Saturday afternoon We loved searching for new stuff every week You never knew what kind of treasures you’d find But even if we didn’t find anything good Grace and I always had fun We loved picking through the racks of old clothes I was always on the lookout for cool things but now I was on the hunt for my Queen Esther costume I’d wear it to the Purim party at my synagogue Temple Beth El next month Abba was working on my dress I hadn’t seen it yet but I knew it would be awesome He was a costume designer at a theater so he knew all about costumes I couldn’t wait to see it He’d tried keeping it a surprise but I’d bugged him so much he’d finally brought home a swatch of the fabric So now I knew it would be made of a rich green velvet But nothing else He was planning a big reveal 2
I had the mask I’d made last year and had found the perfect sandals the month before Now all I needed was a scarf and a crown And I had just found the perfect scarf For only a quarter It was green with gold fringes and would match the dress Everything was coming together This is the last piece I needed for my costume I said to Grace Other than the crown But I won’t get one of those here That would be an epic find if you did Grace said Can you Imagine Like If some royal donated their crown by accident or something Or it fell into their donation bag Grace was always thinking up stories That would be awesome I twirled again loving how the filmy scarf floated behind me I guess I’d have to return it But after the party Grace nodded Obviously 3
Anyway I can get a pretend crown at the dollar store As long as I’m fierce like the queen That’s what matters Grace laughed And beautiful You said Queen Esther was fierce and beautiful I stopped twirling before I got dizzy I draped the scarf around my neck and gave my bestie a bright smile Obviously Queen Esther was fierce and beautiful That’s how she saved the Jews and became a superhero Grace rolled her eyes Elsie they didn’t have superheroes in those days She was as close to a superhero as you get If they made a movie about the Purim story Gal Gadot would play her Grace nodded She’s totally fierce It was no secret that Grace and I loved Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman We’d each watched all the movies she was in a million times It also wasn’t a secret that I wanted to be Gal Gadot Or that 4
Grace had a crush on Gal Gadot who could blame her said Anyway I started looking through the racks for more treasures I can’t wait for the party You’ve been planning for it forever Grace Since last year’s I said Purim parties at the temple are so epic Last year Rabbi Alisha gave out a prize for whoever made the most noise when they said evil Haman’s name And there’s lots of yummy food Of course there’s also the costume contest Which you will win I nodded I was determined to win this year Purim sounds like so much fun Grace pouted a little It is I said But you get Easter with all the chocolate and everything Plus Christmas Well you get Hanukkah with doughnuts and latkes 5
