"Bruno?" asked Dieter.
"My husband," Elsa explained. "He was sent to Stalingrad. I haven't heard from him in three years. I have no idea whether he's alive or dead."
"My brother Horst was sent to Stalingrad, too." Jo lowered her eyes. "My father died there, and was buried in a mass grave."
"You poor child," said Elsa. "Do you have any family left, then?"
"My mother and sister live in Tempelhof," said Jo. "It drives me crazy wondering how they are."
"My parents are gone." Elsa choked back a sob. "Now there's just me."
"You aren't alone anymore," Dieter assured her.
"You both seem so nice," said Elsa. "Are you originally from here?"
"Yes, we are both Berliners," said Dieter. "I've been a pastor for fifteen years. Needless to say, the last six have been by far the most chaotic."
"I was a seamstress," said Elsa. "Bruno was a mailman. Every morning, at the crack of dawn, he would make his rounds while I sat at my machine and sewed dresses, shirts, slacks, and night clothes. I was considered quite good and had my regular customers, so between the two of us, we did all right. Then the war started, material, thread, and buttons were rationed, and worst of all, Bruno was drafted. My customers became fewer and fewer, then stopped altogether. One by one, I sold off all my valuables to buy food, and when they were all gone..." Tears began to stream down the young woman's face. Jo thought of the last meal she'd eaten in the twenty-first century. Her stomach began to rumble.
"It's going to be all right," said Dieter. "We'll make it, somehow."
With an extra mouth to feed, the scant provisions of the Baumgartners had to be stretched even further. Dieter and Jo roamed the streets, going into the remnants of apartments in search of wallpaper to boil for the nutritive value of the paste. They passed women and children, war widows and orphans, doing the same thing. Dieter and Jo often shared the wallpaper and any other edible items they found with them. A part of Jo longed to be back in Concord with her family, and yet, another part was glad to be reunited with Dieter and helping to alleviate the suffering of these victims.
The telephone lines were eventually restored, and one day, Jo received a call from Mrs. Weber.
"You can't imagine how good it is to hear your voice again!" the older woman said, near tears.
"How are Renate and Konrad?" asked Jo.
"Very well. You have a new nephew. He was born just two weeks ago."
"I wish I could have been there." Jo remembered the births of Johnny and Daisy, how she'd sat in the hospital waiting room with Mrs. March and Beth.
"So do I," said Mrs. Weber. "We could hear the bombs exploding all around as he was being born. We were so afraid the hospital would be hit!"
Jo took a long breath in and out. "Was it?"
"No, thank God. You should see little Heinz - so like his grandfather!"
"Dieter and I will visit as soon as the roads are clear."
Jo heard a long pause. "Dieter? Is he there?"
"Yes, why?"
"So he survived, after all - praise God! We heard he'd been hanged for his part in the assassination attempt."
"He - was rescued." Jo longed to tell Martina's mother all the details, but realized she would be thought insane if she did so.
"By whom - the Soviets?"
"By an angel of God." It was what Dieter believed, what he'd told his family.
"It isn't for us to question God's ways, but oh, how grateful I am!"
"So am I. We all are."
"Please give him, and his parents, my love, and I hope we will see each other again soon."
"Of course I will, mother."
"That was my mother," she told Dieter after she hung up the telephone.
"Are they all right?" asked Dieter.
"Yes. Renate and Konrad have a new son, Heinz. He was born during the bombing."
Dieter beamed. "Praise God!"
"I told her we would visit as soon as the roads are clear."
"Indeed we shall," Dieter agreed.
More pleasant surprises were in store, as one day, Werner and Sybille visited with little Dieter. The two men embraced each other like long lost brothers.
"I thought I would never see you again," said Werner.
"I thought the same thing," said Dieter. "I thought you had been captured by the Soviets and were being held as a prisoner of war."
"On the contrary, the Soviets learned of my part in the plot and rescued me from my captors," Werner replied. "I heard you'd been sentenced to die and thought the sentence had been carried out. Then I heard rumors you'd been seen helping other survivors search for food, so I had to see for myself if they were true. You can't imagine how happy I am to see you again." He looked at Jo. "Dear Martina, you are still at his side."
"Of course I am." Jo was busy watching Sybille with her chubby, dimpled toddler. "He's precious!"
Sybille smiled. "Thank you. I can't believe how quickly he's growing!"
"Can I hold him?" Jo reached for little Dieter, and he hid his face in the front of his mother's dress.
"Go to Martina," Sybille encouraged softly. Dieter peeked at Jo with a cautious eye, then smiled and reached for her. Jo took him into her arms and held him close, thinking of the last time she'd held Johnny, which now seemed like a million years ago.
"Now that we're all together and the war is over, I can perform your wedding any time you want," Jo heard Werner tell Dieter.
"What about it, Martina?" asked Dieter. "Would you rather marry now, or wait until things are more settled so more of our family and friends can attend?"
Jo remembered the events of Werner and Sybille's own wedding - how all their family and friends had been there to celebrate, how the occasion had ended with Dieter being led away in handcuffs. She looked into Dieter's eyes as her hand slipped into his.
"I would like for it to happen as soon as possible."