A/N: As promised, part 2 of the date - Enjoy!
Chapter 14
Their meals arrived—Max had ordered for both of them overflowing plates of spaghetti covered in a rich tomato sauce and overflowing with meatballs, with a slice of thick garlic bread on the side.
"The Captain has a real palate for Austrian food" Max explained between mouthfuls. "I can only consume so much schnitzel and bratwurst before I worry I may at any moment start yodeling.
Maria's stomach flipped at the sight of all the heavy food in front of her. She was immediately thankful that the meatballs would be easy to avoid, but very worried about how she would ever finish all the food.
Eating with Max, she had nothing to worry about. By the time she had finished just under half her meal and was starting to feel overfilled, Max had finished everything on his plate and was more than willing to accept her meal, noting how lucky he was that she had filled up before getting to the delicious meatballs.
Maria took a sip of the red wine the waiter had brought to their table, cringed slightly at the bitter taste, hoping the small amount of liquid in her stomach would prevent the meal from consolidating into a large ball. Her anxiety was gone after their light chatter and Maria found she was enjoying herself.
As Max relished the deliciousness of a favourite Italian dish, his mind would not stray from the governess sitting across from him. He knew that he should not be thinking about this young woman the way he was—with anything beyond attraction for her—for multiple reasons that he did not want to bring to mind at that moment, yet he could not help but be amazed by her. Never before had he met someone so resistant to his charms and so utterly clueless of societal expectations or the power and value of an inheritance.
He knew that their being together was almost an oxymoron: the entitled Casanova (or so the gossip said) of Vienna courting the Florence Nightingale of Nonneberg Abbey? His acquaintances would never approve. And yet her charm had, despite his internal protests, won his heart and occupied his thoughts.
The waiter cleared their dishes, and Maria declined any dessert much to the chagrin of a still-peckish Max.
"I had planned on taking you to a friend's luncheon here in town" Max broke the silence that his thoughts had created. "I had hoped that you meeting all my highly esteemed acquaintances here in Salzburg would impress you…" He was not sure why he was telling her this, but for some reason it felt like the right thing to do.
Maria remained silent. She wondered to herself why they had gone out to eat lunch if the plan had been to attend a luncheon, but she kept this observation to herself, wondering where this thought of his was going. She crossed her fingers under the table that he had changed his mind—the thought of spending the afternoon being judged by strangers of the Austrian elite did not seem all that appealing.
"…but now I'm wondering if there is a better plan. What would you like to do this afternoon?" Max finally asked. He was coming to accept that this was no ordinary woman that his normal antics would charm, and stripped of these he was at a loss how to act, the words to say, or what to do.
The question appeared simplistic, but Maria was suddenly unable to come up with an answer as she came to a strange realization.
This was the first time she had been given such a choice since her parents died.
For over two decades she had been doing exactly what others have been telling her: her uncle and her schoolteachers, then the Reverend Mother and Sister Berthe. Even at the villa she allowed the children to choose their activities. While it was true she didn't necessary always follow the directives of others, it felt strange for someone to be encouraging her opinion.
She had no desire to explain her history with Max, wrecking his constantly cheerful disposition with such sad thoughts.
An idea came to mind in a flash as a memory from so many years ago came to the surface of her consciousness. Though she was self-conscious of her decision, she was immediately set on it and she knew that nothing Max could say would persuade her to change her mind. She would go on her own if needed be.
"Are you finished? Can we go now?" the normally quick-paced voice of Maria was now nearing the speed of sound, and the waves of excitement coming from here were almost palpable.
"Are you going to tell me where it is we are off to in such a hurry my dear?"
"Nope!" Maria replied in a childlike manner, grabbing her date's hand and practically forcing him to his feet.
Any sense of being out of her element was gone.
Max threw down a 100 Schillinge, leaving Maria to marvel at how people could spend so much money on essentially a spaghetti lunch, and the two walked hand-in-hand out out the door of the restaurant.
Much to Maria's happiness Max had not instructed the driver to wait for them, allowing Maria (and forcing Max!) to walk to their next destination. Like the previous day, it was a beautifully warm summer day; however, the light breeze the rustled their hair was cooling, making the temperature more bearable.
As they walked they spoke about this and that, without really saying anything. The conversation was pleasant, and many laughs were had. Maria tried her best to focus entirely on their conversation to prevent her from becoming incredibly frustrated with the painfully slow speed they were walking.
After what seemed like an incredible long walk (in distance for Max and in time for Maria) they arrived outside the gates of their final destination.
"The zoo?" Max asked with incredulity. "All this excitement for looking at some shrieking monkeys admixed with sticky-handed children in this ungodly heat? We could have stayed at the villa!"
Maria's heart fell- this was a far worse reaction that she had anticipated.
"I'm sorry…you can leave…" she murmured, her voice filled with disappointment.
"Nonsense" Max responded, instantly regretting his outburst. When Maria had announced she had a plan, he had been hoping his singer would lead him to a movie at the cinema or perhaps a concert. "Some sunshine and exercise will be good for me."
"We could go to your luncheon instead" she volunteered, cringing at the thought. Perhaps she could bring the children to the zoo another day.
"I imagine it would be a zoo in there too" Max laughed. "Come now Maria, I'm determined to learn what is so exciting about a zoo, and you seem like the prime candidate to teach me."
"Thank you, Max" Maria smiled at him, recognizing the effort he made.
The crippling entrance fee that had prevented Maria's return to the zoo after her parents' death, the small sum of seven Schillinge, was paid for the both of them easily by Max, who did not even pause to consider the small expenditure.
Maria was yet again reminded how very different her life must have been from Max's. She grew up with the necessities, but no extra spending money. When she entered the abbey her meagre savings was automatically given to the orphanage in town without a second thought. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how very few similarities her and Max had—they had been brought together by music, which to Maria was divine; however, the more time they spent together the less convinced Maria was that his appreciation for song was in line with her own. And yet, despite all their differences, and the guilt she continued to feel whenever he spoke to her or looked at her with any raw emotion, the attraction was undeniable and she was genuinely having a good time with him.
"Shall we?" Max asked, handing his date a map of the zoo and offering his arm, both which she accepted graciously, her fast-paced walk nearly dragging him behind her.
"I can't imagine you enjoying seeing all these animals in captivity" Max noted as they walked by the wolf display.
"It used to upset me when I was young until my father explained to me how most of these animals were found injured in the wild. The zoo takes them in, heals them, and then uses them to learn more about the species so we can better protect and treat their kind."
Max just nodded, more entrapped in her excitement than in her words.
The remainder of the day passed quickly, and by the time she and Max had decided they had better return to the villa for dinner, her sides were aching from laughing so much. Franz picked up the two from the front gates of the zoo with an inquisitive look at Max, obviously surprised at their location, but to his credit he kept his opinions to himself.
The drive back was quiet, as Max held Maria's hand in the backseat, both reminiscing about the day.
Max's feet felt like he was walking on burning embers, his nose was sunburnt, his hands sticky from the ice cream cone they had shared that had melted all over the place, but he couldn't bring himself to care. The day had been unlike any he had ever experienced. His go-to date normally involved a meal followed swiftly by a play, a concert, or party. Essentially any activity that did not involve physical movement, the great outdoors or intimate conversation was acceptable. Somehow with Maria, he always seemed forced into all three, and was finding it increasingly charming.
He had watched in amusement she made faces at the monkeys in their pens, as she danced around outside the otters pen with the small furry creatures swimming around playfully inside their shelter, and as she fed the goats as though each kernel of corn was worth its weight in gold. There were moments when she appeared so young to him, and he found her innocence and genuine excitement for the most mundane events (the entire zoo experience for example) to be delightful.
Maria's heart hurt from the memories the zoo had brought back but the new memories eased the pain. Her mind raced with the "fun facts" the signs at the zoo had taught her about the various creatures, and Max's impression of the penguin's walk still made her smile. The day had been quite the experience. A couple times she had had to shield her face from her companion so he wouldn't see the pain that exhibits such as the monkey sanctuary where her father used to try to be able to get the monkeys to mimic him. Nevertheless, aside from the more emotionally draining instances, it had been her best experience with Max—she had soon forgotten she was on an official "date" and had allowed herself to just have fun. He was charming, witty, and constantly making jokes about the animals and the people around them in the zoo, and Maria had been sure the security guards would have to ask them both to leave for disturbing the animals they were laughing so loudly. There was no question that his best feature was his sense of humour.
Before opening the front door to the villa, Max enveloped the thin woman in his arms.
"I want to try something. Trust me" he coached, and placed a kiss on her lips. His tongue prodded her in an attempt to deepen it. Shyly Maria complied, allowing the tip of her tongue to graze the tip of his before she abruptly stepped backwards. Max tried not to let his frustration show at her restrain. Every step would be a struggle with her.
"Thank you, Max. I had a wonderful day today." Maria offered, half-apologetically.
Max instantly felt bad for his annoyance.
"As did I, darling. I hope we can plot another escape for your sometime soon!"
Maria leaned over and for the first time initiated their kiss, a chaste peck on the lips, and was relieved to see the genuine smile on his face.
Together they walked through the front door, expecting "the zoo part 2", only to their surprise the house was perfectly silent, until a bellowing "FRIEDRICH!" could be heard from the back of the house.
The two hurried through the hallways to get to the back door, and they hastened down the steps to the edge of the river where Maria had the strangest sense of déjà vu…only from the wrong point of view.