A/N: This story was inspired in part by the song Party of One by Brandi Carlile (as evidenced by the title), and in part by my desire to explore all the what-ifs that have accumulated in my head around TSOM. Part of the beauty of FanFiction is that you can create your own little reality and do all the exploring you want! There is no need to listen to Party of One, but I promise that both her solo version and her duet with Sam Smith are stunning.
Please forgive me for what I have done to poor Charlie, who did nothing to deserve this.
I own nothing.
Maria sighed, forcing herself to eat another french fry and sipping her water. Looking around, her heart shattered at the sight of happy couples and groups of friends celebrating the end of the work week on a typical Friday night. For the last two years, her Friday evenings were spent indoors, grading papers and worksheets on the couch while Charlie played video games.
Charlie.
Maria looked down, not wanting to cry in a crowded bar full of strangers. She had been so sure that at some point in time her students would call her Frau Madison, not Fraulein Rainer. Charlie had been her first serious boyfriend, sometimes demanding but always gentle. He had never pressured her into physical intimacy, despite their shared apartment. What had she done to drive him into the arms of another woman? Was it what she hadn't done? Maria felt tears welling up again as she remembered receiving photographic proof of his affair in a series of text messages from an unknown number. Did those photos and screenshots show the entirety of his indiscretions? Were there more? In an effort to calm herself, Maria began twirling her hair in her fingers; she had never lost the childhood coping mechanism. She had never cut it shorter than her chest in order to maintain easy access to the most instinctive way of calming herself.
Across the bar, Captain Georg Von Trapp was staring at her, sure he had seen her before but unsure where. He had come to the bar to escape the ruckus of his seven children, leaving them in the care of Max, who had arrived two days ago. Normally, he didn't mind their chattering, he would partake in all their conversations about school, homework, the latest video games Friedrich and Louisa were playing. Tonight, however, he had needed a break, and Max had been gracious enough to exchange unlimited access to the wine cellar for an evening with the children. He wasn't sure why he had chosen such a place to escape to, but all Georg had wanted was to feel invisible. He was tired of the constant scrutiny from everyone- Max, always badgering him to at least attempt move on from Agathe, Elsa insisting that she was the perfect woman for the job, Liesl and Friedrich failing at their attempts to be subtle when suggesting he go back to work- it was all exhausting.
Taking another sip of his whiskey, Georg pondered the predicament he had gotten himself into with Elsa. She had asked him out to dinner a year ago to catch up, and he had accepted. The meal had been pleasant, and they saw each other a few more times in the next month. Somehow, their friendship had turned into a bizarre sort of relationship. He held no strong romantic feelings for her, and she didn't pressure him to get closer. It wasn't until Max had made a comment in front of Brigitta that the children had found out, and then he was forced to label Elsa as his girlfriend. Georg cursed Max under his breath- he knew better than to say anything personal with the ever-perceptive eleven year-old present. Once their relationship status had become official, Elsa had become more insistent that they begin to look, act, and feel like a couple. Elsa meant a great deal to him, and Georg wasn't sure he was willing to risk their friendship by ending their charade of a relationship. That was why he had ran from the home as fast as he could when Max announced that Elsa planned to drop by in the next week or so.
Attempting to clear his mind, his eyes went back to the woman across the room, still intently combing through the same strand of hair with her fingers. It was a striking strawberry blonde, and he was sure it would shine magnificently in the sunlight, not unlike his Gretl. Noting that her plate and glass were almost empty, Georg tried to guess what kind of drink she would like; it looked like she could use one.
Maria wasn't sure why she was at a bar to begin with. She had never been one to drink or enjoy crowds, but after packing her things and dropping them off in the motel room she had booked indefinitely, all she had wanted to do was feel invisible. How stupid! Maria was sure everyone around her was looking at her, sensing her gullibility. She had ignored the warning signs in a naive attempt to make their relationship work- an earring that wasn't hers, Charlie's secrecy around his phone, his sudden increase in overtime and overnights at work. Maria knew her longing for a sense of stability had resulted in her idiotic oversights. And now, she could feel everyone's eyes on her, pitying the girl crying alone at her table on an otherwise beautiful Friday night.
Looking up, her blue eyes locked with his, though, thankfully, they weren't pitying, only watching her with curiosity. Maria recognized him as Captain Von Trapp; she had seen him around the school during parent-teacher conferences and at Liesl's choir concerts, always chasing around his hoard of children. She tried to turn her lips up in greeting, but she was sure it looked much more like a grimace than a smile. The Captain simply nodded at her, his lips curling into a half-smile before turning back to his drink and his conversation with the bartender. Maria smiled to herself as she wondered just how he managed all those children over the summer months!
"For you, ma'am." The waitress's voice broke her reverie, and Maria looked at the young woman with confusion.
"I'm sorry, but you must have the wrong table. I didn't order a drink," she said.
"I know," the girl smiled, "that man over there sent it for you." To Maria's surprise, the waitress was nodding towards the Captain! He was looking at her now, tipping his glass to her in a mock toast.
"Oh, how kind, please tell him I say thank you," Maria replied, smiling gently at the Captain as the waitress walked away. She looked at the amber liquid, unsure of what exactly it was, but sure that she wouldn't drink something so formidable. She glanced back up, a breath of relief leaving her when she saw that he was not looking at her. She pushed the glass away from its spot next to her plate, knowing she wouldn't enjoy it. Sighing, Maria pulled out her phone. No missed calls or texts, simply an email to all staff from the principal reminding them that final grades were due at 11:59 PM next Friday, the day after school ended. Normally, she dreaded the pressure of getting everything graded and into the computer, but Maria found herself grateful for the distraction. Closing her email, she opened her photos, wanting to start the process of deleting now-painful memories while she was blinded by anger and before they hurt too much- the interlude would be brief, she knew-, when she noticed the empty chair across from her moving away from the table.
"You aren't going to drink it?" The Captain asked, sitting down with his drink in hand, tilting his head toward the glass he had sent to her.
"Oh, I don't mean to be rude, Captain, I'm very grateful that you were so kind, I'm just not one to drink," Maria explained.
His eyebrows scrunched in confusion, causing worry lines to appear on his forehead. "How do you know who I am? Have we met before?" With his impeccable memory, Georg was certain that he would remember meeting her, though he hadn't been able to shake the feeling he had seen her before. Perhaps he just didn't know her.
"Never, formally, Captain," Maria shrugged as she extended her hand, "I'm Maria Rainer, I teach at the school your children attend. I've seen you around." His hand was surprisingly warm, and Maria found the human contact comforting.
"So you are the famous Fraulein Rainer?" His tone was teasing, but he was looking at her intently.
"I'd hardly call myself famous, sir," she chuckled.
"Well, my daughter Liesl is sure that you hung the moon and at least half the stars," he smiled.
"Liesl simply needed a friend at the time she was in my class," Maria replied, calculating her next statements. "She is the only one of your children I have taught, sir, but she was a delight! That was a few years ago now, she must be fifteen or sixteen already!" She exclaimed, not wanting to reveal just how close she and Liesl were. She knew very well that Liesl was nearly seventeen; the two had stayed close after Liesl had left her class a few years ago, when she and the rest of the Von Trapps were in desperate need of help. Maria did not think the Captain would be pleased to know that Liesl had confided in her about the problems at home, or that she still confided in her teacher about her struggles, particularly with boys.
"Sixteen going on seventeen, as she is always reminding me," the Captain chuckled, taking a sip of his drink. "I do apologize, Fraulein, if the drink isn't to your liking. You just seemed like you needed one," he smiled.
"I appreciate your generosity sir, but I have never been one to drink. Only wine at church on Sundays."
"Then what, if I may ask, are you doing in a bar on a Friday night?" Georg had to admit that he was intrigued by the woman across the table. He had watched her all night, thinking that she was the only other lonely soul in the building, and had hoped to have a good conversation for the first time in weeks over a stiff drink. He hadn't counted on her knowing him, or refusing the whiskey he had ordered!
"Just a rough day, I suppose. I had nowhere else to go," Maria sighed.
"Surely that isn't true, Fraulein."
"Oh, but it is…" She trailed off, searching his eyes, wondering if she should get into her personal struggles with a man she didn't know. But she did know him, in a way, after all Liesl had told her. Regardless, she felt safe talking to him, even if he was unfamiliar, and she had always been too outspoken anyway. "I found out my boyfriend of three years has been cheating on me after school today, so I moved out of our apartment and into a motel for the time being." Maria cursed herself inwardly. Surely this was worse than the oversharing she saw on social media! She had spilled her feelings on the first pair of ears to listen.
"Oh Fraulein, I am so sorry," Georg sighed. "I know firsthand how heartbreak hurts," his forehead creased as he processed the rest of her statement. "I also know that none of the motels nearby offer internet, and you will need that for school. Don't you have any family or friends who could help you out?" He asked. "There is no shame in moving back in with your parents for a while, either. Lord knows I almost had to once or twice," he chuckled, eyes twinkling, realizing he must have said something wrong by the way she looked down and hung her head. Shit. Her mother...
"No," Maria murmured, "My parents died long ago and I was an only child. I moved here immediately after finishing my degree to accept the open position at the school, and Charlie is my only companion," she told him. "Was my companion." She faltered a little before regaining her composure.
"I'm sorry, Fraulein, it was not my place to ask," he apologized. "I do remember Liesl mentioning your mother died when you were twelve, just as her own mother did, but I would not have said anything if I knew the rest."
Maria smiled at the thought of Liesl. "Yes, we spent quite a lot of time talking about our childhoods, though I'm afraid my advice as an only child did not help her out with her siblings!" She chuckled, remembering Liesl's frustration at having to do her sisters' hair each morning and their constant nagging for her opinions on their outfits.
"Nonsense, Fraulein," the Captain waved his hand, dismissing her self-deprecating notions. "Liesl was so glad to have someone she could talk to honestly. I had no idea how to help her."
"You did your best given the circumstances, Captain, that's all your children could have asked of you," she replied. "I do appreciate your concern, sir, but I'll be just fine in the motel. I can get to the school early or stay late to finish grading if I need to, and summer break begins after next week either way."
"Are you sure, Fraulein?" He inquired. "My car is just outside, we could pick up your belongings and I would be more than happy to drop you off somewhere more suitable. You could even stay in a guest room at my villa, if you like," he offered. As soon as he had blurted it out, Georg knew it was a ridiculous idea, but he felt indebted to Fraulein Rainer- he had not related to her all that Liesl had told him about her favorite teacher. At the time, he had been angry about the death of his wife for months, unable to cope, when a barely-thirteen Liesl had marched into his study and set him straight.
"I'm being direct and honest about my feelings, Father. It's what Fraulein Rainer told me to do. She said to tell you even if you didn't want to listen," Liesl had explained to him after he demanded to know the cause of her sudden outburst.
That tongue-lashing from Liesl nearly four years ago had restarted him. He had worked every day since to provide his children with enough love for two parents, and to constantly reassure them that their home, though different, was as stable and loving as it had been before. He certainly owed Fraulein Rainer more than a week in a guest room.
"Oh Captain, I couldn't possibly intrude on your home that way, but thank you for the offer," Maria gushed. "You are most generous," she smiled, nodding to the untouched whiskey and then looking back at him.
"Not a problem at all, Fraulein."
Silence fell upon them, Maria picking at the remnants of her french fries while he sipped his drink. Every few moments, a pair of eyes would dart up, attempting to study the stranger in front of them, before shooting back down to avoid being caught. They both jumped when his phone buzzed against the table. Picking it up, Georg laughed. "It's my son, Kurt. He wants me to bring him back a late-night snack." Maria joined his laughter, and he was glad to see her light up a little.
"I suppose you'd better be going, then," she smiled softly.
"Yes, he would be most upset with me if I returned after he fell asleep!" He joked. "May I offer you a ride home?"
"Home," Maria repeated bitterly, before remembering her present company. "My apologies, Captain. I have apparently been sitting and stewing in my unpleasant emotions all evening. I would much appreciate a ride to the motel," she sighed, standing up and putting enough money to cover her meal on the table. The walk here had been good for clearing her head, but she had the notion that a walk back would only give her more time to think. Thinking was the last thing she wanted to do.
"That's quite understandable, Fraulein," he said sympathetically. "I have always found it very therapeutic to let the sun go down on my anger, so to speak." They reached his car, and Maria was surprised when the Captain opened her door for her, shutting her safely inside before getting in. He continued to speak as he began to drive: "Let your anger burn you to sleep, and wake up feeling much better," he advised.
"Oh, Captain, I'm afraid that would not work for me!" She laughed. "I have always had such a temper, I'm afraid I would not wake up less angry, but rather an irate phoenix emerging from the ashes that had burned me to sleep, as you say," Maria smiled to herself.
"Is that why I never actually wake up refreshed and free from my anger?" He teased.
"Are you saying you gave me bad advice, Captain?" Maria laughed, placing a hand to her heart in mock offense. Georg realized that her small smile was the first genuine one she had given him all evening.
"I, uh, heard it once somewhere," he chuckled, pausing as Maria pointed to the side of the building that her room was on so he could turn the car. "It seemed poetic at the time."
"Perhaps that is why I'm not a literature teacher, then," she grinned as he parked in the lot of the motel. "Thank you again, for keeping me company and out of my own head. I will do my best to not fall asleep angry. I do not think I've reached that point in the cycle of grief yet."
"Are you sure, Fraulein? How will you fall asleep?" Georg could not hide the hint of worry in his voice; he knew the desperation that could stem from heartache. The sleepless nights, though far behind him, were always fresh memories in his mind.
"Hurt," she shrugged. "Thank you for the lift, Captain, and for making my evening less miserable." Georg watched as she shut the car door and walked, head down, into her room. He knew the right thing to do, to thank her for saving his family, would be to help her in some way, but he was not sure how to approach her when she was so vulnerable.
Perhaps Liesl could help, he thought, the outline of a plan forming in his head as he made his way through the nearest drive-thru, getting a snack for Kurt that any reasonable man would call a meal, and began to head home.