She felt terrible that she had promised Marta to bake a cake with her for her birthday, and then in the chaos of leaving home and settling with the Whiteheads, her birthday wasn't as celebrated as they had hoped. Marta didn't seem to mind, always such an understanding girl, but Maria hadn't been able to let it go. She had looked through the chef's recipes the day prior and asked permission to use the kitchen before surprising her daughter with the time together. It was rare that she could spend one-on-one time with the children, and it always felt quite special no matter what they did.
She hadn't really thought through the actual baking of the cake, however. While she understood what the recipe was asking her to do, she found herself terribly clumsy in the kitchen. Of course she was, she had never done more than make tea or a sandwich, she thought as she nearly choked on the plume of flour she created.
"Mother, we're getting very messy." Maria laughed, wiping a bit of flour from Marta's nose with her apron. The girl did not seem overly excited about the mess.
"Yes, we are. I'm afraid the family would starve if we were in charge in the kitchen." Marta laughed, looking toward the window above the sink for probably the tenth time in the past half hour. "I can't believe you're already eight years old. I feel terrible we didn't get to throw a real birthday party."
"That's alright, I don't mind what we've done instead. I do like staying with Grandmother and Grandfather."
"It is lovely, isn't it?"
"Will we go to school here too?" Maria shrugged, mixing the batter a bit more. It didn't look like she expected, and she frowned.
"I should think so. I'll speak to your father about it. It's been on my mind as well." The girl looked toward the window once more, and Maria smiled. It was very clear she preferred to be elsewhere at the moment. "Marta, aren't you having fun?"
"Oh, yes, Mother." She jumped and met Maria's eyes, seeming a bit bashful.
"I know you don't like being messy."
"It's just, Grandfather is in the garden planting flowers with everyone…" Maria smiled, understanding. She had hoped they could spend some time together, but she understood how much the children had been enjoying the outdoors, as well as the time with their grandparents. She smiled, leaning down and giving the girl the best hug she could through the mess, and her expanding stomach.
"Go ahead, dear."
"You don't mind?"
"Not at all. Go and enjoy the beautiful day." Marta smiled, rushing toward the door to find her grandfather and siblings. Maria laughed as her daughter dashed out of sight, nearly sprinting to the door in her excitement.
She sighed, mixing the contents of the bowl and deciding she could at least try to finish the cake. It didn't necessarily hurt that Marta would have preferred her grandfather at the moment, as Maria understood that the time the children were spending with their grandparents was special and uncommon in the past. Well…perhaps it hurt just a bit, she thought, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.
Her mind wandered to her husband. Something was wrong lately, something he felt he couldn't share with her fully, and she was a bit baffled by it. It was obvious that he had a lot on his mind, his work sounding to be his main stressor, but there was something more. He was trying not to be, she could tell he was trying, but he had been sort of a dark cloud hanging over the house for quite a while. She supposed whatever he wasn't telling her was merely to protect her feelings, but that almost frustrated her even more. The one thing they had always been, to a fault, was honest with one another.
"Hello, darling." Georg entered the kitchen, as if knowing that he was on her mind. He gave her a smile that nearly reached his eyes, so she knew he must be having a good day.
"I was just thinking about you." He moved closer and placed a gentle kiss upon her lips, careful not to get her mess all over his suit.
"Only good things I hope."
"Of course." She raised her eyebrows, and he chuckled a bit, looking over her work.
"Where's Marta?" She sighed, shrugging as she began to prepare a baking pan.
"She prefers planting flowers with her grandfather today." Georg smiled, tucking some of her hair behind her ear, but she shrugged him away. "Stop it, I'm not upset."
"It's okay to be. You're used to being their favorite person in the world. Quite a blow to your confidence, I imagine." She met his eyes, a glint of humor sparkling behind them.
"Have you come in here solely to be an ass?" He laughed, and she couldn't help but smile with him. "I just wish she had told me before we started. Now I feel I need to finish."
"What kind of cake is this?"
"Chocolate. I've tried to keep it easy." He took her hand in his, dipping her finger in the batter and bringing it slowly to his lips. She met his eyes, feeling her body react a bit as he placed her finger in his mouth, licking the batter before pulling it through his lips. She had a quick vision of him bending her over and taking her in the kitchen, her hormones still working on overdrive, but was quickly brought out of that fantasy by the look of disgust upon his face. He coughed, turning away to compose himself.
"My God, Maria, this is dreadful." She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Honestly."
"Yes, honestly. Have you tried it?"
"No, I thought it best to bake it first." She frowned, offended that he felt the need to come into the kitchen and judge her in such a way.
"Don't look at me like that. Try it." He dipped his finger in the batter, giving her a small kiss before holding his finger to her lips. She sighed, opening her mouth so he could place his finger inside. It would have all been quite sensual had she not been met with the horrifying taste. She shuddered, her stomach churning a bit. "There, I told you."
"It's pure salt. What have I done?" She found her glass of water upon the counter, taking a long drink before handing it to Georg to do the same. She looked over the recipe in front of her, bringing it closer to her eyes to study it. "Oh dear…I suppose there's quite a difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon, isn't there?"
"You don't belong in here." He laughed at her offended expression, but she couldn't help herself from joining him. Of course she didn't belong in the kitchen, it could not have been a secret at that point.
"Well, I suppose one should always take the chance to try something new." She began to pour the batter into the trash, sighing in defeat.
"You were going to kill us all with this."
"So dramatic! Perhaps it would have tasted better once it baked…"
"Not a chance, darling." He finally took her into his arms, less worried about the mess than he was originally. She laid her head against his chest, sighing at her failure. She supposed it didn't really bother her much, though she wasn't overly excited about cleaning up the mess she had made. Suddenly a shudder ran across her stomach, and she jumped in surprise, looking to meet Georg's eyes.
"Did you feel that?"
"Yes, I did." He smiled brightly, but she felt confused. It was almost as if something had run across her stomach, or more similar to a gas bubble, she thought. It happened once more, and her heart could have burst with joy.
"It's moving. I can't believe this is what it feels like." She smiled widely, running her hands over her belly. He laughed, wiping a tear from her cheek that she didn't even know she had shed.
"Now this is a reason to celebrate." He leaned down and placed a deep kiss upon her lips, pulling away after a moment. "We're all going to supper tonight."
"Oh goodness, I don't know." She wiped her eyes, chuckling a bit.
"I won't hear another word about it. We're celebrating, and that's all there is to it." She smiled brightly, unable to comprehend the level of excitement she was feeling. She couldn't believe that she really was creating life inside of her, as if it didn't really set in with her until the movement happened.
She said a quick prayer to express her thankfulness before her husband helped her clean the kitchen and ushered her outside to share the news. Even though there were many things on her mind, she focused on the fact that she was truly blessed.