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house.”
    His mother was already waiting near the door to the dining room. Her blonde hair had been pulled back in a bun that was in the process of coming loose, and flour streaked the side of her face. The apron she had tied around her rotund middle was streaked with evidence that she had made Everett’s favorite cheesecake for dessert.
    “Everett, I’m so glad you’re home,” she said. She gave him a tight hug. “I was worried sick!” She stepped back and looked him up and down. “Are you sure you’re alright? You were gone the whole night, and you forgot your vitamin drink, too. Celeste said she left it on the counter and it was still there at sunrise. I kept worrying that you were lost somewhere and your insides were shutting down...”
    “Mom, I’m fine,” Everett said before she could get too detailed. “Really. You don’t have to worry.”
    She set a hand on his cheek. “Of course I worry. I’m your mother, that’s what I do! And I worried that the blood you had left was congealing and you were losing your functions, lying in pain somewhere...”
    Everett glanced at Adrielle, grateful for the distraction. “Mom, this is Adrielle, she’s the one I told you about.”
    Caught in the middle of going on about all of the horrible things that could have happened to him, his mother paused with her mouth open. She closed it again and gave Adrielle a warm smile.
    “Of course, dear. Happy to have you here.” She took Adrielle’s hand. “We have a place set for you next to Everett’s spot.” She glanced back at him with a meaningful look. “It was empty last night, which worried me all the more because Everett doesn’t often miss meals and especially his vitamin drink.”
    “Mom,” Everett said imploringly.
    “Okay, okay,” Mrs. Masterson replied. “You’re home and I’ll be grateful. It could have been so much worse.”
    Everett shook his head with a glance at the ceiling, wondering how Adrielle would survive an evening with his overprotective family.
    His mother led them around the packed table to the empty seats on the far side. Donavan tried to trip Everett, but he was prepared. He sidestepped the older boy’s foot and turned to avoid Finch and Gabe when the twins rushed by and dove into their own seats with the force of a herd of horses.
    “Everett’s home,” Mrs. Masterson said, nudging her husband on her way past.
    “Oh, um, yes,” Mr. Masterson replied. He glanced at Everett over the edge of the paper he was reading. The headlines proclaimed, ‘Fallout Zone Testing Reveals Lessened Contamination of Forests.’ “Glad to see you home, my boy,” Everett’s father told him.
    Everett patted his father on the shoulder on their way by, not surprised the man had failed to notice the girl at his side. He was already deep into the article again, no doubt coming up with plans to include the forests in his studies.
    “My dad’s a botanist, a plant scientist,” Everett whispered to Adrielle. “And he works on bees.”
    “I work with bees,” Mr. Masterson corrected. “And we’re in the process of creating a bee-wasp hybrid that appears better suited to pollinating with the plants that have survived the fallout. Their genetic mutations have created some interesting challenges.” He paused, then said, “The bees, not the plants.”
    Everett stared at his father, amazed he had heard them with his focus on the newspaper.
    His dad winked. “The word ‘bees’ always catches my attention.” His gaze shifted to Adrielle. “And who is this?”
    “Sorry, Dad,” Everett said. “This is Adrielle. Mom invited her for dinner.”
    “I had nothing to do with it,” Mrs. Masterson protested. “Adrielle is Everett’s friend .” She stressed the last word meaningfully.
    Mr. Masterson adjusted his glasses and gave both Everett and Adrielle a searching look. “Well, then I’m glad you came to meet us. Everett, you should give her a tour of the greenhouse after dinner.”
    “Okay, Dad,”