July 1938

A few weeks after Bert met with Jane Banks, the park was brightly coloured, beautifully decorated, and all the stands were set up.

Jane had teamed up with a group of Londoners to set up a park festival, which took place on the second weekend of July. Of course, Bert helped with the assembly and decorated the pavement with beautiful chalk paintings. Jane wanted to invite her former nanny, however she could not promise to attend, which was a polite refusal for Mary.

In the evening, Bert- who was a chimney sweep this day- finished work and saw the many fliers advertising the festival on the way to his apartment. Jane had painted these together with children from the nearby school and the orphans.

Each poster was unique and should be sold on Sunday; the revenue was meant for good use. One he liked very much and he had an idea who drew it- it showed the park at night from the viewpoint of the rooftops. Everywhere were colourful dots that were supposed to represent the lights and it was a clear night with many stars and a full moon. With a smile Bert examined the picture before he walked the last few meters to his house.

When he arrived at his apartment, Bert washed the soot off and put on his suit for special occasions. He examined himself in the mirror and realized that his appearance bothered him, so he took off his tie, opened the top button and mussed his hair a bit.

"That's better," he murmured, nodding to his reflection.

He admitted that he dressed like this because he still had hope of seeing Mary. He wanted to look better than usual, but still he just wanted to be himself. After a last look in the mirror, he made his way towards the park.

Bert walked through the gate of the park and was greeted by music, good cheer, and the smell of food. He let his eyes wander over the crowd, satisfied, and he saw here and there faces he recognized. Jane Banks, standing a little away with another woman, saw him and waved. Everyone seemed happy and there was an exuberant mood, but the only thing Bert could think of was Mary.

His thoughts were interrupted when suddenly someone jumped on his back. "Ello!"

"Do you 'ave to scare me like that, Lizzy!?"

"You didn't react to your name" She walked around him, tripping over herself. "So ... what is so distracting?"

Bert looked briefly at the 15-year-old. "Why should I be distracted?"

"Oh, I don't know ... Maybe because you walk past me and don't even 'ear your name" She gave him a good dose of sarcasm. "You miss your sweet'eart, right?"

"Are you drunk?" He tried to look indifferent, not to confirm her guess.

"Those from the bar don't pay much attention to their supply... But don't try t' change the subject now, Mr. Alfred! So... Am I right?"

"Lizzy..."

"Am I right!?"

"Yes you're right! Are you 'appy now?" He sat down on a nearby bench and sighed.

"Yeah, I'm... oh, a bird tweeted something to me."

"Oh come on."

"I'm serious." She sat down next to him. "I've heard that your sweetie finished her job and is in London today. To be specific here on the PP. "

"Lizzy, you clearly drunk... what's PP?"

"Park Party, of course! Or party park ... it depends. But that's unimportant. If you opened your eyes and didn't just walk around blindly, you would 'ave seen 'er."

He looked up at these words and let his eyes wander over the crowd again, and indeed. There she was: Mary Poppins. His heart started to race and he had to smile. But that smile faded when he saw that she was talking to some good-looking men in their mid-thirties, and Bert could see from their clothes that they had money.

Disappointed, he looked at his feet and kneaded his hands. Even if it did not suit him, he had no self-esteem at the moment and just felt bad. Of course, he would be happy for Mary if she found a man who made her happy and had no financial worries; but he would most like to be this man himself.

"Now go t' 'er!"

Bert sighed and rubbed his face. "I'd like but if you 'aven't noticed, she's not alone."

She jumped on the bench to see everything better. "And I don't want t' disturb... Also they're a better society than me... "

"What's wrong with you? You're never so depressed! Why should these blokes be better than you?"

"Well... they fit better with Mary. They look good, they're respectable... Plus, they 'ave more money and don't have to flip every coin three times."

"Oh Bert! You know as well as I do that Mary don't care 'ow much money someone 'as. They're idiots! The blonde 'ates me anyway, because I like to steal from 'is shop. Besides, it looks like the whole situation isn't too comfortable for Mary."

Bert jumped up instinctively to take a closer look at the scene. It was true! Mary seemed to want to disappear, but the men did not let her. He had been so blinded by his jealousy that he had not registered this crucial detail.

"Now go t' 'er... she's definitely waiting for 'er brave savior", Elizabeth said with a tired smile.

Bert took another deep breath and straightened his suit. "You stay 'ere and stop drinking!" He warned Elizabeth, before heading for Mary.

"Aye Aye Captain!"

When Bert was only a few feet away, he saw that Mary, standing with her back to him, politely tried to stop the conversation. But the men, a stocky brunette and a slender blond, were stubborn.

"I am not interested, thank you." Mary started to turn away as one grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer. "Are you sure?"

"I think she made 'er point clear... Or are you deaf?"

Surprised, the blond man let her go and Mary took a few steps back. It took a moment for him to answer. "Don't interfere! Our flower will certainly not have anything to do with someone like you."

"And how would you know anything about that?" Mary said, slightly snippy. "Come on Bert." At these words, he put an arm around her and both went in the other direction. When they were out of earshot, Mary took a deep breath. "Thank you... but I could have done it on my own."

"Sure, but maybe I just wanted t' ask you for a dance, Miss Poppins... may I?" He held out his hand, which she took with a smile.

"Of course," she continued the joke, letting herself pulled into his arms.

"I didn't know you were in London."

"I would have written you but it was very short term... and I thought I would find you here." The tempo was fast, which made it relatively stormy on the dance floor. However, the two were not distracted by it. Mary would never admit it openly, but she was glad that Bert came and helped her out of the strange situation. She could not stand it when people were drunk, even less could she stand it if one did not understand and accept no for 'no'. The song ended and a slower one followed, so gradually peace came. Bert put a hand on her waist while he took hers with the other one and smiled lovingly at her- Mary got a pleasant goose bump and smiled back.

"Glad that you're 'ere, Mary."

Gratitude was the feeling that was just spreading throughout her body. And oh how much she enjoyed spending the evening with him. It was like balm for the soul.

So they danced slowly and after a while Mary rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She could do this forever. When Bert noticed, he gently stroked her back and enjoyed the moment as well.

But a furious cry echoed through the air and they immediately stopped dancing.

"Wait 'ere ... I'll be right back" said Bert, who had a nervous feeling.

Bert left the park and walked to the place where he usually painted. There he saw four men, also the two who had just accosted Mary, all standing by Elizabeth. The stocky brunette pushed the girl against the fence.

"So you filthy thief ... That's the last warning! If you steal something from me again then you wish you were never born!" said the blonde. The brunette pushed her closer to the fence.

"An' what if I already wish that?"

She was pushed even harder at the fence and the man became angry. "I'm warning you!"

"You're warning me for the tenth time. Now-" But she did not get any further because the stocky one pressed her to the fence by the throat, and her breath disappeared. The blonde stood by, not wanting to get his hands dirty.

"Shut up, you scum!"

"Ey!" Bert shouted; he could no longer watch this.

The blond turned and met Bert. "Well, look who we have here. If's not our womanizer... Do you want to save the piece of dirt here as well?"

Bert stood up tall in front of the man, who was about half a head shorter than him. "You call 'er scum and filthy thief? 'Ave you looked at yourself? Fight with teens, let others do the dirty work but don't get your fingers dirty yourself. In my eyes you are the scum! So leave 'er alone!" Bert seethed with rage. "And look for someone who can defend himself!" The brunette threw Liz to the ground with a dirty grin.

"Someone like... you?"

"Bert," she coughed, "It's not worth it... Go away!"

"But…"

"GO AWAY!" As soon as she uttered the sentence, Bert was hit by the other two, who until now had only stood by. He fell to the ground before pulling himself up a moment later. He had a strange, metallic taste in his mouth and when he spat, he saw blood.

"You should listen to the street mutt. Get lost or you'll regret it... "

Elizabeth picked herself up and joined Bert, both of them not easily chased away.

When Bert was still not back after fifteen minutes, Mary decided to look for him. On the way to the gate, the nanny got a strange feeling and she felt uncomfortable ... as if something had happened. And as soon as she left the park, her suspicions were confirmed.

Here's the next chapter :) I hope you like it :D