Later, she received a telephone call and was disappointed to see it was from Teddy rather than Fritz.
"I know you don't want to talk to me," he said. "I just called to find out how Beth's surgery went."
"It went well," Jo told him. "And it's not that I don't want to talk to you. It's just that you have to accept the fact that we'll never be more than friends."
"Well, I won't go into that again. You know how I feel, and that will never change. So how's she doing? Is she awake yet?"
"Yes, but she has to stay in the hospital for awhile. She's very weak, all hooked up to tubes and monitors and all."
"I'll bet! Poor girl. I'm glad she got the transplant, though. Do you know who the donor was?"
"No, but we'll be forever grateful to them."
"Any idea when she'll be home?"
"It'll be at least several weeks."
"Can I come over and see her when she does come home?"
"Sure. I know she'll be glad to see you."
The following days and weeks seemed to pass very slowly. Mrs. March was almost constantly at the hospital with Beth, and Jo visited at least once a day herself. In between visits, she spent a lot of time with Meg and the twins. Johnny and Daisy were not quite a year old yet, and were taking steps holding onto furniture, so Meg was having to keep breakable items stored out of their reach.
"Boy, am I glad to see you!" Meg cried as Jo arrived one afternoon. "It's been crazy around here! First Johnny threw up all over himself and the high chair, and while I was cleaning that up, Daisy dumped the entire box of animal crackers out on the floor. What a morning!"
Jo felt a soft hand patting her leg and looked down into Daisy's round blue eyes.
"Jo-Jo?"
"Yep, it's me!" Jo picked the little girl up and kissed her cheek. "How's my sweetie-pie?"
Johnny sat in the middle of the floor, playing with a red stuffed monkey. He looked up at Jo and smiled. Jo carried Daisy into the living room and sat on the sofa. Megan finished sweeping up the animal crackers and sat in the arm chair across from Jo.
"How's she doing?"
"Her appetite seems to be better. She's smiling more."
"That's good." Meg folded onesies from a laundry basket at her feet. "Have you eaten?"
"I went by the hospital cafeteria after visiting Beth."
Jo soon noticed that Daisy had fallen asleep in her arms.
"Why don't you put her in her crib, and I'll get Johnny settled," Meg suggested.
Jo took Daisy into the nursery and laid her in the pink crib, while Meg rocked Johnny to sleep and then laid him in the blue one. Then both women returned to the living room and sat on the sofa.
"So, have you heard any more from your friend in New York?" asked Meg.
"Fritz? I haven't heard much from him lately at all," Jo replied. "He was texting two or three times a day and calling a couple of times a week, but for the last two or three days - nothing. I hope he's all right!"
"Oh, he's probably just busy." Meg gave her sister a reassuring smile. "I'm sure he'll be in touch when he has a chance."
Jo decided it was finally time to share her secret.
"Meg, do you think it's possible to suddenly wake up one morning in someone else's body?"
Meg frowned. "Hmm. I've heard of things like astral projection. Is that what you mean?"
"I'm not sure. What I'm talking about is, waking up in the body of a stranger who lives in a different country and time period."
Meg gasped. "Did that happen to you?"
Jo nodded. "I woke up one morning and found myself in the body of a young girl named Magda Weber. She lives with her grandmother and older brother and sister in Nazi-era Germany."
Meg looked thoughtful for a long time. "Are you sure this really happened and you didn't just dream it?"
"It seemed so real right after it happened, but that was a few months ago, and now I don't feel quite so sure anymore."
"It could have been a stress-induced hallucination," Meg suggested. "You were in a new and unfamiliar place, surrounded by new people, away from home and your family for the first time."
"That could be it," said Jo. "But I just can't stop thinking it must have something to do with Fritz. It happened right after I met him."
"When you thought you were someone else, did you meet a man named Fritz?"
"No, but I met an minister named Reverend Baumgartner. I can't help thinking he and Fritz must be connected, somehow."
Meg laughed. "You always have had a runaway imagination!"
Jo was sitting in the front porch swing when he drove up in a dark blue BMW. She knew it was him, even before he got out of the car. She called to him and waved, and he waved back.
"How are you?" she asked, standing to meet him as he came closer.
"I am well, thank you. And how are you?"
"Pretty good." She opened the front door and motioned for him to follow her inside. Mrs. March came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish cloth. Beth sat propped up on the sofa, surrounded by pillows, watching Animal Planet.
Jo introduced everyone. After Mrs. March shook hands with Fritz, he went to Beth and shook her hand.
"You are feeling well today, I hope?"
Beth smiled bravely. "I'm all right."
"I said a prayer that your surgery would go well, and that your new heart would make you strong and healthy again."
"Thank you," said Beth.
"Would you like some coffee?" asked Mrs. March.
"That would be nice, thank you," said Fritz.
"Please, have a seat." Jo nodded toward the end of the sofa. "How are the boys?"
Fritz smiled. "They are fine, spending the summer with their father's sister."
"And how have you been?"
"My situation is much improved. I will soon have the qualifications necessary to work as an instructor at an American university, and then I will be able to provide for my nephews as their mother would have wished."