Chapter 2

Pieces

            The children simply sat there in stunned silence.  Their father read Maria's letter one time, and one time only.  They knew that was it; he would not read it again.   That had been ten minutes ago, and none of the von Trapp children had budged an inch. 

Their father mirrored their stoic stance; he had not moved since uttering the phrase, Love Maria.  He knew this would be a devastating blow to the children, and he decided to channel all his energy to helping them.

He couldn't even be upset with Maria.  She was wrong to leave without saying good-bye, he knew in his head.  Yet, he couldn't be angry with her.  He didn't think he could feel anything negative towards her.  Maria and "negative" didn't belong together.

            A stifled sob broke into his thoughts and he snapped his head up to see Louisa wiping her eyes.  The site of his most enigmatic and dispassionate child moved to tears forced him to sit down.  He had to be strong for them.  They were afraid Maria's departure would send him into years of emotional isolation again.  He had to quench that fear before it was too late.

            "Children," he began, and they all silently looked up at him.  He wasn't surprised to see six other pairs of eyes bright with tears, shed or not.  "Fraulein Maria's letter states that she loves all of you, and deeply regrets having to leave in the manner in which she did.  She would want you to continue to be happy, to always smile.  She would not want you to cry."

            "I miss her," Marta squeaked. 

            Georg rose and went over to his seven-year old. He hugged her gently. "And she misses you.  She misses all of us."

            "Why then -"

            "She said why," Friedrich interrupted her, not wanting to upset his father.  "She said she missed the Abbey more."

            Georg was silent.  That's basically what the letter had said.  She missed her life too much, felt that she had accomplished what she had been sent to the villa to do, and that she needed to move onto the next chapter in her life.

            So why didn't he believe it?  From the looks on his children's faces, they didn't either.

            "I want to go see her," Kurt started, looking determined.

            "No," his father said firmly.  "You are not to try to see her.  She wishes you all to move on, to use the lessons she has taught you and to go forward, just as she has done."

            His children did not look like they believed him.

            "It would have been better if she said good-bye herself," Kurt insisted, looking stubborn.

            "Yes, it would have, but she must have felt differently," Georg reasoned.  "Maybe it was easier for her."

"This stinks," Louisa exclaimed as she flopped herself on her bed. She did not care if it was un-ladylike.  She stubbornly threw a pillow across the room, also un-ladylike.

The projectile barely missed her elder sister as she walked in. Liesl picked it up and threw it back at her.  "Yes, it certainly does."

            The rest of the von Trapp children followed the eldest into the bedroom occupied by Louisa and Brigitta.  The latter sat delicately on her bed, deep in thought.

            "Father isn't happy about this," she said, stroking her hair.  "Did you see his face as he read the letter?  He's miserable."

            "He should join the club," Fredrich declared as he dropped to the floor.  "How could she just leave us?"

            "I want to be mad at her, but I can't," Kurt mumbled.  "Is that wrong?"

            "No, I feel the same way," Liesl said.  "It's like she was never here, but there's this emptiness already."        

            "Do you think Father will be like he was before she came?" Gretl asked with worried eyes.

            Liesl walked over to her youngest sibling, who was sitting on the bed, next to the lounging Louisa.  "No, Gretl, I don't think so."  She gave her a little squeeze. "I don't think he'll ever be like that again." 

            Her tone convinced all of them, herself too, that this was true.  They looked a little happier.

"She was so happy last night," Louisa insisted.  "She was laughing at dinner and danced with Father."

            Brigitta opened her mouth to offer an observation about that, but quickly shut it.  She wasn't sure if she should trust what she thought she saw, being ten years old.

            "It's too bad the Baroness walked in right before they finished," Kurt said.

            "Yeah," Gretl joined in. "They looked like they were going to kiss."

            Liesl and Brigitta exchanged glances, and Louisa sat straight up.  Apparently, all three had the same thought.  Their eyes widened as they looked at each other, coming to the same conclusion.

            "They always look like that," Marta added.

            "Like what?" Friedrich asked, trying to unscrew the head off of one of Brigitta's dolls, in an attempt to distract himself.

            "She's right," Brigitta said slowly.  "There have been other times."

            "I thought it was just me hoping they would," Louisa whispered.

            "Would what?" Friedrich asked, giving Brigitta a scowl as she snatched her doll away from him. He looked at his brother, who shrugged.

            The three girls fell silent, not really knowing how to put what they saw into words.

            "Do you think they might be in love?" Brigitta finally asked, looking at Liesl.

            This the boys did understand.  Their sisters dragged them to enough of those silly girlie movies to know what love looked like, at least in the movies.

            "I don't know," Liesl began slowly.  She hardly knew what love was herself.  She thought she knew with Rolf, but he had been absent for weeks, ever since they had met in town right after Father left.

            "They have to be," Louisa insisted.  "Remember that night, a week ago?  It was right after the puppet show, and Father sang Edelweiss for us?  He looked at Fraulein Maria.  Not the Baroness, not Uncle Max, not any of us.  He was looking right at her."

            "And don't forget the other day, when we were having a picnic on the back lawn!" Brigitta added her face brightening as the memories came to her.  "They were sitting next to each other, and their hands were so close-"

            "And then when we walked in the woods later," Gretl chimed in.

            "What about it?" Louisa asked.

            "Fraulein Maria tripped and Father caught her?" Gretl explained.

            "That's right!" Kurt exclaimed feeling excited.

            Louisa continued, "He could have set her right and released her-"

            "But he didn't," Liesl finished, looking calmly at her sister.  "They stayed like that for about a minute."

            "It was TEN minutes," Gretl corrected.

            "Don't be stupid," Friedrich scoffed, pulling himself up to look for something else to dismantle.  Not finding anything, he sat down next to Brigitta. "It was a minute, if that."

            "Whatever," Kurt said, shrugging.  "Where was the Baroness for all that? I don't remember her dancing."

            "Are you kidding?" Louisa said with obvious scorn.  "She wouldn't want to scoff her expensive shoes!"

            "Louisa, be nice," Friedrich admonished, half mockingly.  "I don't remember her there at all."

            "She went shopping with Uncle Max," Marta remembered aloud.

            The conversation fell silent.  The von Trapp children had reached a conclusion, but had no idea what to do from there.

            "But why would falling in love make Fraulein Maria want to leave?" Friedrich asked. "Don't you think she would be happy?"

            "It must have scared her," Brigitta offered.

            "Falling in love is scary?" Gretl asked, clearly confused.

            The others fell silent, as puzzled as she was.