Chapter 11
Georg smiled as he woke up. Today was going to be the day that he got to bring his Maria home. Of course she wasn't his Maria; yet, but he planned on changing that. He stretched and then bounded out of bed to get himself ready for the day. He could hear the children running up and down the hall excitedly and became curious as to what they were up to. He hurriedly got dressed and then walked out into the corridor, almost bumping into Kurt who was practically running around the corner.
"What's going on? Why are you all running around the hallways," he asked an almost out of breath Kurt.
"We're just finishing a few things up for Fraulein Maria's return. We wanted to make her feel extra special," he beamed.
"Oh I see," he said thoughtfully and before he could ask any more questions Kurt was sprinting down the hall back to the nursery. As he turned to head down the stairs he noticed all the children were running about and going in and out of Maria's room. His curiosity peaked, he decided to go see what they were up to.
He headed up the other side of the staircase and into Maria's room, stopping at the door to take in what he was seeing. Liesl and Brigitta, who hadn't even noticed his presence, were busy arranging bouquets of freshly picked flowers on Maria's nightstand and desk. He noticed there were drawings and paintings around the room that the children had obviously been working very hard on.
He felt a hand tap him on the shoulder. "Excuse us Father." In walked Friedrich followed by Louisa, Marta, and Gretl.
"Oh Father," Liesl exclaimed, "We didn't see you standing there."
"That seems to be a common theme running amongst my children this morning," he mumbled and then a little more audibly asked, "What are all these drawings?"
"Come take a look Father," Brigitta said excitedly. "We all drew pictures of our favorite memories with Fraulein Maria."
"...and we put together this little basket with get well cards in it," added Louisa.
He walked around the room taking time to look at all seven of the drawings. Little Gretl had drawn a picture of raindrops on roses, Marta's drawing had Edelweiss all over it, and Louisa had drawn a picture of them picnicking. He stopped at Friedrich's and chuckled a bit as he remembered the day that the boat had tipped over. At the time he wasn't at all pleased, but when he thought of it now he was amused by it. Kurt's was a drawing of her first night eating with the family, another memory that brought a smile to his face because of a certain little gift the children had left in her chair, and Liesl had drawn a picture of the puppet show. When he came to Brigitta's picture though his breath caught in his throat and it left him feeling like there was suddenly less air in the room. He stood their blinking only once, she had chosen to draw a picture of the night he and Maria had danced the Laendler.
He tore his eyes from the drawings and looked around the room at his smiling children. Kurt had now returned as well and all seven were waiting for a response from him. He was almost afraid to speak for he could feel himself getting choked up. His heart was swelling with pride at the amount of thoughtfulness his children at put into welcoming Maria back. Their compassion and love for their governess had moved him beyond words.
"Children, you really have done a wonderful job in this room. I love how caring and compassionate you all are. I think Fraulein Maria will be very pleased with your efforts, as am I." They rewarded him with huge grins on their faces.
"Thank you Father," said Liesl.
"We just wanted make sure that she knows how much we love and missed her," added Brigitta.
"Well I think you have succeeded." He looked at his watch and then back at the children. "I think we'd better make our way downstairs and have some breakfast. I need to be going so I can pick our dear little Fraulein up and bring her back." None of them needed any coaxing. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Kurt was leading the charge down the stairs and into the dinning the room.
An hour later and Georg was on his way back to Nonnberg. As he drove a million different things were going through his head at one time. It hadn't escaped him that if Sister Margaretta had not walked in when she did that he would have kissed Maria right there on the spot. He could still feel the warmth of her breath on his skin as he came within inches of caressing those lips. He smiled as he remembered the words he had spoke to her before he left her last time and he meant them. He wanted nothing more than to show her how much he cared about her and bringing her home to the villa to take care of her was the first step in that process.
The drive there seemed longer than normal. He had stayed in touch with the Reverend Mother about Maria's progress, but it didn't satisfy him enough and he was eager to see her for himself and feel her hands in his again. He still wasn't sure if she felt the same way and it made him slightly nervous. He felt like a school boy again watching the girl he liked from a distance and scared to make the next move. He was never unsure of himself, but where Maria was concerned all his confidence seemed to fly out the window and it made him feel so vulnerable. He had never felt that way with Elsa and he knew that it was because he didn't have the same kinds of feelings that he had with Maria.
Being vulnerable scared him, it was a place where he wasn't in control and he didn't like not being in control. He had already loved and lost and the thought of that happening again was not an easy prospect. Loving someone made you extremely vulnerable. He thought back to what the Reverend Mother had said about Maria's capacity to love and he knew about all the risks involved and all the hurt that comes along with loving someone, but he also knew that all of that was far outweighed by the joy, laughter, love, passion, and happiness that came with it as well.
As he approached the abbey he could feel the butterflies strengthen in number in his stomach. He parked his car and walked up to the abbey gate, ringing the bell and waiting for someone to answer. He saw Sister Margaretta approach and she smiled at him as she let him inside.
"Good morning Captain Von Trapp," she greeted him.
"Good Morning," he politely replied.
"Maria should be ready shortly. She is feeling much better and slowly regaining her strength. The doctor checked on her this morning already and said Maria is free to be moved. He was quite pleased and amazed by how quickly she is healing, but says she still needs to get plenty of rest."
He gave her a small grin and nod of the head, "We'll see to it that she does. Can I go see her now?"
"Of Course Captain. I think she's been looking forward to seeing you all morning. She has been regaling us with stories for the past two days of all the things that happened with the children this summer."
He laughed out loud, "I have no doubt." They walked silently through the halls until they reached Maria's room.
Sister Margaretta tapped lightly on the door and they both heard Maria's voice from the other side. "Come in."
Maria was dressed and sitting on the edge of the bed, her carpetbag and guitar sitting on the floor by the door. Georg drew a breath in when he saw her. She was wearing a greenish aquamarine dress that complimented her skin tone nicely and although it had only been a couple of days she was already gaining back some of the weight she had lost.
"Good morning Maria," he finally spoke.
"Good morning Captain," she smiled back. She was very excited to be headed back to the home she loved and the people that she had come to care about a great deal.
They were so involved with each other that they had hardly noticed Sister Margaretta still standing there. She cleared her throat, "I think I'll go inform the Reverend Mother that you're here to pick up Maria, Captain." She smiled and walked out.
Georg began pacing the floor afraid that if he sat next to her on the bed he wouldn't be able to control himself.
"Captain, you're making me rather dizzy. If you would please," and she pointed to the chair sitting next to the bed.
"Hmm? Oh of course." He took a seat and then sat in silence for a few minutes before finally speaking, "Maria are you sure that you want to come back? I don't want to pressure you into it if you don't feel your ready for this."
She smiled tenderly at him, "I've never felt more sure of anything before. To tell you the truth I'm not sure I'm cutout to be a nun and since I have no other place to go for the time being, it's nice to go somewhere familiar until I can figure things out better."
He took her hand and drawing circles with his thumb on the back of it he said, "Maria you are welcomed to stay as long as you like, even past summer if necessary. You will always have a place with us."
"That's very kind of you Captain, thank you. I wouldn't want to overstay my welcome though."
"You could never do that Maria, you should know by now that you're just as much a part of our family as any of us are." Maria could once again feel the heat flushing her cheeks and Georg couldn't help but smile tenderly at her, quite pleased with himself for having that affect on her.
They fell into an awkward silence for a brief few seconds before Sister Margaretta returned with the Reverend Mother.
"I understand that you're all packed and ready to go finish your summer with the Von Trapps, Maria," said the Reverend Mother.
"Yes Reverend Mother. I think I have everything I need and I am rather anxious to the children again."
The Reverend Mother turned to Sister Margaretta and Captain Von Trapp, "May I have a moment with Maria please?"
They both nodded and Georg said, "I'll just go put your things in the car and I'll be right back." He picked up her guitar and carpetbag and they both exited the room.
"I'm glad you have decided to go back Maria."
"Reverend Mother, I really don't know if I have what it takes to become a nun. I'm not even really sure that I ever did. I'm pretty bad at following rules and I can be a bit much at times."
"My child, it's not the life for everyone. Some are meant for it and some are not. We all have been made in different ways on purpose by God. Why did you run back to us?"
"I was frightened I guess. I was having feelings that I had never experienced before. They scared me and I had pledged my life to God and didn't want anything interfering with that."
"Maria had you ever considered that maybe God wanted something different for your life?"
She shook her head no, "It's all I ever wanted since I was a little girl. I told God that I would love and serve only him."
"Maria you have a great capacity to love, but you must find out how God want's you to spend that love. You have to look for the life that you were born to live. My dear that's why I sent you out, so you would discover who your true self was and to experience life outside the abbey. I wanted you to be sure that it was what you wanted before taking vows."
"I think I understand all that now. I'm not sure where life is going to take me at this point, but the Captain as offered me the opportunity to stay with them for as long as I need to."
The Reverend Mother smiled, knowing full well that the Captain had no intentions of every letting her leave again. "Maria you may come and visit us anytime you feel the need to. I will always be here for you."
"Thank you Reverend Mother, that means more to me than you'll ever know."
"My dear I think we've probably kept your ride waiting long enough. Remember where the Lord closes a door..."
"Somewhere he opens a window," they both finished in unison and embraced before giving one another a final smile and a proper goodbye.
The Reverend Mother opened door beckoned Captain Von Trapp, "She's ready to go Captain. I trust that you'll take good care of our Maria."
"Of course Reverend Mother," he responded.
"Goodbye Maria," the Mother Abbess said one more time and then turned and walked out.
Georg stood there staring at her, wondering what that conversation had been all about. "Well," he said while inhaling deeply, "are you ready to go?"
"Yes, I think so." Maria started to stand and immediately regretted doing so when the room started spinning before her.
Georg noticed her swaying and reached out a hand to steady her. "Here, I think you'd better let me help you walk out." Without waiting for a dissenting response, he pulled her to himself and put his arm around her waist and then slowly walked her out to the car.
After making sure she was comfortably seated, he started the engine and they began their drive back to the villa. They sat in comfortable silence for a long time before Georg finally spoke up first. "The children are very excited to have you back, Maria. I must admit it has certainly been a lot quieter around the house without you gallivanting the children to and fro." He winked at her, trying to lighten up the mood and there it was again, that lovely shade of red rushing to that face that he so adored.
"Well I guess we'll have to fix that right away," she said with a smile. "We certainly can't have them too quiet because we all know that usually leads to trouble of some kind."
"Maria you only have one job right now and that is to regain your strength so you can get back to being your normal self. No gallivanting until you've fully recovered."
"Captain, you know as well as I do that it is almost impossible for me to sit still for any given length of time."
"Maria, I want you well and I don't want you getting sick again or having a relapse. You must take time to rest properly and that's an order not only from your employer, but your friend as well."
She smiled a mischievous grin at him and saluted him, "Yes sir!"
"Why do I have the distinct feeling that you are going to disobey my orders?"
"...and why would I do that?"
"Because you're Fraulein Maria and Fraulein Maria never follows the rules."
The car turned to pull into the driveway of the villa.
She leaned into him a bit and staring at him said in a softer tone,"...and if I don't follow the rules, then what will happen Captain?"
He shut the car off. If he didn't know any better he could have sworn that she was wickedly teasing him. Was she even aware of what she was saying and how she was saying it? He tugged at his collar suddenly feeling very warm. Then without thinking he met her gaze and replied back in a lowered voice, "Oh, I'll find a suitable form of punishment for you my dear Fraulein."
His eyes slowly wandered down the scope of her face and landed on her lips. He sat there studying them and remembering how alluring they were when they almost kissed before being interrupted the other day. As if on cue he found himself being slowly drawn to them once more.
"Look everyone Fraulein Maria's back...Fraulein Maria's back from the abbey...Yay, it's Fraulein Maria..." The sound of all the children shouting and running towards the car made them both jump back onto their respective sides of the vehicle.
Georg rolled his eyes in aggravation and threw the car door open all in one swift motion. Before he even had the chance to walk around the car and get a blushing Maria out, the children had already done so and were now ushering her quickly through the front doors of the villa. He kicked the car tire in utter frustration and grabbing Maria's carpetbag and guitar out of the backseat, grumbled the whole way into the house.
T.B.C.
As usual, reviews are welcomed.