She was the same Eloise that Ans knew and loved, talking rapidly and without pause, gesturing with her fluttery hands. There were more strangers in the parlor too, including a young woman holding a baby, both heavily bundled against the chill. “Everyone . . . this is Ans,” Eloise announced. “She’s . . . well, she’s like a daughter to me, and she’s home!”

There were dozens of questions Ans wanted to ask as everyone chimed in to welcome her, but she knew Eloise would answer them in time. At last, she and Eloise were able to sit down at the little table where they’d had tea on Ans’s first day. It seemed like a hundred years ago. “How are you, Eloise? And —” she leaned closer to whisper —“who are all these people?”

“I’m as good as can be expected, with good days and bad days. Today is a wonderful day now that you’re home.”

“And the people . . . ?”

“They’re the families of Herman and Aalt’s bank employees. When the Nazis arrested them, they also arrested the men who worked with them. Many of their wives and children had no way to support themselves and no place to go, so I invited them to live here. We’ve become our own little family. So you see, Ans? I’m still fighting back.”

“Yes, I do see.”

“I took them in because they’re important to Herman and his brother, so they’ve become important to me. And after that, I couldn’t break down or withdraw from the world, no matter how hard it was, at times, not to give up. To abandon them would be selfish of me.” Ans wanted to ask how Eloise could afford to support them all, but as she gazed around, she noticed how ravaged the once-lovely town house looked and how many of Eloise’s treasures were missing —the Meissen china, the sterling silver, valuable paintings. She remembered Eloise’s words on the day they’d traveled to Amsterdam and saw the Nazis rounding up Jews: “What good is a chest filled with gold that never gets spent? And what good is my life if I selfishly keep it to myself and don’t spend it for others?”

“Now that you’re back, you can help us search for food every day. It’s becoming quite a challenge, believe me, and the others are getting discouraged, but I know you, Ans. You don’t let anything discourage you. We’ve learned to make do without fuel and electricity, but it’s impossible to get by without food.”

“How many people live here?”

“I don’t know. Besides the bank families? I’ve lost count because it varies. I can’t ignore people who are freezing and starving and begging in the street, can I?”