Thirty minutes later, they sat across from each other at the nearest Asian buffet. Both were enjoying egg drop soup with sweet tea.

"Is Asian food popular in Germany?" Jo asked, blowing on her soup to cool it.

"Doner kebabs are," he replied.

She frowned. "Doner kebabs?"

"Seasoned meat cooked on a rotisserie, similar to a Greek gyro," Fritz explained. "They're originally from Turkey, and were introduced to my country by immigrants. They are delicious. I grew up eating them. Perhaps there is a Turkish restaurant near here. I would love for you to try them."

Jo chuckled. "Oh, you know me. I've gotta have my peanut chicken and coconut shrimp." She drained the last few drops of her soup and headed for the buffet as Fritz dabbed his chin with a napkin.

They returned to their table, their plates laden with food, at about the same time.

Should I tell him? Jo asked herself as she dug in.

"You seem not quite as talkative as usual," Fritz remarked several minutes later. "Are you having a good time?"

Jo smiled. "I always have a good time when I'm with you. It's just that...well, you see, the night before the algebra exam, the weirdest thing happened to me. I was studying, and then I got really sleepy, and..."

The brown eyes regarded her quizzically.

"There was this girl...she spoke to me in German. She said her name was Elisabeth."

A startled look appeared in Fritz's eyes, then quickly vanished.

I can't tell him any more - he'll think I'm crazy! And yet, I have to...

"She...she thought I was her mother. I swear to you, Fritz, I don't know whether it really happened or was just a dream. If it was just a dream, it was the most 'real' dream I've ever had!"

To her immense relief, Fritz's eyes crinkled in amusement.

"Elizabeth is your sister's name, is it not?"

"Well, yes..."

"And you were under a great deal of stress, facing a difficult examination and worried you might not pass. The human mind can do peculiar things in these situations. If it is comfort and assurance you are seeking, it will come to you in a familiar form, such as that of a loved one."

"But she spoke to me in German! Beth doesn't even know German!"

Fritz chuckled. "You and I have spent many hours conversing in German. Is it not natural that your subconscious has absorbed the language in a similar way to my learning the English language?"

"Well, now that you put it that way, it does!" Jo felt as if a huge weight had just been lifted from her shoulders. "I'm so glad I told you about it!"

"And I am so glad I could be of help." Fritz's smile disappeared. "I have just been faced with a difficult situation myself. It concerns a young man in one of my classes. He is a bright student, as well as courteous and sensitive. This past weekend, he nearly died by his own hand."

"Oh, no!" Jo gasped. "I'm so sorry! Is he all right now?"

"Physically, yes." Fritz pushed his empty plate aside. "He tried to hang himself. His roommate arrived back at the dorm right before he lost consciousness. He had forgotten something and had to go back for it. I hate to think what would have happened had that not been the case."

"Me, too!" Jo shuddered. "So, was he Baker acted?"

Fritz was puzzled. "Baker acted?"

"You know - taken into custody?"

Fritz nodded. "He spent several days in the psychiatric ward of the hospital and was then released. I fear he will try again, however, and the next time, he may be successful."

Jo stabbed a piece of fruit with her fork. "That's so sad! I wonder, what made him do it?"

"I suspect my student is a homosexual." Fritz took a bite of fried banana. "As I told you, he is very sensitive, and I suspect he was unable to deal with the guilt and shame any longer."

"They're just people, like everybody else." Jo licked the green tea ice cream from her spoon. "Like my father would say, we're all children of God."

"I agree with your father, but unfortunately, not everyone does."

Jo remembered the Metzgers, living behind a wall in someone's house. Being with Lemuel Jackson in the New Orleans of 1950.

"I hope your student will be OK," she told Fritz.

He gave a deep sigh. So like Dieter, Jo observed.

One day, Jo finished classes, picked Beth up from the seamstress's, and arrived home to find a vacant house.

"I wonder where Mom is," said Beth.

"I'm about to find out." Jo dialed her mother's cell phone and was relieved when Mrs. March answered on the second ring.

"A family emergency has come up," she said. "Your Great Aunt Harriet passed away in her sleep last night."

"Great Aunt Harriet? Oh, no!" Jo gasped. "What happened?"

"The doctor said it was a heart attack. He said it happened instantly and she didn't feel any pain."

Great Aunt Harriet was Jo's father's aunt. Mr. March was her only nephew. She was in her eighties and lived in a mansion called Plumfield, which was out in the country. The March sisters had enjoyed spending time there in the summers when they were younger. Jo had had a tree house in one of the trees and had enjoyed spending time there, daydreaming and writing stories.

"I'm glad it was painless," Jo told her mother. "Are you and Dad at Plumfield?"

"We're at the funeral home, making the arrangements," Mrs. March replied. "I don't know when we'll be home."

"Want me to start dinner?" asked Jo.

"I'd really appreciate it."

"I'll help," Beth offered.

"Thank you," said Jo.