School
Disclaimers: I don't own The Sound of Music. Also the ideas for the flashbacks come from watching and reading so much OUAT.
The night before school began Maria instructed all the children to retire a bit early for "quiet time." Amongst the grumbles and groans of disappointment from the children, Georg and Maria quickly realized there were two children missing. Kurt and Louisa must be hiding again.
Maria suggested rather firmly that Georg look for them while she took the others to bed. Georg grumbled quite a bit, as he still didn't enjoy being told what to do, and he wasn't really in the mood to handle his delinquents. Still, he had learned that it was best to listen to Maria when it came to taking care of the children. After all, in many ways, she still knew his children better than he did and was far better at understanding what they needed. Besides, Maria had made the "suggestion" in what Georg was starting to think of as "her Captain's voice."
It only took a few minutes to find Louisa, who was hiding in the music room behind the piano. Kurt, as usual, took much longer. Georg had searched all over the house before he finally noticed his son's heavy breathing behind one of the big chairs in the drawing room. The very room where the whole family had been before Maria had announced it was time for the children to go upstairs. Hiding in plain sight. One of the best tactics to defeat an enemy. If Georg wasn't so angry at his son right now, he might congratulate him. Instead, he looked at Kurt like the insubordinate he was and barked, "Kurt! Upstairs now! And tomorrow you will go upstairs a half hour earlier than everyone else, along with Louisa."
Kurt looked at his father like a dog with a tail between its legs and stammered, "Ye – e – e – s father." Then he finally marched up the stairs. Georg sighed as he sat down on the sofa and waited for Maria. Would he ever be able to discipline his children without them being scared to death of him?
Maria arrived downstairs just as Max appeared in the doorway, holding one of Georg's best wines from the cellar. Georg forced the disappointment from his face that once again, he wouldn't have even a few minutes alone with his fiancé. "Hullo, Max. You chose the most expensive one, I assume?" he quipped, focusing most of his attention on how lovely Maria was. She smiled as he took her hand and led her back into the drawing room.
"Naturally!" Max grinned as Georg and Maria both sat on the sofa to be near each other. Meanwhile, Max poured three glasses of the red wine and then placed the bottle on the table.
Maria sighed and put the glass down without drinking any. Georg knew she preferred white wine. He'd have to instruct Max to find one that fit Maria's taste a little better next time, but then she was usually more interested in talking than anything. And tonight was no acceptation as Maria began, "I certainly am eager for school to begin. The children have been causing so much trouble in the last three weeks. I have to admit, I'm not sure what to do with them anymore. Still, the ladies at the tea I went to this past Friday commented their children were being troublesome, too, and it should stop as soon as their in school again."
Georg paused and took a drink of the wine, thinking about that for a moment. He hadn't thought of it recently, but Agathe used to complain the children became restless right before school began as well. Perhaps that was why the children were misbehaving so much. "I hadn't thought of that, but you're probably right, as usual, Maria."
Max took a healthy sip of the wine and shook his head. "I think the children's behavior spices up this place a little. It will be too bad when they're all in school all day. What will I do with my time?"
Georg shook his head at his friend, wondering what he was going to do with him. But he had accepted Max was simply another child and rarely took things seriously a long time ago. "I'm sure you'll find something," he commented dryly. "We're just lucky you don't encourage the children more than you do, I suppose." He recalled how Max had laughed when they'd caught Liesl trying to sneak her way into the Ebberfelds' Ball. He also wondered if Max may have known about Louisa and Kurt hiding tonight but Georg was afraid to ask.
Max simply sipped his wine and gave Georg his most charming grin.
Then he turned all of his attention back to the most important person in the room. Georg took a moment to admire Maria's body again before he looked into her beautiful blue eyes. "I admire the way you've been handling the children's misbehavior, darling. You lecture them and punish them without scaring them. I still can't seem to do so." He tried to block out the memory of the children's terrified reaction to his lecture Friday afternoon. And even tonight with Kurt.
Maria moved a bit closer to him on the sofa and took both of his hands in hers. "It's going to take time. You know that." He let himself be comforted a little as she rubbed her wonderful Maria hands over his. He marveled how open her hands were with showing emotion and everything else. Much like the rest of her.
But then Georg shook his head, refusing to give up the problem of scaring his children completely. "I know. But how much time, Maria? When will they stop seeing me as a commanding officer?"
She moved even closer to him, enough so he could smell that wonderful "outdoor Maria scent" and continued rubbing her hands over his. "They already have stopped seeing you that way most of the time, ah, Georg. They laugh with you again. They eagerly discuss their lessons with you, and even the games they play. They haven't stood in a straight line just because you walk in the room in a couple of months. And sometimes they even include you in their plans."
Georg nodded and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You're right, again, darling. As usual." He tried to let the happier thoughts dominate his mind again and managed a smile.
She brightened at seeing him smile and leaned over and kissed his cheek. Georg reveled at the feel of Maria's lips on his skin and wished he could feel them even more. But of course, there was only so much they could do with Max watching. He briefly considered bribing Max to find another room to relax in if he could take the entire bottle of wine with him. But at the end of the day, his friend was trying to help him in this instance. So Georg simply pulled himself away from Maria and took a large drink of wine himself.
"How do you do it, Maria?" Georg asked, after finally composing himself again. "How do you know exactly how to handle their behavior?"
Maria shrugged, moving her entire body as she normally did, rather than just her shoulders as most people do. It was quite alluring, and he had to remind himself again that Max was still in the room. "I don't, really. I just say what I think would make an impression on them. Since they kept misbehaving, a part of me thought it meant I wasn't doing well at all. I thought perhaps…they'd changed their minds about me."
Georg eyes widened at that thought and took her hands in his, rubbing them to comfort her, just as she had done with him. "Of course not, Maria," he told her firmly, looking into her eyes as he did so. "They would never change their minds about you." He extended his hands to her arms, realizing Maria wasn't quite as confident at caring for their children as she appeared to be. It was comforting, realizing he wasn't the only one unsure of himself with them, but it also made him a little nervous that he couldn't depend on Maria for all the answers with the children. But out loud, he told her, "Agathe used to complain about their misbehavior, too, you know."
Maria nodded, understanding.
Max chuckled from the background as he finished another drink of wine. "Maria, the children would never change their mind about you. After all, without you, it would just be gloomy – puss, here," he commented gesturing towards Georg.
Maria smiled a little brighter at that. "I suppose I do know how not to discipline the children," she commented. Georg nodded, grimacing as he did so. Of course she did. She had already seen what a horrible job he had done. But she continued, ignoring the look Georg was giving her. He found the way she wasn't intimidated by his hard looks both admirable and frustrating. Honestly, didn't she know Georg didn't want to speak of his problems disciplining his children? "When I lived with my uncle, he would constantly tell me what a 'bad child' I was for misbehaving, among other things. It only encouraged me to misbehave more, because I knew he didn't think I could ever be good, no matter what I did." Her voice, which was usually clear and confident like a canary, was now as soft as a hummingbird.
Georg's heart broke in pieces as he realized what his fiancée was talking about; her "wicked childhood" and that jerk of an uncle that made Georg want to find him and beat him to death. Too bad the man was already dead. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her, letting her know she would never have to worry about that man or anyone else, harm her. He hoped to help her normal, confident voice to return as well. "At the abbey, when I disobeyed their rules, they would lecture me, but they always made it clear I was still a child of God." Maria's canary voice began to reappear as she continued, "Even Sister Berthe never told me I was "bad girl" or any of the other names my uncle called me, when she made me kiss the floor or some kind of other punishment. So that's how I learned to punish the children properly, I suppose." She shrugged her body again, letting her arms fly around her. Georg watched as her breasts jiggled a bit when she moved. Maria was becoming more and more alluring as time went on.
But after a few moments, he returned to their discussion. "See? You know more than you give yourself credit for, Maria. You're wonderful with the children. And I marvel how you can take a horrible experience like that and turn it into a life lesson." Georg wished he could do the same, but every time something horrible had happened in his life, he turned himself off and wallowed in despair instead. Perhaps Maria could teach him how to respond better if he let her.
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
When the first day of school arrived, everyone came to breakfast on time, including Maria. It appeared everyone was excited to attend school again. Brigitta, Louisa, and Marta all hummed as they sat down in some of their nicest clothes and their hair up in ponytails and braids. Gretl sang, "The hills are alive with the sound of music," over and over, as she sat down wearing the cream – colored dress with yellow trim that she had worn to Elsa's Ball a couple of months earlier and her hair in blond pig tails. Maria, who looked gorgeous in her new shin – length yellow dress, helped Gretl finish the song. Kurt, who still loved to hide and had a flair for drama, jumped out from behind the wall in the dining room, laughing as he sat down in one of his best suits.
Max wandered into the dining room just then with his hand pulling on his ear and his nose in the air. "I can't decide which one is better," he commented. "The smell of sausages and cinnamon rolls, or the sound of that lovely music! If only – " he began.
But Georg knew exactly what Max wanted from the sly smile on his face. "No, Max!" he told him firmly. Did Max really need to bring up Georg's family singing in public again, especially when they were all focused on returning to school?
Max sighed and nodded. "In that case, the smell of fresh sausages and cinnamon rolls are the best," he commented as he sat down.
Liesl danced into the room, wearing a beautiful green and white traditional dress. He couldn't be certain, as he had spent most of his time staring at Maria, but he was almost positive the dress Liesl had worn when he'd sang Edelweiss for the first time in years. Even Friedrich, who was less excitable than the rest of his children, arrived at the table with a bright eager smile on his face.
Maria said the traditional prayer before eating, and added an extra request that God watch over the children on their first day of school. Then Georg wished everyone "Guten appetite," and they all began eating the delicious food. He had just swallowed a mouthful of warm sausage when the rest of the table began chattering again.
"I can't believe I'm old enough to go to the Gymnasien this year," Brigitta chirped as she finished a drink of apple juice. "I've been waiting for this for so long! And to think, this year I'll be at the same level as Kurt. I bet next year, I'll even be a level above him!" she crowed in a superior voice.
"That's not fair!" Kurt protested. Then he angrily shoved a cinnamon roll in his mouth.
Maria put down her fork, making a noise as it hit the table, and shook her head firmly. "Brigitta, that wasn't nice. I know you're excited about going to the Gymnasien and studying more of the classics. You will probably do very well, but you shouldn't insult your brother because school doesn't come as naturally to him. And he may very well pass this year. After all, he only failed his literature exam last year, and I've been helping him improve his reading."
"Sorry, Fraulein Maria," Brigitta replied, staring at her plate.
"Remember to apologize to your brother as well," Maria told her firmly.
Brigitta sighed and did so, while Georg smiled at her ability to gently lecture the children again. He shared a private loving look with his fiancée before focusing on Kurt. "But I do expect you to improve this year, son."
Kurt nodded as he silently munched on his cinnamon roll.
Liesl carefully wiped her mouth with her napkin as she finished her sausage, just like a proper young lady should. As Georg marveled at how much his oldest daughter really was growing up, Liesl began speaking. "It's wonderful that I don't need to wear that uniform again. I can't wait to see what everyone thinks of this new dress! Melina and Sofia always wear the best dresses to school and get so much attention; I bet I will too this year." Georg finished a warm buttery biscuit with a frown. He wasn't sure he liked the sound of what Liesl was saying. From whom did she expect to receive attention?
"And if I'm able to come out this year," she looked pointedly at both her parents as she continued. "Then I'll be able to dress even better. Like a real lady."
At that Georg shook his head at Liesl and gave her a hard stare. Did she really expect him to agree to such a thing? She was much too young to come out! Besides, what kind of boys might be interested in his Liesl? She had already caught the eye of that would – be – Nazi mail man. How many other young Nazi supporters could become interested in her? "Liesl," he began sharply, looking at her green dress with new eyes. If this was what type of "attention" she expected to receive, perhaps she should wear her uniform to school again after all.
But before he could make that suggestion, Maria took his hand and shook her head. "No, Georg," she whispered in his ear. "She hasn't done anything wrong. She doesn't need to be punished."
Georg scowled and briefly hit his other hand against his leg. He still hated to be told what to do. Yet he also noticed Maria had called him by his first name and appreciated that she was becoming more comfortable with that. He sighed and looked at Liesl once again, smiling and once again looking much older than she was and Georg realized Maria was right. Again. Of course she usually was when it concerned the children. "You must conduct yourself properly if you're going to wear clothing besides your uniform," he told her instead, purposely not mentioning her comment about coming out at all.
"Yes, Father," Liesl replied obediently, but with a big smile directed at Maria.
Georg sighed and took a sip of tea, wondering how Maria always got him to agree with these things. But then he took command again, looking at the rest of his children. "That applies to the rest of you as well. You will behave properly in those clothes, do you understand?"
"Yes, Father," the all chorused.
"Good. Because what you're wearing today certainly aren't old drapes, you know," he added, teasing Maria and the children at the same time. Everyone at the table laughed, including Max, and Georg let the lovely sound fill his heart.
Liesl, Friedrich, Louisa, Kurt, and Brigitta had already been brought to the Gymnasien when Georg, Maria, Marta, and Gretl arrived at St. Gregory's, which was the school for all the younger children.
OOOOOOOOOOOO
Georg was impressed with how eagerly Marta ran to some of her classmates after she hugged him and Maria goodbye. "Marlena! Wanda!" she exclaimed loudly to two girls nearby who seemed about her age. The girls eagerly welcomed Marta, chattering excitedly as well. Marta had really blossomed this summer, he thought to himself. When was the last time he'd heard her shout like that? It used to be that she was too shy to do so.
Meanwhile, Gretl was chattering excitedly with Maria about starting school. "…and Brigitta told me they sing in kindergarten, too, Fraulein Maria, so I know it will be fun! And they'll be so many other children to play with!"
"Really?" Maria replied, eagerly. "That sounds wonderful."
"And since you already taught me my letters and some of my numbers this summer, I'll probably be one of the smartest ones there!" Gretl added with a huge smile on her face.
"I am certain you will be," Georg agreed, smiling at Gretl as well. It was one of the reasons why he insisted his children continue to study over the summer. Von Trapps needed to be the best. It was expected. "Now, why don't you head to the building like your sister has already done," he added firmly.
"Of course, Father," Gretl agreed happily as Maria gave the girl a hug.
"Do you have everything you need?" Maria asked. A burst of wind slammed against their faces, reminding them of how much cooler it was today. Maria pulled the girl's jacket tighter. "Hats, and mittens, just in case?"
"Yes," Gretl replied as Georg helped her climb out of the car. With that, she disappeared into the crowd of children.
"Well, I think that went well," Georg commented as he drove away from the school. "Now at least we don't have to worry about the children for a few hours. Perhaps we can finally get some work done." After all, he knew Maria still had plenty of planning to do for the wedding. And Georg still had some people to call in Paris for the honeymoon.
"Yes, of course," Maria agreed neutrally. But when Georg looked at her face, he realized she was feeling far from neutral. She appeared as if she was trying not to be upset about something but failing miserably. It reminded him of the look on her face when she realized Georg and Elsa were engaged.
"Maria," he asked softly as he drove back home, "What is the problem?"
"It's nothing, really," Maria shrugged. "Only, do you think the teacher in the kindergarten knows how scared Gretl is of the dark? What if the school loses their electricity? I've heard that's happened a lot lately in this area. Or what about the children in the fourth level? Some of them are kind of big. What if they're mean to her? And St. Gregory's is larger than I remembered it. Will Gretl get lost? Or what if she loses her mittens and her hands become cold? I know the children said it wasn't cold enough for mittens, but you never know how much colder may get later."
Georg nodded in understanding as he pulled off to the side of the road so he could talk and comfort Maria properly. He loved how Maria had already accepted his children as "hers" in her heart. Of course she was having the typical worries of a mother. Agathe had felt the same way when Liesl began school.
Georg returned home after bringing Liesl to school with a big smile on his face. He was so proud of his oldest for starting school. He was sure she would be one of the smartest students in the kindergarten. Agathe was busy resting again, as she was six months pregnant with another baby, while the other children tried to play quietly upstairs. Unfortunately, they didn't really succeed.
"Fiedrich, I was playing with that!" shouted two – year – old Louisa. Then she began to wail as she began another temper tantrum. Friedrich joined in as well, although not as loudly.
With that, baby Kurt began to fuss. Agathe climbed out of bed and cooed to her youngest son. Georg marveled at her ability to speak softly and remain calm, even after the children had interrupted her rest. She really was a treasure. "Was Liesl all right when you brought her to school?" Agathe asked as she rocked Kurt.
"Oh – ho, yes," Georg grinned as he remembered how excited Liesl was when they arrived at the school. "She was very eager to begin."
"Because I started thinking, after the two of you left, what if she can't make any friends? She so used to playing with her siblings, she's never really had to make friends with other children. Or what if the teachers put too much pressure on her, being a von Trapp and a Whitehead? Or what if some of the other children are mean to her?" Agathe sighed. "Sorry. I'm worrying too much, aren't I?" She rubbed Kurt's back a little as the boy fell asleep again.
"Perhaps," Georg agreed. "But only because you're a mother who cares so much about our children, darling. You've never had to trust someone else to take care of any of them, especially not for such an extended period, and now that you do, it's making you nervous."
Agathe nodded softly. "I suppose."
"I love you for being so involved with the children, you know that, don't you?" he asked her as he drank in the image of his beautiful pregnant wife still holding their infant son.
She nodded again.
"Still, I think Liesl's going to be all right in school. You've already been helping her learn some of her letters and numbers, so Liesl is ready for the academics. Besides, St. Gregory's has a wonderful reputation and is supposed to have great teachers. And if she does have any problems there, we'll be able to help her."
Agathe smiled at him, full of love. "You're right darling. Thank you."
"Of course I'm right," he replied. Just then, Fiedrich and Louisa, who had ended their tantrums when no had listened to them, ran to Georg.
"Come play ball with us, Father!" they both said at the same time. He shook his head, thinking perhaps he should reword his comment about Agathe being so involved with the children. It seemed the children insisted he be involved too, especially considering Agathe's pregnancies. And who was he to deny them?
Georg sighed as the memory faded, recalling how many times he'd denied his children in the last few years. But now he had Maria to remind him to be more involved with his children again and to love his children just as much as Agathe had. Speaking of which, "I'm sorry Maria, I should have realized you would worry about Gretl like that."
"I don't know where this came from," Maria told him, shaking her head. "For the last few days, I was so impatient for the children to go to school, so we could have more time to plan everything and have time to ourselves. But then when we pulled up to the school, I suddenly couldn't stop thinking of all the problems Gretl may have when she's there."
Georg took both of Maria's beautiful hands into his and began massaging them slowly. "I know where it's coming from, darling. You're worried about someone else taking care of Gretl. Even though I know you trust nuns, you don't know any of the teachers very well. And you want to protect her from all the things that may go wrong as she attends school. It's because you have a mother's heart and you're so close to her," he explained in a tender, loving voice. "Agathe had the same problem." Georg reveled in the fact that he could discuss his first wife with Maria without feeling pain or guilt.
Maria gave him as soft smile and rubbed her hands against his. "Thank you. That helps."
Georg continued rubbing his hands against hers in response as he spoke again. "I'm glad to hear that. But seriously, I think Gretl will be fine in school. You've already taught her letters and some of her numbers as well as how to sing. And with all her older brothers and sisters, Gretl has learned how to defend herself well against teasing. Besides, Gretl will only be there until lunch time. And if anything does happen, we'll be ready to help her."
Maria chuckled. "You're right. I should have been able to realize that myself. Usually I'm the positive thinker."
Georg smiled at her and began running his fingers through her soft, wonderful strawberry blond hair. "Of course I'm right. And I'm happy to be the positive thinker when your mother's heart begins worrying." He gave her a soft kiss at that, and she responded by giving him a much deeper one.
After a couple enjoyable moments of kissing, and enjoying their bodies pressed up against each other, Georg finally broke away. "We should probably return home now. After all, we have a whole house with no children for a few hours."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
OOOOOOOOOOOO
Georg was correct. Gretl loved kindergarten and didn't seem to have any problems. Unfortunately, Maria began to see it was the older children that she and Georg would have trouble with in school. First it was Friedrich, who commented that he knew he would do well in economics class this year. His teacher had said he knew Friedrich would be smart because he was such a "fine example of the Aryan race." Maria had been so shocked to hear such words from sweet Friedrich that her own mouth formed no words for several moments. Eventually, she tried to explain to him that how smart a person was had more to do with how much they studied than what their race was. Friedrich had simply shrugged and then began doing so.
The next afternoon, Maria heard Brigitta reciting something as she went upstairs. A lot of it seemed to involve things Maria didn't understand, but it certainly made her uncomfortable. "I do not know whether there has ever been such a through revolution as ours…" Brigitta began as she climbed the stairs. Maria followed her, trying to understand what it was she was saying. "…The National Socialist program replaces the liberalistic conception of the individual of a people bound by their blood their soil…" Brigitta's voice trailed off as she entered the school room. Maria followed after her. What was the girl speaking of? "…it is the greatest and most sacred task of a man to preserve his own race…" Maria's eyes widened when she heart that. Surely this wasn't what it sounded like? Brigitta when to obtain a glass of water from the bathroom and then continued. "also prevent Jewish people from trying to disintegrate and dominate other people under the mask of an innocent bourgeoisie."*
"Brigitta!" Maria exclaimed harshly when she finally realized the girl had to be reciting a Natiz speech. "Stop that right now! Where did you get that from?"
Brigitta looked at Maria with a confused look on her face. "From school. It's homework. We're supposed to recite Herr Hitler's speech for Social Studies class. My teacher says its current events."
"I see," Maria replied, trying to determine how to handle this. "Well, if it is homework I suppose maybe you should continue," she decided. Maria paused and noticed Fiedrich and Liesl had also arrived in the school room and were trying to study. "But I think you should do it in your room, so you don't disturb everyone else." And that way, there would be less children exposed to Nazism.
Brigitta nodded and began to leave the room. "And Brigitta? You know you don't have to believe it just because you are required to recite it, right?"
Brigitta shrugged again. It was obvious she didn't understand why this was a big issue. "Yes." She paused as she went down the hall. You know Kurt is supposed to have the same homework assignment," she commented in an accusing voice. "Shouldn't he be working on his reciting, as well?"
"Actually, I think Kurt should work on his literature," Maria replied, looking for an excuse not to expose more of the children to Natizism right now. "After all that's the subject he had trouble with last year, correct?"
"Yes," Brigitta replied as she disappeared into her bedroom.
"Kurt," Maria called, as she began searching for the boy around the home. Hopefully he wasn't hiding again. The child was impossible to find. Fortunately, he wasn't. Instead, he was dancing around the ballroom. "Kurt, you need to do your literature homework," Maria told him firmly.
"But this is homework," Kurt protested as he seemed to be practicing a variation of the waltz. "We have a required dancing class this year. Several different types of waltzes, the landler, and a couple of others. We're supposed to start track soon, too." He performed another fancy spin as he finished talking.
"Well, I still think you should study your literature, considering that's what you have trouble with before," Maria told him firmly.
"But Fraulein Maria!" Kurt whined in protest.
"Kurt! Your father has already spoken to you about that kind of voice," Maria told the boy sharply with her hands on her hips. "Now you will go upstairs and study your literature. If you do well, than the next time you want to practice dancing, I'll provide some music."
Kurt sighed and began walking upstairs as slowly as he possibly could.
OOOOOOOOOOO
Louisa had different kind of problem that night. "You should have heard the things some of my schoolmates were saying about you and father, today, Fraulein Maria," she commented as Maria had come in to say goodnight. "They think you have to get married. And they don't think you'll make a proper wife for Father at all. And the names they used…it made me so mad! I tried to hold it in, but I don't know if I can. Perhaps tomorrow I'll introduce them to spiders, or glue."
Brigitta, who usually so deep into her books that she didn't notice the conversation in bed next to her, laughed at that. "It would serve them right!" she agreed. Apparently Brigitta had heard some of these comments as well, although she had chosen not to say anything. Maria was surprised at how angry she was herself when she heard this. As she had told Georg, she was used to people insulting her, both to her face and behind her back. And she was certainly aware that many people didn't approve of her engagement to Georg. Maria was also well aware how cruel children could be when it came to insults. But for people to attack her children with such hurtful comments, made her blood boil. There was a part of her that agreed with Louisa and Brigitta about pulling pranks.
But she shook her head firmly, picturing what the Reverend Mother would say. "No," she told them. "You remember what I told you about pranks. It's not the way God wants us to live."
Louisa sighed and grimaced, but she nodded. "Still I have to do something to show them they're wrong about you, Fraulein Maria. I know you're not really going to be our mother, but you will be part of our family. You are part of our family."
Maria had to look away, not wanting Louisa to know how much that comment had hurt. She almost missed Louisa say, "I'll go to church with you and the girls from now on. That will show them how I consider you a part of this family, won't it?"
"Definitely," Maria replied, looking back at Louisa and trying to concentrate on how nice it was that the thirteen – year – old had finally agreed to attend church. "We'll be happy to have you with us. I should go say goodnight to the others. Don't stay up too late reading."
If this incident convinced Louisa to attend church again, than it was worth it, Maria told herself as she left the room. Anything that opened someone's heart to church and to God was worth it. She had begun to understand that Louisa was a lot like her father, and that meant the girl was probably still harboring some anger towards God for taking Agathe. And of course, Louisa had been close to Agathe. All of the older children had been. It was probably unrealistic for her to expect them to consider her a mother just because she was marrying their father. Still…Maria loved all the von Trapp children so much, and she had begun to think of them as hers. Georg had told her several times she had a mother's heart for his children. But how could she be their mother if they wouldn't accept her as a mother?
OOOOOOOOOOO
Maria didn't know what to do about these issues, but she knew something must be done. The next day, Maria was supposed to decide what type of cake to have for the wedding with Max and Frau Schmidt's assistance. But instead, Maria ambushed Georg as soon as he returned from taking the children to their schools.
"Hello Maria," he greeted her happily with a kiss.
She returned his kiss and led him into his study without even realizing what she was doing. "Georg, I've heard some things that make me uncomfortable from the children's school," she began when they eventually stopped kissing.
"Oh?" Georg replied, sounding curious and yet at the same time wondering why she had to interrupt their kisses. His arms were still wrapped around her securely.
Maria sighed and explained what she'd heard from Friedrich and Brigitta over the last few days.
Georg suddenly withdrew his arms and stood silent for several moments. The room was so silent that Maria could hear the ticking of the brown clock that sat on the mantle. She was tempted to start talking again herself, but she was coming to realize that this was how her Captain thought things through.
Just when Maria was about to say something anyway, Georg suddenly thundered, "We will have to withdraw the children from school, of course. You can teach them, just as you did this past summer. We will come up with a more permanent solution later."
But Maria shook her head violently. She knew something should be done, but that didn't sound like the best option. "No! That's not right!"
Georg's eyes burned with murderous fire. "Why not? So the children can make me proud, learning how to be good little Nazis?" he snapped in his famous sarcastic manner. "I thought you knew me better than that, Maria!" He pounded his fist in the air that.
Maria put her hands on her hips. "That's not what I meant and you should know better than to assume that!" she shouted back at him, hurt that he could accuse her of such a thing. "I just meant that we shouldn't run when things become difficult or encourage the children to do so, either. It was a hard lesson I had to learn last summer, but an important one," Maria explained, not quite so loudly this time.
Georg sighed. "I suppose you might…be right," he admitted, dragging out the words because he hated to admit when he was wrong. "Here you are, turning your bad experiences into a life lesson again, while I'm withdrawing from everything. Do you think you could teach me how to do that?" he asked, sounding like he was joking, although Maria wondered if he may be serious.
"Of course," she responded reaching over to caress him with her hand.
Georg's became silent for another couple of moments as he thought again. "I'm still going to call the bank in Switzerland today, though. I hope it doesn't become necessary, but if the Anschluss happens, we will all have to leave. I don't care if you think that's running away, it may be necessary in order to protect you and our children," he told her in his Captain's voice, leading no room for arguments.
A couple of weeks ago, Maria had been insulted and suffocated by his over protectiveness, but today, it made her heart swell with love to know he would leave Austria, the country he loved wholeheartedly, before he allowed anything to happen to her or his children. She wrapped her arms around him and whispered, "Certainly. And don't try to change too much. I love you for who you are. A strong man who always does what's right and does what's necessary to protect his family." Then she gave her Captain a peck on the cheek, loving the feel of his warm skin on her lips and the smell of his cologne in her nose.
"As for the school, we can tell our children that when they hear things like "'Aryan', 'Jewish' and 'Hitler' in school, that they should trust what we say about them more than some of their teachers," Georg finally commented, answering Maria's ordinal question.
Maria sighed and nodded. "I think that would work best. I know how much they admire you, after all." She smiled lovingly at him. Then she paused, remembering he'd called the children "ours" again. "Do you really think they can be my children, too?"
Georg caressed her face with his strong, wonderful hand. "Of course they can! They already are, Maria! You know how much our children love you."
Maria sighed. "Maybe, but Louisa just told me last night that I 'wasn't going to really be their mother.' Maybe it's too much to ask, for them to consider me their mother, because they loved Agathe so much." She looked at the floor as she spoke, trying not to show him how upset this made her. After all, it was natural that the children, especially the older children had loved Agathe. She was obviously a woman very easy to love.
But Georg shook his head and picked up her face with his hands so she could look at him. "They did love Agathe a lot. But so did I, and I've found room for both of you in my heart. I think they can too, just wait Maria. 'It will take time,' just like you're always telling me when I worry that they're still afraid of me."
Maria sighed and playfully slapped his arm. "Using my own words against me, that's mean!" she teased him, chuckling.
Georg smiled and chuckled as well, releasing the tension from the room. They smiled lovingly, enjoying the other's laughter and leaning in for another kiss.
Just when their lips were about to meet, there was a loud knock and Maria and Georg jumped apart, certain it would be Max, who finally pried himself away from looking at ten different kinds of cakes. Instead it was Franz holding a trey of lemonade. He put it down on the desk without saying a word.
*Hitler's Speech to the Reichstag, Berlin. January 1937
I'm sorry that this chapter is so long. I actually considered splitting it, but when I tried that, I thought it hurt the chapter's quality.
Also, I did my best to research the type of schools the von Trapps would have attended in 1937 – 38, as well as what they probably would have studied, while still making sure it matches up with what we know from canon. But if you know of any inaccuracies, please do tell me.
And even if you don't notice any inaccuracies, please do give me a review! I need reviews to make this story work!
Here's the responses from the last chapter.
Guest: Thank you.
Srhittson: Glad everything in chapter eight made sense to you, although there has been some changes to it since you first read it, so you might want to look at it again. (And I may be editing it again soon.)
Bloomandrgow: Well, Georg loves Maria, so he comes to his senses about her eventually. And Maria may be uncomfortable around aristocrats (especially considering she know it reflects on Georg and the children), but as she's said she has a thick skin when it comes to insults. And thanks for the advice on fixing chapter eight. I think flows better with the flashback I have in it now.
