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them know I’ve gotten here all right,” Eliza said. She felt awkward around this new ersatz family.
    â€œOh heavens!” Estelle said with a laugh. “It’s about two in the morning in America right now.”
    Eliza looked at her watch and realized that she hadn’t yet set it for Melbourne time. She shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs out.
    â€œWhat time is it here?” she asked. If she couldn’t handle the metric system, then she probably couldn’t handle the time difference, either.
    â€œAbout ten to six in the evening.”
    Eliza stared at the hour hand on her watch as she tried to figure out what time it actually felt like.
    â€œWell, you get settled, and we’ll see you in a few,” Estelle said again, leaving Eliza to her unpacking.
    Eliza hung up her dresses and blouses in the closet and laid her clothes in the drawers. She took out her laptop and put it on the desk, then dug out the plug adapter and plugged it in to charge.
    Eliza flopped down on the edge of the bed and fell back into the covers. Staring up at the ceiling, she realized that she was a whole lot more exhausted from the ordeal of travel than she had thought. In fact, if she didn’t get up and out of bed, she was going to fall asleep right then and there.
    Not the best move to miss her first dinner, she knew. She picked herself up off the bed and stepped into the bathroom to wash up. Her reflection in the mirror was startling; her long journey sure showed on her face. Her hair had sprouted flyaways in every direction, her makeup had practically evaporated, and even her tracksuit somehow managed to look rumpled and wrinkled. She hastily finger-combed her hair and pulled it back into a ponytail. She splashed some water on her face and, feeling slightly refreshed, decided she was ready to face her host family and have some dinner.
    Â 
    Outside, Frank manned the grill with an enormous smile. As Eliza slipped into a chair at the table, Estelle approached with a tray full of the biggest, juiciest steaks she’d ever seen.
    â€œI hope you’re hungry!” she trilled. “Billie decided to become a vegetarian when she started high school, but the rest of us aren’t, so we were glad to hear you’re a bit of a carnivore yourself.”
    Despite being completely disoriented and turned around about time, Eliza was hungry. Dinner was delicious with steak, mashed potatoes, and string beans. The twins made a mess of their plates, dropping food left and right.
    The Echolses had lots of questions for her, and she did her best to answer them. They wanted to know about the flight, about her family and her school. They were curious what Billie’s classes would be like. The twins wanted to know about what movies were out in the States that hadn’t come out yet in Australia. Before long she was stuffed—in the American sense of the word—and helped Estelle to clear the plates.
    â€œWhy don’t you put those down next to the sink and go get some rest?” Estelle offered. “You look simply exhausted, and you have some big days ahead of you.”
    Gratefully, Eliza put the plates where Estelle indicated, said a thank-you and a good-night, and headed to her room. She closed the door behind her and flopped back in the bed. She settled herself on top of the covers, and before she knew it, she had drifted off to sleep, still sporting her tracksuit and smeared makeup. Anything else that needed taking care of would have to wait until tomorrow.

Chapter Four

    Billie wasn’t sure quite what she’d been expecting when her airplane finally touched down in D.C. Obviously she knew that, capital or no, it wasn’t as though a marching band brandishing mini American flags was going to come stomping through the baggage claim area. Besides, after the horrifically endless flight to which she’d just been subjected, she wouldn’t have had the energy for a marching