"It isn't broken," the doctor told Jurgen and Joanna. "It's only a bad sprain. She just needs to stay off it for a few days. Use crutches when you need to walk somewhere, Juana, and no more harvesting oranges until your ankle is completely healed."

Joanna was issued a pair of crutches, then left the hospital with Jurgen. So for at least a couple of weeks, she and her husband would be together inside the cabin, except for Spanish classes and mass. What would it be like for it to be just the two of them?

By the time they got home, she was exhausted.

"I feel like all I want to do is sleep," she told Jurgen.

He frowned. "I wonder if a sprained ankle is all that's wrong with you."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You seem pale. I wonder whether you might be anemic."

Joanna got into bed and was asleep within seconds. Several hours later, she awoke to the delicious aroma of chicken soup. Jurgen sat in his wheelchair beside her bed, and a dark-haired woman whom she'd never seen before stood at the stove, stirring a pot.

"She's awake," Jurgen told the woman, who smiled and walked toward Joanna.

"Juana? My name is Lila. I am a nurse and also a midwife to the Sephardic community here. I am very sorry about your injured ankle. Your husband has expressed concern about your overall health." She served up a bowl of soup and laid it on a tray, then carried the tray over to the bed. Joanna suddenly realized she was ravenous.

"Please, enjoy your soup, and when you're finished eating, I will examine you," said Lila.

Joanna was too busy eating to respond. There was buttered bread to go with the soup, and she gulped it down hungrily.

"If it's all right, I'll examine you now," Lila told her after clearing away the remnants of the meal. "Please lie flat on your back with your legs spread apart."

Joanna squeezed her eyes shut and did as she'd been told, and a moment later, she felt Lila's cool fingers exploring her most intimate parts, reaching deep inside her body.

"It is as I suspected," Lila said when she was finished. "You are about two months along. The baby should be here by next April."

Joanna felt as if a bucket of ice water had just been dumped over her head. It hadn't even occurred to her she might be pregnant.

"A baby? Are you sure?"

Lila smiled and nodded. "Your womb is enlarged. Please don't be afraid. You're young and strong and healthy. Everything will be fine. You will see."

Gaping, Joanna looked from Lila to Jurgen. His facial expression was still the same, but she could see the smile in his eyes.

She thought of something. "What community did you say you're from?"

"The Sephardic Jewish community. Many of my people were forced to flee to the Arabic lands of the Middle East about 450 years ago during the Inquisition, but a few of us have remained here over the years. This is our home, and it's where we will stay."

Everything inside Joanna wanted to cry out to this new woman who'd entered her life. Can't you see? I'm one of you!

"Everything looks fine so far." Lila patted Joanna's knee. "Be sure and eat lots of healthy food, and please don't hesitate to call me if there are any problems."

Big tears rolled down Joanna's face as she watched Lila walk out the door. How she longed to tell the other woman who she really was! However, she knew it could never be.

Jurgen stood and walked over to his wife and embraced her. "Why are you crying?"

"She's Jewish, just like me!" was all Joanna could say.

Jurgen shook his head. "Oh no, no. You're Senora Juana Sanchez now, wife of Jorge Sanchez, Spanish Civil War hero, and that's how it will be from now on. Our child will never know otherwise."

"Are you happy, Jorge? About the baby, I mean."

"Of course I am. I've always wanted to be a father." He tilted her face up to look into her eyes. "Are you happy, Juana?"

Now that the shock had worn off, she realized she was ecstatic. Once again she'd have a living blood relative, one she now carried inside her own body, and that wouldn't have been possible if not for Jurgen. It seemed beyond strange to think that, but of course, it was true.

"Very happy," she whispered as she clung to him.

Joanna's ankle healed within a few days, and she returned to the orange grove, only now she no longer climbed ladders to reach the higher branches. Instead, she collected oranges from the lower branches and carried full pails to the collection area.

"It's good to see you back!" Hedda greeted her upon her return. "I was wondering what had happened to you!"

"I sprained my ankle, but it's all better now," Joanna replied. "I also found out I'm going to have a baby in April."

"Congratulations!" Hedda gave her a hug. "I'm happy for you. I've always wanted to be a mother myself."

"Why aren't you?" asked Joanna.

Hedda sighed, and her eyes got a faraway look. "I was always so focused, so devoted to the cause, I never felt there was time for a baby." She stared at the ground. "There's plenty of time now, I guess."

Joanna supposed she should hate Hedda and rejoice in her disconsolation, but all she could feel was a strange pity. The woman had been deceived and mislead, and now she had to fear for her life, just like Jurgen and all the others.

Joanna wouldn't trade places with them for anything in the world.