Fritz and Jo arose early the next morning to make the pancakes, although they took their time with the actual preparation - talking, laughing, and making plans.

When breakfast was ready, they went to awaken the two little boys.

"Come on!" Jo softly urged Daniel. "You don't want the pancakes to get cold!"

He giggled. "What's that white stuff on your nose?"

Jo touched the tip of her nose. "Why, it's pancake batter." Then she remembered how Fritz had put it there and smiled warmly at the memory.

The pancakes were quickly consumed, the kitchen cleaned, and the little group set out in Fritz's car.

"Where are we going, Uncle Fritz?" asked Adam.

"We are going to have a look at Plumfield," Fritz told him. "It is a place which your Aunt Jo has just inherited."

"So is she gonna live there now?" Daniel wanted to know.

"I don't know," said Jo. "Today, we're just going to look."

Plumfield was out in the country, a good half hour's drive from Fritz's apartment. It was a large, spacious estate, with two stories and an attic. The porch was partially enclosed with two folding panels on each side, the far one containing a window. Each window of the house had green shutters.

A large tree stood on each side of the building, with several more in back. A sidewalk, bordered by a neatly trimmed hedge, was in front of the building.

The group parked the car and stood on the sidewalk, gazing at the building.

"Wow!" said Adam. "It sure is big!"

"Even bigger than Marcy and Tom's farm!" added Daniel.

"Let us take a look inside, shall we?" said Fritz. Jo handed him the key to the front door, he opened it, and the group entered the house.

Inside, everything was perfectly clean and in order, just as Aunt Harriet had left it. The foyer was empty except for a small table in the very center, which was directly underneath a light fixture. A winding staircase opened onto the foyer.

Right away, Adam and Daniel raced to the staircase and began running up and down the stairs.

"Meg, Beth and I used to run up and down those stairs all the time when we were little," Jo told Fritz.

He smiled and took Jo's hand, and they climbed the stairs together. At the top was a long hall with several doors on each side. Jo went to the door that opened onto the master bedroom and opened it.

It was similar to the rest of the house: prim, proper, and no-nonsense. A king-sized bed was in the very center of the room, and it was covered with a frilly, distinctly feminine mauve coverlet. Two cream-colored chairs were to one side of the bed, and the other side held a small table with a lamp. Opposite the bed was a walk-in closet.

"Such luxury," Fritz remarked.

Jo pranced around the room like a lively pony. "Just look at all this space!"

Fritz chuckled. "It is quite a change from my apartment, nicht wahr?"

"Well, let's so the rest of it!" said Jo.

With both boys happily dancing around them, they made their way down the rest of the hall, inspecting the various guest bedrooms. One had walls painted sky blue and a large portrait of a ship on one wall.

"Can that one be my room? Please?" begged Daniel, who collected toy boats and ships the way most boys collected race cars.

Jo laughed. "We'll see!"

Fritz began to stroll down the hall, a slight frown on his face.

"This house is too large for just one family to live in," he said. "I have an idea, Josephine, and I hope you will be in agreement with it. Do you recall the conversation in which I mentioned my gay student who tried to kill himself? Young people in similar situations need a place where they can feel safe and accepted for who they are. I believe you and I can provide that for them."

"What a great idea!" said Jo.

"Of course, the commute time between here and the university will be considerable, but I do not mind the drive," said Fritz. "I will rather enjoy the passing scenery."

"You know, I wasn't even thinking of that!" said Jo, feeling just a little bit guilty. "We'd need to do a lot to get things ready first anyway, so it wouldn't be a problem until the fall term of next year, at least."

"By that time, you will be Mrs. Bhaer." Fritz kissed her nose. Adam and Daniel giggled.