That night, Jo dreamed of walking the streets of New Orleans with Dieter and Lemuel. The sights, the sounds, and even the smells returned to her as if it was yesterday. Everything seemed so real. When she woke up in her bed in the twenty-first century, she was disoriented for a few minutes, and then clarity returned. Her dream haunted her as she ate breakfast, and by the time she'd finished, she knew what she had to do.
"I'm going out of town for a few days," she announced.
Her mother and Beth looked up in surprise. Mr. March's eyes looked startled over the rim of his coffee cup.
"Where are you going?" asked Mrs. March.
"New Orleans. Winter break starts soon, and it'll be nice to enjoy some warmer weather for a little while."
"But that's so far!" Beth objected.
"I'll have my phone with me," Jo told her.
"But what if you break down?"
"I'm not driving. I'm taking the train."
"Won't that be a bit expensive?" asked Mrs. March.
"I've saved up a bit from my job." Jo had a very part time job as a student assistant in an office at the university, answering phone calls along with light typing and filing. She depended on it for gas, car insurance, and other personal expenses.
"Just as long as you don't run out of money and end up broke and stranded," said Mr. March.
"I'll be careful," Jo assured him.
The difficult thing, she knew, would be telling Fritz. He'd undoubtedly want to accompany her, and she just didn't know how to tell him that this was a trip she had to make alone.
"What's the real reason you're going?" asked Beth as Jo drove her to the seamstress's on her way to the university.
"I had a dream." It was all Jo could think of to say.
"About New Orleans?"
"Yes." Jo pulled into the circular driveway in front of the seamstress's shop.
"I'd be scared to go all by myself!" said Beth.
Oh, Beth, if you only knew...
"I'll be all right," said Jo. "I know how to take care of myself. Better hurry, or Hannah will be wondering what happened to you."
"Oh, right! Well, goodbye, Jo."
"Bye, Beth."
A few minutes later, Jo was pulling into the parking lot of the university and heading for her first class of the day. Her mind was so full of questions, she found it difficult to concentrate on the lesson. What would she find when she got to New Orleans? How much had it changed in the past seventy years or so? Would any of the landmarks she'd visited with Dieter and Lemuel still be there?
She met up with Fritz for lunch as usual.
"Is there something wrong with my Josephine?" he asked as they joined the line. "You look lost in thought."
"Nothing's wrong," Jo quickly assured him. "It's just that I've decided I have to go to New Orleans over winter break. There's - something I have to check on."
Fritz looked puzzled for just a minute, then grinned. "Ach! It has something to do with that book you found in the used book store, does it not?"
Jo nodded.
"It is, perhaps, a journey of discovery?"
Jo nodded again.
"Well, then, I suppose you must do what you must. The boys will be staying with the Blackwells again. They enjoy playing with the Blackwell children, and I can use the time to rest from this semester and prepare for the next one. You are planning to return for the spring term as well, are you not?"
"Well, yes." She'd made her list of the classes she wanted to take and the available time slots.
"So we shall resume our lunches together after a break from each other. I wish you a safe trip filled with fun and adventure."
"Thanks." Jo was both relieved and disappointed at the same time. Relieved that she wouldn't have to explain why she wanted to go alone, yet disappointed that he hadn't even asked if he could accompany her.
Several nights before she was due to leave, Jo's mother entered her bedroom at about two in the morning, panic written all over her face.
"Meg just called," she said breathlessly. "John's in the hospital with a burst appendix!"
"Oh, no!" Jo groaned. From her previous life as a nurse, she remembered patients entering the hospital with burst appendixes, and the usually dire consequences.
"Robert and I are going to the hospital right away," Mrs. March continued. "You can ride along with us if you want. It wouldn't be safe for Beth to come along."
"But she'll be upset to wake up and find herself alone in the house," Jo pointed out.
"I already awakened her and explained what happened," said Mrs. March. "She's concerned, of course, but she understands."
Jo dressed as quickly as she could and rode to the hospital with her parents. This place is becoming way too familiar, she thought to herself as she entered the well-lit emergency room in the black of night. First Beth's operation, then Mom's injury, and now this...
She saw her older sister, sitting alone and sobbing. Her heart nearly stopped. Had John already passed?
She went to Meg, sat beside her, and put her arm around her. Meg lifted a tear-stained face to look into her eyes.
"How is he?"
"Not good," said Meg. "His abdomen is full of infection. They're doing exploratory surgery now to see how far it's gone. Oh, Jo!"
Jo held her while she sobbed, hard.
What would it be like to be widowed before the age of thirty? What would it be like to have to raise two small children alone?
Jo shuddered, finding the thought to horrible to even contemplate.
Mrs. March brought her daughter a paper cup full of water, and Meg took it gratefully. Unable to sit still, Jo began to pace the floor. Up and down the hallway she went, until suddenly Martina appeared to her once again, just like before.
"Will you give your life for his?"