Jo opened her eyes and was vastly relieved to find that she was once again in her bedroom at the Kirke's. For the two days she'd lived as Magda in another place and at another time, she could think of no explanation. Her only thought was of how glad she was to be back in the time, place, and body to which she was accustomed.

But how much time passed while I was gone? she wondered. The last time she'd gone to sleep in twenty-first century New York City, it had been Thanksgiving night. After visiting with Fritz and his nephews far longer than she'd intended, she'd returned to get Kerri and Kelli ready for bed, then sat up reading for awhile herself.

The book she was reading was 'Realizing Rawls' by Thomas Pogge. Fritz had loaned it to her, promising her she'd enjoy it. Had reading the book somehow led to her bizarre experience? she wondered.

She rose from bed and walked into the kitchen, where she found the cook busy at work while Sharon and her daughters sat at the table, chatting happily. Sharon looked up as she entered the room.

"Good morning, Jo. Happy Black Friday!"

So no time at all had passed in her life as Josephine March, Jo noted with relief.

"Good morning, and happy Black Friday to you, too," she said. "So is shopping the plan for the day?"

Sharon laughed. "At the mall? Oh, no! I wouldn't even think of facing those crowds. I do most of my shopping online. I thought I'd get started this morning while you keep the girls entertained. They like to do arts and crafts, and there's a ton of supplies in the craft room. Why don't you go ahead and get them started after breakfast?"

"Sounds like fun!" said Jo. She spent the morning doing papier-mache projects, working with clay, and finger painting with the girls. She found it all to be highly enjoyable.

In the afternoon, she read more of the novel while Kerri and Kelli napped, then spent the rest of the day playing games with them on the computer.

Saturday was cold but sunny, so Jo bundled the girls up and took them to the park again. They'd been there for about half an hour when Fritz and his nephews arrived. Jo was watching her charges on the slides to make sure they didn't get hurt, so she didn't even know they were there until she heard Fritz call to her.

"Miss March! How good it is to see you again!"

"Hi, great to see you again, too!" Jo replied. "Hi, Franz and Emil!"

"Hi," the boys replied dutifully before running off to play.

Looking into his hazel eyes, Jo felt certain Fritz was somehow connected to her recent experience. Although he and Reverend Baumgartner didn't resemble each other physically, she sensed a sameness about them, a familiarity which was impossible to explain.

"Are you enjoying the book?" he asked.

"Very much so," Jo replied.

They watched the children play for a few minutes.

"I am wondering, Miss March, if you would be interested in learning German," Fritz said after a few minutes.

"I'd like that very much, but I can't afford to pay for lessons right now," Jo told him.

"Oh, no, I am offering to teach you for free," Fritz replied. "It is the least I can do after the kindness you showed us at Thanksgiving."

"Oh, that was just a little thing!" said Jo.

"To us, it was not little at all," Fritz replied. "I am a man who repays kindness with kindness, whenever possible."

"Well then, in that case, I could come over after lunch, while Kerri and Kelli are napping," said Jo.

"It is settled, then."

It occurred to Jo that, as Magda, she had both thought and spoken in fluent German, as if it were the only language she'd ever known, which was undoubtedly the case. It was so natural that she didn't even realize it at first, and yet when she'd awakened as Jo, it had all been immediately and completely erased from her mind.

German lessons commenced the following Monday. Jo found the language far more difficult to learn than she'd expected it to be - so many different words for 'the', 'an', and 'a'!

"I just can't stop getting them confused!" she complained.

"Patience, my dear Josephine," Fritz chuckled. "You will get it right, eventually."

"I'll bet it just comes naturally to you, doesn't it?" she teased.

He laughed.

"How old were you when you learned English?" she wanted to know.

"I was very young," he replied. "In European countries, it is the common thing to learn English at an early age."

Jo strolled up and down the mall, searching for Christmas presents for her family and friends. Her list was considerably longer this year, but her financial situation had improved slightly with the governess job.

In the bath and body shop, she chose nice things for her mother, Meg, Beth, and Sharon. Her father was always more of a challenge to shop for, and as for John, she had no idea what he'd like. She found a couple of books in the bookstore for them.

After visiting the toy store for presents for the Kirke girls and the twins, she considered her shopping complete, and yet...what about him? Should she buy something for him too? How likely was it he'd get her a present?

Perhaps she should buy him something small, just in case he did. She hastily purchased a pen holder and a vase from the discount store before leaving the mall.

The afternoon of Christmas Eve, a light snow began to fall. Kerri and Kelli clapped with glee and went to look out the window at the falling snowflakes. Later, the doorbell rang, and Jo went to answer it. She was surprised to see Fritz standing there with his nephews, snow clinging to his mustache like a light sprinkling of sugar on a cookie.

"We are going caroling, and we wondered if we might have the pleasure of your company," he said.

"Sounds great to me!" Jo replied. "I'll see if the girls want to come along."

Kerri and Kelli were all for it, and Sharon said they could go as long as they were dressed warmly enough. Jo saw that they were carefully bundled into coats, mittens, and galoshes, and then they joyfully went on their way.