I sank deeper into my seat. Karter grinned.

Mo whistled. “Lookin’ like a young Trevante Rhodes, so handsome.”

Mom nodded in agreement and I looked into my lap. This was so much worse than I imagined.

“So, Karter, what’s good here?” Mo asked.

“Everything,” he said. He was trying very hard not to laugh.

Mom opened her mouth to speak, and I shook my head. “Please. Don’t.” I didn’t even know what she was going to say, but I knew it would be embarrassing.

She smiled, pressing her lips together. We ordered and since it was nearly lunch, Mom got catfish and greens and Mo got the same thing, but with baked mac ’n’ cheese on the side.

“If there are breadcrumbs on top, I’m gonna lose it,” Mo said.

“Breadcrumbs?” Karter asked. “That should be illegal. They’d never do that here.”

“Ooh, I like him so much,” said Mo, nudging my shoulder.

“I found some field guides at the bookstore,” I said, trying to change the subject. “The old ones with the bright covers. Perfect condition, too.”

“Oh yeah?” said Mom. She turned to Karter. “We run a flower shop back home, so Briseis has a love for plants.”

“Really?” Karter asked. “That’s what’s up. What’s it called?”

“Bri’s,” Mom said, beaming at me.

I’d always thought it was sweet, naming the shop after me. It was another way they tried to embrace what I could do. It was all good when I was using my power to grow daffodils in plastic pots but it had evolved so much since then. The look of shock on their faces when that plant in the turret came back from practically nothing bothered me. They’d always been supportive, but they didn’t know all the ways this power could manifest, and neither did I. Each time something new happened, I braced myself. It was one thing to be afraid for me, but it was something else to be afraid of me.

I tried to push all that aside as the waiter brought our order to the table.

Karter was right. The food was so good that Mom kept humming and doing a little dance in her seat. Mo started six different conversations but kept getting sidetracked by how delicious everything was. When we were done, we sipped lemonade and sweet tea while Mo talked about the flower shop and how being in a place like Rhinebeck was so different from Brooklyn.

“It’s a big change,” Karter said. “Rhinebeck is small.”

“Does it feel small? You know, since you grew up here?” Mom asked. “I didn’t realize how small my hometown was till I moved to Brooklyn.”

“Yeah. Too small sometimes. Kinda wonder what I’m missing.” Sadness danced behind his eyes as he turned to me. “I gotta get back.” He pulled out his wallet to pay and Mo waved it away.

“I got it,” she said. “Our treat.”