized all their lines.” She cut her eyes to me.
“I’ve mastered my lines,” Ethan said cheerfully. “I’m an imperialistic king. It’s great. I think I’d be great at conquering places.”
“In Shira’s defense,” Lily said kindly, “she switched roles. She has a new set of lines to learn.”
“Really?” Tyler asked. “How come you switched?”
“We wanted to give her a chance to play opposite Isaac,”Lily said. “Now they have a lot of scenes together. She seduces him.”
