A Time for Travel

"Something's gone wrong, I know it."

"No, you don't, Maria."

"Neither do you. Why else would Hans want to talk to me about a message Georg sent him? It's probably something he can't bear to tell himself. Or what if it's something much worse?" Maria stopped herself from voicing the something worse out loud, aware of the taxi driver in front of the both of them.

Philomena took both of her hands and squeezed them. "Maria, just calm down. We won't know anything until we get there. At least keep your mind open to every good possibility as well as every bad one. It's only fair and rational."

Maria took a deep breath and spoke no more, but held on to Philomena's hands the rest of the way to the house of Dr. Hans Falk. When the taxi driver pulled up in front of the nice house, Philomena paid and thanked him before helping Maria out. Holding hands, they walked up to the front door of the house and Philomena rang the doorbell.

Within a few moments, the door opened and a middle-aged woman – who must be the housekeeper – was revealed, giving a friendly smile. "Baroness Von Trapp?"

Maria nodded and tried to smile. Philomena squeezed her hand and said, "Yes, and I'm her friend, Philomena Amman."

"Dr. Falk is expecting you in the parlor, please follow me," she said, beckoning for them to come in and follow her. The two women did, not letting go of the other's hand until they came into an elegant parlor, where Hans was standing waiting for them. His smile and the expression in his eyes immediately let Maria know that, whatever Georg's message said, it was nothing too serious.

"Hello, Maria, it's lovely to see you again," he said, reaching out his hand to shake hers. "Do not worry, I have no terrible news for you."

Maria did not hold back her sigh of relief. Philomena smiled broadly and let go of Maria's hand to shake his. "I told you, dear," she murmured to Maria.

"I'm sorry if my request scared you," he said, motioning for them all to sit down, which they did. "While the message contains nothing serious, there is an urgency about the matter."

"What exactly is going on, Hans?" asked Philomena.

Still smiling, Hans pulled out a folded piece of paper. "I got this letter from Georg just now. He writes that his eight-week training period is over and he's been given a week of leave from duty."

Maria felt her eyes begin to glow and her hands begin to shake with joy. Did this mean that Georg could come home, if only for less than a week?

The next words of Hans deflated that hope immediately. "Unfortunately, the soldiers were ordered to stay in the Italian village of Montamare, right on the northern coast of the Adriatic Sea, east of Venice, but they aren't even allowed to go there. The management wants to make sure no one will become a deserter and that they'll all be there to ship out on the morning of the nineteenth."

Maria could hear the anger deep in his tone, and she now felt it too. Georg had been given leave and yet he was not allowed to come home to see his family! Isn't that what leave was for? This wasn't leave – it was a supervised break.

But when she looked at Hans again, the small smile had appeared on his face again. He looked down at the letter again. "He says he's staying at a modest bed & breakfast place called Agapito's Retreat, away from where the other soldiers are staying." He gave Maria a meaningful look as he continued. "He wrote that what he hates the most is that your birthday is on the eighteenth, which is his last day of leave, and he won't be able to come home for it."

Maria looked down with a lump in her throat. She had tried not to think about this fact, but the fact that Georg would be on leave but could not come home hit twice as hard.

Sure that Hans would not have informed her of this if that were all he was going to say, Maria blinked back her tears and swallowed the lump in her throat before looking at him again. He had a small, gentle smile on his face as he said carefully, "Perhaps, if he cannot come to you…you could go to him?"

So this is what Hans had wanted to suggest to her. Maria felt as if he had planted a seed in her head and heart that began to grow at a rapid rate with no signs of stopping.

Philomena encouraged it by gasping and saying to her, "Oh, Maria, you should! Not only will you have a chance to see him, but you'll get a chance to go to Italy! I know you've never been out of the country before, and you've never seen the sea, either. I know you've been wanting to do that."

Her tone was very persuasive, and Maria's desire to go was already growing fast. But she had to be rational. "But the children. They would hate it if I went to see him and they couldn't."

"They may not like it but they would understand," said Philomena, still in that persuasive tone. "They're good children and they know you have the right to spend your birthday the way you want to. I know the best present you could have is the chance to spend your birthday with your husband."

Maria closed her eyes and clutched Philomena's hand as she took a deep breath. Her reasons for refusing were swept away. Opening her eyes, she looked at Hans with a strong look in her eyes. "Would you please write down the information of his whereabouts for me? I need to book a train ticket."

Maria and Philomena immediately – with considerable excitement – headed for the train station to see the schedule and book a ticket. Unfortunately, the first train she could take that was not completely booked left early the morning of her birthday. Though the train ride was about five hours long, Maria still wished she had been able to get a sooner train ride so she could spend more than one day and night with Georg.

"What was it the ticket seller claimed again?" asked Philomena, who felt the same way Maria did, as they walked down the street away from the station.

Maria scowled. "That trips to Italy are extremely popular now for those people who want to be somewhere warmer."

Philomena rolled his eyes. "Well, look on the bright side. The children will be able to see you for at least a little while on your birthday, and you were able to get a train ticket back home the very next day."

Maria sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I suppose…I just wish I could go now…or maybe not, when I think of the children. You and Dominik will look after them, right? I know it's just for one night and two days, but neither Georg nor I would forgive myself if –"

"Of course we will take good care of them," said Philomena, wrapping an arm around her and giving her a squeeze. "Would you like me to call my brother and have him come down to stay while you're gone? I know once he hears the reason, and when he remembers your birthday, he'll come down in a heartbeat."

Maria nodded, smiling in gratitude, and hugged her back.

Philomena smiled. "Come on, I'm going to get you the most flattering traveling suit for you to wear. No excuses!"

Maria just smiled and allowed Philomena to lead her down the street to one of her favorite clothing shops. She knew her friend well enough by now to know that it would be useless to try and protest: Philomena's will was like the strongest iron.

They soon found a suit that suited her (no pun intended): a pastel green-colored tweed with a white silk blouse. As Philomena searched for matching shoes, Maria browsed the rest of the store, and found herself pausing at the section in the back and what it sold.

When she found a good pair of nice flats, Philomena searched for Maria and found her looking at the various things on sale in the back. It wasn't that the things in the back were more expensive or of less quality – it was just more modest to put such delicate things away from the display windows.

What surprised Philomena was the look of serious interest mixed with hesitation on Maria's face. "Maria?"

"I…" A blush filled Maria's cheeks as she spoke to Philomena. "I want to make the most of the time I have with my husband…but I still want to be myself." She looked at her friend. "Help me?"

Philomena was a bit surprised before she realized that she really shouldn't be. She'd heard the story of how Georg and Maria had told each other of their love. Now that Maria knew her husband loved her and she loved him…She smiled gently as she replied, "Of course I will."

Half an hour later, the two of them left the dress shop, each holding shopping bags. Maria's cheeks were still red.

"Philomena, would you do me a favor?" asked Maria as Philomena hailed a cab.

"Of course, dear, what?"

"Would you mind telling the children of my plans? I just…"

"I understand."

The next two days were the slowest days that Maria had ever had. Time seemed to move at a snail's pace, so she tried to keep as busy as possible, with the children, with Dominik, with Max and Philomena, and with her clothing work.

Now, she lay in bed on the eve of her twenty-second birthday, not finding sleep anywhere. She knew she needed it; her train left in the morning. Her portmanteau was packed and her new traveling suit was laid out on a nearby chair, as well as shoes and her purse.

Maria recalled one of the things she had packed into that little suitcase, something that Philomena had helped her pick out and something that still made her blush. She blushed even harder when she remembered the tips Philomena had given her when Maria stammered her request for some advice. Thankfully, Philomena had been vague but not specific, but Maria still blushed beet red. The thought of showing what she'd bought to Georg was…exciting and nerve-wracking.

Knowing of their mutual love had made Maria's nights barely tolerable. She didn't just pile the other side of the bed with pillows; on the nights when it got really bad, she would wear his robe to bed. This would have sounded pathetic to the woman she had once been, but that was before she had fallen in love.

She wanted to see her husband, and she could hardly believe that tomorrow, on her birthday, she would.

Maria woke up at about dawn. She didn't really need to wake up that early, but she was woken up nevertheless by a very excited seven-year-old and five-year-old. Amidst their many exclamations, the most dominant one was, "Happy Birthday, Mother!"

Maria's exhaustion quickly disappeared as this registered in her mind. She immediately sat up and enveloped both girls in her arms, feeling happy. Looking over Marta's shoulder, she saw Dominik standing in his pajamas and robe, leaning in the doorway with a smile. "We all wanted to give you our gifts before seeing you to the train station."

The young woman's eyes filled with tears as she hugged her littlest girls closer.

When they came into the sitting room, there were the rest of the children, Max and Philomena waiting for her, in their pajamas and robes, with presents in their hands. "Oh, goodness, you didn't have to –" said Maria, getting choked up.

"Oh, yes, we did," said Liesl firmly, standing up and taking her hand so she could sit beside her on the sofa. "You've done so much for us that to let your birthday pass unnoticed would be the worst sin."

So Maria sat on the sofa and opened each card and present as it was given to her: new vinyl albums from Max, a new spring dress from Philomena, a new journal from Dominik. Frau Schmidt brought in her breakfast of fresh blueberry muffins with a lit candle in the biggest one while everyone else sang the birthday song for her.

But the children's gift had been the most touching of all: they had made their own storybook about her, them and their father. It told of how they were before Maria came, like their father's grief and the children's sadness; what happened to them when Maria did come, with the uglier details left out thanks to the children's innocence and the grown-ups silence; and how they had all watched Maria and Georg fall in love when she hadn't even realized it, through glances, touches and gestures. The ending they had put in was one of their father coming home to his family.

All of the illustrations and writing had been done themselves – Maria could tell Liesl had led the way with the illustrations, for she had a great talent for drawing. The last page was a picture of Maria with Georg, the children, Dominik, even Max and Philomena, in a circle around her on the page. Everyone had signed their names (except Georg, for he was not here), and the caption in big script said: "We love you, Angel Maria, and we thank you."

Maria's tears flowed freely as she read the storybook, but Liesl or Dominik helped brush them away. "Oh, everyone…I'm speechless…thank you so much…I am going to take this with me to show your father, so he can see what talented, loving, extraordinary children you all are. Thank you for the gifts, everyone."

The next five minutes were devoted to silence, sobs and tight hugs from the birthday girl. Maria seemed to regather her senses and said, "All right, it's a school day. Everyone get dressed and eat your breakfast so we can get me to the train station on time and before school starts."

The children all rushed off to their rooms, as did Dominik and Max. Philomena smiled and approached Maria, giving her a tiny white square package tied with a red ribbon.

Maria gave an almost exasperated sigh as she took it. "Another present? Really, Philomena, I have enough happiness to last three lifetimes."

"Oh, that's not from me," said Philomena, still smiling. "Georg wrote to me a few days ago and asked me to pull it out from his hiding place. It's his birthday gift to you, and he wanted you to have it on your special day. Of course, he thinks that he won't see you today, which is why he asked me to give it to you in his stead. But perhaps you can open it when you see him."

Maria was so happy she gave a crushing hug that could rival any of Philomena's.

It was a miracle that Maria's orders were followed and the eleven of them made it to the train station with time to spare. They all walked Maria to her platform. Maria was traveling light, with just one suitcase and her purse.

Just before Maria boarded, Max came back to the group and handed Maria some foreign bills to put in her purse. "I've exchanged some money for you, so you won't need to exchange when you get there. And don't worry about language; us sharing a border with Italy and Montamare being close to it will mean they get plenty of German tourists – it's a second language there."

Maria sighed in relief, while her excitement was building. Max kissed her cheeks. "Have a wonderful time, Maria, and send Georg my best."

Philomena gave her a bone-crushing hug, and whispered in her ear, "Don't be nervous, he will take good care of you."

Maria blushed a bit but nodded. Dominik hugged her then too, wishing her a wonderful time, and the children all did the same, reminding her to give what they had given to her to their father when she saw him.

"I will, I promise," she said.

"All aboard!" the conductor called from the train.

"Oh, that's my cue! Good-bye everyone, I'll see you all tomorrow!"

"We'll be here to pick you up," said Max. With a last hug for the little ones, Maria went to the train and found her compartment fairly easily. She waved to the group of ten and they waved back as the train started down the tracks. Maria waved until they were out of sight and the train had left the station.

She exhaled, leaned back in her seat, and looked out the window as the Austrian landscape rushed by, preparing for a long journey.

Maria couldn't remember if she had ever been on a train before, perhaps once with her parents when she had been very young. The other people in her compartment were friendly but kept to their papers or books, leaving Maria free with her own book, looking out the window, and daydreaming. Around lunchtime, a woman brought her a complimentary meal that came with her ticket of a good soup and rolls.

Maria's heart was like the speeding train she traveled in, and her excitement was riding high. Over and over she looked at the piece of paper on which the Italian town and Georg's bed & breakfast was written by Hans, memorizing them and praying that something would not go wrong at the last minute.

At last, when Maria thought she couldn't take it, the train pulled into the little station of Montamare, and it was announced by the conductor in both German and Italian. Smiling radiantly, she got up, got her suitcase from the overhead, and followed the line out of the train onto the outdoor platform.

Though Maria had never been to another country before, Maria could tell she had reached one just by a feeling in the atmosphere. It seemed to be a culmination of the new, pleasant smells in the air and the warm sun on her body. Also, the floods of people moving around all speaking in a beautiful, legato and musical language that could only be Italian. It finally hit her: she was in Italy!

Max had been right about the lack of language barrier: both the guard who helped her flag a cab and the driver spoke good German and were very friendly.

"Agapito's Retreat, please," she said, and the driver started to drive.

Maria kept the window down the whole ride, savoring the air of Italy and watching the beautiful village pass by. It reminded her of the town she had lived in during her childhood with her parents: the same small-town, safe feeling every child should have growing up. It comforted Maria to know that, though languages and customs may vary, humanity had a lot of common links no matter the culture.

Traveling down a road that led to the sea, the driver said, in an Italian-accented German, "Agapito's right at the end of the road; it ends at the coast."

Knowing her limbs could no longer keep still now that she was so close, Maria said, "Just stop here, please, I want to walk the rest of the day."

"All right, signora, it's a beautiful day!" He pulled over on the street and drove away after Maria paid him with a pleasant, "Addio!"

It took a lot of Maria's self-control not to run down the road, but she remembered her nice traveling suit and didn't want to look dirty and sweaty when she saw her husband. So she walked, sometimes skipped, on the cobblestoned pathway. She looked at the lovely housed stacked together as she passed, but kept her eyes ahead most of the time.

As she got closer, a new and unfamiliar scent reached her nose that was not at all unpleasant. It was a fresh, salty smell, and Maria knew it had to be the Adriatic Sea. She'd heard enough descriptions of the sea from Georg to realize this.

Finally, she turned the bending corner and there it was: a quaint three-story cottage with a sign that said, "Agapito's" on the front lawn. Beyond it was a huge expanse of restless blue with little white peaks appearing and disappearing. Seagulls called and flew above it, and a rush of wind with that scent hit Maria; it was so refreshing. She could have looked at the sea forever, it was so captivating…

But then she saw something even more captivating.

The sea and shore were separated by huge rocks that the sea's waves lapped against. Standing on one of those rocks was a very familiar silhouette of a tall man with dark hair gleaming in the early afternoon sun.

"My Georg…" she breathed, her free hand going to her heart. She could see him, she could really see him.

She took a few steps closer, but he couldn't see her; his attentions and thoughts were on and beyond the sea. She saw arch his back and rub it. He must be so worn out after those eight weeks. Then she saw him take the pendant he wore around his neck and bring it to his lips. She bit her lip as his eyes filled with tears. He really misses me.

This was confirmed in her mind as she saw him pick up a rock, throw it powerfully into the sea, and then march into the cottage.

He hadn't seen her. Maria resumed her pace towards the cottage.

That was going to change in a few minutes.

A/N: I decided to be merciful and, though I'm leaving you on a cliffhanger again, I leave you with something to look forward to rather than something to fear. Don't expect an update for a while; it will be at least a week before I have any time to write. Please review.