Maria nearly dropped the plate she had in her wet hands. The small radio in the background was blaring some of the most joyful news since she had married Georg.
She hurriedly set the plate down on the rather small kitchen table and flew out the back door. Georg would be in the barns, taking care of the livestock that lived on the land they were renting out.
"Georg! Georg!" Maria dashed breathlessly down the large hill, calling for her husband.
Georg turned from the stall he was mucking out, head cocked. Was that Maria? He listened harder, over the sounds of the cows and horses shuffling around in their stalls, munching on their breakfasts. Her excited voice was calling urgently for him. He threw down the pitchfork and jogged for the barn door. Just as he stepped outside, she rushed into his arms, eyes bright, smile wider than he'd seen it in a long time.
Gripping his arms, she said in broken speech, trying to catch her breath, "Georg...Georg, he's dead! Hitler's been assassinated!"
Georg's ice-blue eyes pierced his wife's deep, blue ones. "You're sure?"
Maria stepped away, wiping her forehead with her arm, smile still plastered all over her face. "Yes! It's just been announced on the radio! 'Der Führer ermordet!'"
Georg's deep, comforting laugh sounded through the late morning air as he took Maria in his arms and swung her around, hugging her close. His eyes were bright. "It's over, Maria. It's over."
Maria softly closed the bedroom door behind her, smiling to herself. The girls were all sleeping peacefully, much more cheerful than they had been in the last year in Switzerland. On the other end of the hallway, Georg was closing Friedrich and Kurt's bedroom door softly behind him.
Georg raised his eyebrows at Maria when he saw her gesture silently to go into the small living room, then followed her into it.
"Aren't you tired, darling?"
"Quite awake, actually." Maria looked up from her hands, which she was twiddling absentmindedly. "Georg, are we going home?" Her voice was soft and imploring.
Georg sighed. He knew this last year had been hard on Maria, and he definitely wouldn't have wanted their first year together as husband and wife to go as this year had gone. It had been extremely difficult to find lodgings for a family of nine without arousing too much suspicion. Georg, of course, reported his presence to Swiss officials, but tended to keep quiet about his family's situation around the local villagers. The children had been so brave, acted so maturely. Liesl, Friedrich, Louisa, Kurt, and Brigitta had been such a help to both of their parents, especially with Marta and Gretl.
Maria had proved her strength through and through. She cooked and cleaned for nine, as well as tailoring a very large amount of the family's clothing needs. Even on top of all of that, she still found plenty of time to spend with both him and all of the children nearly every day. She would take the seven children out into the Swiss Alps and sing with them after their homework was done. She would settle into the living room with the new guitar and teach them how to play it after dinner. If she couldn't manage that, she spent several minutes at the end of each day talking individually, one to one, with his children. The four youngest quite often broke down in tears of homesickness during the nights, and she was always there to comfort them. They always fell back asleep with a content smile on their faces.
And himself? The pair certainly didn't get the time with each other that they wanted, not with the children in such close vicinity. But nevertheless, every night that the weather would allow it, the two of them would go for a stroll in the hills, talking of today's doings, tomorrow's worries, the children, home, and each other. Georg didn't know if he could get along without his wife at his side at all. Maria was his pillar of strength.
"I really don't know, Maria, darling." Georg moved to sit down next to his young wife on the shabby divan. He put his arm around her and hugged her close to him, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. The scent of her hair was sweet and refreshing. "I don't know." He rubbed her hand with his thumb. "But do you want to know what I do know, my love?"
Maria raised her head slightly, looking into his eyes. "What, darling?"
"I know," said Georg, hugging her closer, "that I love you with all of my heart."
"Oh, Georg, I love you too." Maria's voice was a soft whisper, nearly soundless. She rested her head on his chest. "How soon will we know?"
"I intend to ride into town tomorrow, Maria. Once I find out what's become of our villa, I'll know what we need to do. Austria never switched over to Hitler's currency; the Anschluss didn't get a chance to happen. So our finances aren't completely lost."
"One thing we can praise God for."
Georg hugged Maria close to him again, holding her tight. "Yes, Maria. Praise God."
Maria woke the next morning, as she did most, to the sound of the children arguing and yelling at each other to be quiet and hurry up in the bathroom. Georg was already up, and probably in the barns. She sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She yawned, standing up and tossing her dressing gown on. She laughed to herself as she walked out into the small living room. Who would have imagined Baron Georg von Trapp living in sane condition with seven children and a wife under the roof of a six room house? Maria jerked out of her thoughts as she entered the kitchen and heard Liesl and Brigitta bid her good morning.
"Good morning, girls." Maria smiled at her daughters as she took out a stack of tin plates from the cupboard next to the stove. "Would you mind starting breakfast? I should shoo Friedrich and Kurt out to the barns to help your father before they take off for school."
Liesl grinned at her mother, replying, "It's not a problem." She handed Brigitta the potato she'd been peeling and reached for the bowl of fresh eggs.
"Thank you, darling." Maria grabbed an apple and walked into the living room. The boys were kneeling on the floor, pulling on their leather boots. Louisa was braiding Marta's long, silky hair, and Gretl was trying to brush out her own long locks.
"Kurt, Friedrich, once you've gotten your boots on, go out to the barns and give your father a hand, okay?" She held out the apple to Friedrich. "And give this to Belle."
Kurt gave his mother a mischievous grin. "Yes, Mother!" He gave a final tug to his boots, stomping his heals down hard. Then he scrambled up and followed Friedrich into the kitchen and out the back door.
Maria had her hands on her hips as she watched him go, chuckling quietly. She glanced over at Gretl. "What have you got there, honey?"
Gretl held out her brush hopelessly. "I can't get all the tangles out!" Her lower lip was trembling slightly.
"Oh, sweetie, come here." Maria knelt down and held out her arms for the little six year old. "Your hair is getting so long." Maria took her silky tresses gently and began to even out the snarls in them. When she was done, she asked, "How would you like your hair today?"
Gretl paused to think, then said, "Could you French braid it, Mother? Like Louisa's doing with Marta?"
Maria smiled broadly at the girl. "I think that can be arranged."
Ten minutes later, Maria's slender fingers had skillfully woven the child's long locks of honey-brown hair into a neat, tight French braid. Sending Gretl into the kitchen with a gentle swat on her behind, Maria got up from the floor and went over to the divan, where Louisa was struggling to pin up Marta's thick, dark-brown hair.
Louisa looked at her mother, exasperated. "Her hair's so thick and silky that the pins won't hold it."
"Here, let me see." Maria quickly undid and re-braided the lower portion of Marta's hair, then deftly twisted it around the crown of her head, sticking the pins in quickly and carefully. "There! Here's my little munchkin, all ready for school."
Marta turned and grinned a rather toothless grin at her mother, then hugged her. "Thank you Mother, Louisa." She too wandered into the kitchen.
Louisa was eying Marta's hair as she went. "How did you do that?"
Maria glanced over at Louisa and put her arm around her, laughing. "It takes practice, dear."
"I'll say."
Maria grabbed the milk buckets and headed for the barns to collect the milk from Georg and the boys, who would be finishing up the feeding by now. The girls had the cramped table set, and the frugal, yet filling meal complete. They'd learned so much in the last year. Things such as cooking, cleaning, sewing, and doing the laundry. Sometimes Maria marveled at how fast they learned things. But she wasn't overly surprised; after all, these were the children who had learned to sing so beautifully in a matter of days.
Upon reaching the open barn doors, Maria knew something wasn't right. Kurt and Friedrich were usually waiting with full milk pails to dump into her large one. But neither they or Georg were waiting. She set the bucket down just outside the doorway, venturing in. She called cautiously, "Georg?"
Hearing Maria's voice, Friedrich suddenly appeared from one of the back stalls. "Mother, Belle's foaling and something's wrong."
Maria was at the end of the barn in an instant. Belle was one of the last to foal, and also happened to be the smallest. Georg had been anticipating complications with her, though he hardly knew what to do. The local farm boys often stopped over these days, but one had a rather late case of spring fever, and the other was up in the mountains with a herd of goats.
"Maria, stay back. This isn't a job for a woman."
"Georg, I'll have you remember, I grew up on a farm. I know what to do. You don't."
She turned to Kurt and Friedrich, who were watching the small mare nervously. "Boys, there's breakfast up in the house. Make sure you and your sisters leave for school on time."
"Aww, Mother, why can't we stay?" Kurt was always looking for a way out of school. And he loved animals.
"You know full well there's only two weeks left of school. You have to go."
The boys looked over at their father, who curtly nodded in agreement. "Your mother's right. Be sure to leave before eight o' clock."
Maria and Georg watched as the pair defeatedly left the barn and ran up towards the house.
Maria glanced at her husband. "We could have used an extra pair of hands, but we'll manage just fine." She was rolling up her sleeves.
Maria turned slightly when she felt her husband's hands on her shoulders. She smiled at him, then nodded at the mare and foal. Arms crossed and resting on the stall door, she said quietly, "Isn't he a beauty?"
Georg scrutinized the small, still wet creature that was trying to remain upright on his wobbly legs. "If you say so, darling. But he could use a good rubbing off." He held out the towel which Maria had sent him to get.
She took the towel, sticking her tongue out playfully at him. She gently slapped him with it, saying as she pulled the door open, "You're just a big wuss, and I love you for it." She ran the towel over Belle's wet flanks, rubbing her velvet nose encouragingly. Maria then turned to look at the foal, silently holding her hand out for him to sniff at. When he made an attempt to come closer, Maria knelt down in the straw next to him and began to rub him down. The end result was a beautiful dark-chestnut foal that wanted his meal. After seeing that he got what he wanted, Maria backed out and rejoined her husband.
"Was that the last one to be born this spring, Georg?" Maria's eyes were still riveted on the little colt.
"Yes, Maria, he was."
Maria grinned. "Wonderful. All's well that ends well." She glanced down at herself. "Good thing it's laundry day, though." She looked up to see Georg watching her curiously. "What is it, darling?"
"You knew exactly what to do."
"I grew up on a farm. I've already told you that. I've seen plenty of foals being born in my time. Kids and lambs too."
"Who could have taught you so well, Maria?"
Maria's demeanor changed slightly, and there was a faint storm in her eyes. "I have work to do." With that she draped the towel over her arm and picked up the milk bucket as she reached the barn door. Georg was confused. Maria never hid anything from him. What secrets could his wife be harboring behind those stunning blue eyes?