Everyday Living
The next morning was almost a repeat of yesterday; the early morning sun had woke the newlyweds. They took full advantage of their private time.
The other adults in the home were also awake; Katia was already in the kitchen brewing coffee and squeezing oranges for juice. Franz was in the foyer and both Stefan and Phillip were outside enjoying the fresh cool air of the morning as they pondered their work on the garden.
The children were also waking. In a matter of moments, even Gretl and Marta were dressed and talking rather loudly in the hall. Their parents heard them; Maria came out of their room in her robe.
"So you are excited to begin a new day!"
"Yes Mom, we want to play on the playground and maybe meet some of our classmates."
And Kurt added. "I need breakfast soon before my stomach talks to me."
"Everyone can go downstairs; your dad and I will be there shortly."
Maria returned to master suite to dress. "I suppose you heard the children."
"I did. I need to ask Franz to buy me some more underwear so Isabel doesn't need to wash my clothes so often."
"He and the other men may need to do the same."
"You may be correct. Are you ready to go down?"
"I am."
The newlyweds found everyone waiting at the table for them. "Good, you're both here."
"Has Kurt been badgering you to serve, Katia?"
"Not just him, Georg: all the children told me they're hungry this morning."
"I see. Maria will you say the blessing please."
She smiled as she remembered her first dinner at the villa when she had to ask to thank the Lord.
"Of course I will." She waited for everyone to fold their hands before praying.
"Lord, you gave us sunshine and rain to grow the food we eat. May it nourish our bodies to live everyday with thankful hearts and loving ways. This we pray in Thy Name. Amen."
And everyone said "Amen." Then the dining room was very quiet as everyone ate. Georg was the first to finish.
"Children, while you finish eating, I'm going to get ready to leave. I want to leave a little early to be sure I'm on time."
Like yesterday everyone came outside to watch him leave. And also like yesterday, Maria went upstairs to straighten the children's bed linens; but she was in for a surprise. All their beds were already done.
She didn't realize Liesl had followed her. "Mom, Louisa and I straightened them."
"Even the boys' beds?"
"Friedrich did his and then helped Kurt. They even put their clothes in the dirty clothes basket."
"I thank you. Now I can help Isabel do the laundry."
Maria carried the clothes basket down the stairs to a room called a basement. There Franz had discovered two appliances, a washing machine and a clothes-dryer and also an ironing board and an electric iron.
Maria found Isabel there; she was reading the instructions. "It says to first select either, small, medium or large according to how much you need to wash, and it also says to separate the white clothes from the colored ones."
"Okay, I see another basket we can use to sort the clothes."
In a few minutes, they had a basket full of white clothes, mostly underwear along with a few white shirts.
Isabel commented. "This is probably the amount of clothes that requires a lot of water; I'll turn the knob to large. Now the instructions say to add the soap."
"Isabel took a box from a shelf above the washing machine and read the instructions out loud.
"Use a third of a cup for a small amount of clothes, two thirds for medium and a full cup for large. I think we have a large amount. I'll add a full cup of soap and turn on the water and then add the clothes and close the lid.
They both waited until the machine's motor began to slosh the water around.
"Maria, the machine will turn off automatically in about thirty minutes. Then we can place them in the dyer. I'll set the temperature for medium. Then all you need to do is turn it on by pressing this button."
"This isn't at all complicated; I'll come down and put the clothes in the dryer. Then I'll wash our dresses and last the men and boy's pants."
Maria realized it would take several hours to wash and dry all the clothes, she didn't wait to finish before she took the children to the playground. It was about nine-thirty when she told the children to get ready to leave.
They were very pleased. Once again Franz went with them. When they arrived at the playground, they found many mothers there with their children. The girl Brigitta knew was also there.
She had seen Brigitta first and hurried to speak to her. "Hi Brigitta, I want to introduce you my friends."
"I want to meet them too."
Maria was pleased as she watched the two girls walk away. And she was also pleased to see her older children talking with some of the others who were there.
Franz told Maria. "While the children play, I'm going to the men's store to buy underwear and a couple of shirts for all of us men. That way you won't need to wash clothes almost every day. It won't take me long."
"That's fine. I feel perfectly safe here."
Marta and Gretl were still holding her hands. "Girls, I see some children who look like they might be your classmates. Let's walk to them."
Their hand clasp was firm. Maria knew they were a little scared. When they arrived in this part of the playground, which had smaller playground equipment, one of the mothers spoke to Maria.
"Did you attend Mass at St. Mary's church this past Sunday?"
"Yes, I did."
"I'm Paul Adams' wife; he's the man who drove your husband to DC. My name is Maryann."
"Pleased to meet you, I'm Maria."
"I read about your escape from Austria. That must have been a harrowing experience."
"Everything happened so fast; there wasn't time to think about it. Georg had planned. We got on a train at the station near the villa's pasture. It traveled rather fast and had us in Italy where Georg knew we were safe because the Germans couldn't enter Italy. We boarded a cruise ship at Rome's port. All of us relaxed and had a wonderful time.
"And now we feel privileged to be living in the former home of the Army Chiefs of Staff. We needed a large home because Georg didn't leave anyone behind. In addition to his seven children from his first wife, who had died from Scarlet Fever, all the people who worked for him came too."
"How did you meet Georg?"
"Maryann, it's almost like a good romance novel. I came to take of the children at the beginning of the summer. I was a postulant at the Abbey in Salzburg. I'm sure the Reverend Mother chose me because I had great difficulty conforming to all the rules and I was also a teacher. Georg left for Vienna the next day.
"I now know he never got over his losses. First was losing the war in which he had so valiantly fought. And then the navy port was given to Italy. Then a few years later his wife died from Scarlet Fever. Each child reminded him of her. He often left the children with a governess. They played all kinds of pranks on them, causing them to leave. For me it was a frog in my pocket and a pine cone to sit on at the dinner table."
"You're right. This would make a good novel. Tell me more."
"I didn't leave. I surprised the children by telling the how kind and thoughtful they were for the gift they left in my pocket. By now all but the oldest girl were sniffling and crying. I almost had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing.
"Of course Georg wasn't amused. Just then his butler came to the dining room to deliver a telegram. His oldest daughter, Liesl, was quite interested in who delivered it. I watched her sneak out of the dining room. And Georg announced to the others that he was leaving for Vienna in the morning and would return with a lady friend, a Baroness and a man named Uncle Max. The children were quite happy about seeing this man."
"Georg left the dining room shortly after finishing his desert. Now I was alone with the children. They took me upstairs to their bedrooms. The older children assured me they would turn off their lamp soon. I took these two girls to their room where I read them a story and they both fell asleep.
"I went on to my room where I pondered all that had happened. It soon began to rain; I closed one of the windows and then I got ready for bed and knelt by my bed to say my prayers.
"My back was towards the open window. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Liesl, dripping wet, trying to sneak out of my room. She was worried I was going to tell her father. I coerced her to tell me the truth. She had gone out to see the delivery boy. I sent her into the bathroom to change into my extra nightgown.
"Meanwhile the rain became a thunderstorm. And after one very loud crack of thunder, the youngest girl, Gretl, opened my door and stood there petrified. Soon the others came too. I sang them a song until the storm passed. Georg found them there; again he was not amused. I begged him for material to make them play clothes. He refused and left abruptly. The children went back to their rooms and now I pondered again.
"The housekeeper had told me the drapes in my room were going to be replaced. I realized I could use it to make their play clothes. We went everywhere in them. I was happy and so were the children.
"On one of our outings I taught the children a song to sing for the Baroness. When he heard them singing, he couldn't believe it was them. I was sure he was going to be angry. But he wasn't. He remembered the song and sang with them. And everything changed.
"He began to ignore the Baroness; he wanted to be with me and his children. My feelings scared me when he asked me to dance an old Austrian dance with him. I ran back to the Abbey after the Baroness told me I was in love with him. After two days there the Revered Mother sent me back to find the life I was suppose to live.
"The children and I had a happy reunion. Then one of the children told me he was going to marry the Baroness. I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. He told the children to go to dinner. Then he asked me if I was there to stay. I told him only until he could find a new governess.
"I had no idea what would happen next. Liesl overheard a phone conversation the Baroness had with a German man. She came to my room terribly freighted and told me what she heard.
"I then dressed and went downstairs to tell Georg what Liesl had told me. Then he told me the Baroness was a German spy. Later that day, she was seen leaving the villa. That triggered Georg's military mind. We packed quickly and left the villa.
"We boarded a train to Italy and traveled to the port near Rome and boarded a cruise ship to America. Georg and I were married by the ship's captain. Now we want to ask Father Mike to bless our marriage."
"Oh my! Your story is fascinating. Tell me the girls' names."
"The one with the long dark hair is Marta, she's seven. Gretl is my five year old."
"Girls, I have daughters the same age. They're playing in the part of the playground made especially for younger children. Would you like to play with them?"
"Can we Mommy?"
"Of course you can."
All of them walked the short distance to this playground where Maryann introduced the girls to her daughters
"Rosemarie and Rita, these two girls are going to be in your class at school. Say hello to Marta and Gretl."
"Hello, do you want to swing with us?"
"Can we Mommy?"
"Of course you can. I'll wait right here."
They ran off and had the best time. Soon Kurt's stomach talked to him and he told Maria. They said good bye to the other children and left for home.
They would later tell her they were really anxious for school to start. They had each found someone in their grade who would meet them the first day of school and help them find their way to each class.