NOTE: the Getreidegasse really is the name of the shopping street in the
old centre of Salzburg. In the TV-special The Sound of Christmas, Julie
Andrews returns to Salzburg and she can be seen walking down a crowded
street - that's the Getreidegasse.
Chapter 4 - Nothing Else Matters
Friday came without further accidents or incidents. Maria had rounded up the children after lunch, and now the eight of them were walking down the Getreidegasse, the major shopping street in Salzburg.
With seven children and seven different interests, Maria found she needed eyes everywhere. Brigitta lingered behind, looking at the shop window of a large bookstore. Liesl had drifted to the other side of the street, where a well-known fashion store had a window full of lovely dresses. The little ones had been hard to get away from a toy store and the boys were fascinated by a shop with bikes and skis. Louisa just looked around in amusement, having a good time looking at all the people and taking in the sights and smells. Eventually, they managed to reach the large shop of the designer of Maria's wedding gown, without losing anybody. While the girls eagerly stumbled into the store, the boys stood looking at it with mixed emotions on their faces.
"You boys may run off across the street," Maria motioned with her head. "But back here in fifteen minutes, and not a second later!" Gladly, Friedrich and Kurt ran back in the direction of the sports shop. Maria shook her head watching them go, then turned around to step into the dress shop.
She found Gretl and Marta pleading with Frau Orbach, the shop owner, to show them Maria's gown. The lady was all smiles, but had managed to refuse their pleas so far. The other girls were wandering around, admiring the beautiful dresses and materials.
"Hello Frau Orbach," Maria greeted. "Good morning Maria, how are you? I have your shoes back here, they just arrived this morning." She walked towards a curtain, which closed off a section of the shop. "Shoes?" Marta asked surprised. She had hoped to see Maria try on her wedding gown. Maria knelt next to her. "Yes sweetheart. I have ordered white shoes to go with my wedding gown. And I don't want my feet to hurt when I wear them, so I'm going to walk in them at home a bit before the big day," she explained. "Aha," Marta nodded, looking at Maria as if this was the most serious thing she had ever heard. Then her face lit up with a smile. "So we will see at least a bit of what you will look like, Fraulein Maria," she declared happily. Maria smiled. "Yes. I think it will be quite all right for you all to know what my shoes look like." She couldn't suppress a grin.
Frau Orbach had returned with a shoebox in her hand, and mentioned to Maria to come over and try them on. Maria stood up. "Marta, Gretl, why don't you find Liesl and look around the shop a bit. I'll be right back." The girls nodded and walked into the shop, looking for their sisters.
The shoes were a perfect fit, so Maria was done quickly. She talked over a few details of her gown with Frau Orbach, and then called the girls together to get going. "Have you seen the boys return yet," she asked Louisa, who shook her head. "Can't we just stay a little longer, until they return," she asked with pleading eyes. "Sweetheart, we'll miss the bus. Come, let's see if the boys are outside waiting." Reluctantly, Liesl and Brigitta also pulled themselves away from the lace and ribbons they had been looking at. When they emerged outside, Maria just noticed the boys walking in their direction, talking vividly. "Oh, Fraulein Maria, we saw the most awesome bike," Friedrich told her excitedly. Kurt nodded, trying to add weight to Friedrich's words. "I'm going to ask father for one for my birthday!" he declared. Maria raised her eyebrows at him. "Your birthday is not for 6 months, Kurt! I'm sure you'll have thought of lots of other things by the time it's January." But Kurt shook his head fervently. "No, I want this bike, I'm sure of it," he declared seriously. "Well, we'll see by then," Maria told him. "All right, everybody here? Let's head for the bus stop, and no wondering off anybody, or we'll miss the bus."
They walked down the street, chattering nicely about everything they'd seen in the shops. Maria felt a small hand slide into hers and she looked sideways to see it was Marta. They smiled at each other, and for a little while Marta skipped happily next to Maria. After a few minutes, Marta opened her mouth. "Fraulein Maria," she asked, pulling Maria's hand a bit for extra attention. "There was a lady in the dress shop with us, who pointed at you and whispered to a man that you are Captain von Trapp's little whore." A frown formed in Marta's forehead. "She looked a bit like the baroness, that lady."
When Maria didn't say anything, Marta pulled her hand again. "Fraulein Maria, what does that word mean?"
Again, Maria didn't say anything, but Marta felt she stopped walking. She stopped to and looked up to her governess to see her staring ahead with a blank face. Maria's bright blue eyes shone with tears. "Fraulein Maria? What's the matter?" Maria seemed to come to her senses, blinked her eyes and looked down at Marta, forcing a smile around her lips.
"Oh, Marta, that was a nasty lady. That's a bad word, dear, and you shouldn't ever say that again." Marta nodded seriously. "All right. but why would she call you a bad word?"
Maria sighed. "I don't know sweetheart. I really don't know." She started walking again, to keep up with the others, and Marta practically had to jog along to keep up with her. When Maria remained walking in silence, Marta asked, "Are you angry with me, Fraulein Maria?" Maria squeezed her hand to reassure her. "Not with you dear, never. Come on, we're going home."
On the bus home, the children were all much too exited to notice how quiet Maria was. Only Brigitta looked at her with an investigative frown, but when Louisa asked her help to describe some kind of ribbon to Liesl, she too got swept into the chatter again.
By the time they arrived back at the villa, it was nearly time for dinner. Maria told the children to go upstairs and change, and she too disappeared to her room to freshen up.
At the dinner table, the children were still excited, and they gave their father and Max a detailed account of everything they'd seen in town. Kurt couldn't stop talking about 'his' new bicycle, and went on for so long that Georg eventually threatened not to buy him anything for his birthday at all if he didn't shut up right away. Liesl pleaded with her father for a new dress for the wedding. "Well of course dear, you will all get new clothes. Not that anybody will be looking at YOU," he quipped, and smiled at Maria.
She didn't answer his smile though. As a matter of fact, Georg wondered if she'd heard anything that had been said at the table at all. She had been awfully quiet this afternoon. When she felt him staring at her, she looked up quickly, and shot him an apologetic glance. Not wanting to confront his inquiring eyes, Maria let her eyes dart to the children and she took a bite of her mashed potatoes. Georg gave her a last look, then turned his attention back to Liesl. He was sure Maria was upset about something... But he would find out what it was after dinner.
During dessert, Maria fussed with her pudding, only moving it around her plate and not really eating. She was wondering how to tell Georg what happened. Of course she would have to tell him, she didn't doubt that, but as she saw Marta's innocent, inquiring face in front of her, she couldn't think of a way how. As soon as dinner was over, she quietly slipped out into the garden, trying to get a little more time to think. Georg noticed her, and decided to give her a few minutes to herself, before going after her.
Maria headed for the gazebo and sat down, her head resting in her hands. She heard the words in her head, over and over again. "Captain von Trapp's little whore.." ". his little governess is with child."
How could she marry Georg, if this was the opinion he would get in return for it? Obviously his reputation would be ruined, and it turned out that the children would not be spared, either. Marta hadn't realized the meaning of what she had heard, but what if it had been Louisa or Liesl? What kind of effect would these rumours have on them? She thought she could offer these children happiness, a new family life, but apparently all she had to offer them was gossip and loss of reputation.
She didn't notice that Georg quietly walked up to her. His heart sank as he saw her sitting, and he bit his lip when he noticed a tear running down her cheek, shimmering in the moonlight.
"Maria... " he whispered.
Startled, she got up. She turned her head away from him, wiping the tear away from her cheek. "Georg, I." she stumbled.
He walked up to her, sat down, and pulled her down next to him. "What is the matter, my love," he asked, as he put his arms around him.
"Oh Georg, I, today, oh, this is awful," Maria stuttered incomprehensibly, and not able to hold back her tears anymore, cried onto his shoulder. Georg just held her and let her sob for a while. He wondered what could be upsetting her so. Something more was wrong than just pre-wedding nerves, which had been his first guess.
When her sobs subsided, Maria managed to tell him what had happened that afternoon. "You should have seen Marta's face, Georg," she said sadly, "With those big eyes looking up at me and she asked what 'whore' meant."
She pulled back from his embrace and stood up, turning her back at him. She couldn't utter what she wanted to say next to his face. "I understand if you'd want to reconsider the wedding," she whispered so softly he almost didn't understand her.
Georg closed his eyes in a grimace of pain. So that was what had been bothering her. She'd felt guilty for doing damage to his reputation, so guilty even that she had been having doubts about whether he'd still want to marry her.
He stood up and walked up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist. She tried to step away from him but he didn't let her. "Maria." he whispered into her hair. "Don't you realise that I love you? I love you more than anything on this earth. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me." She shook her head. "But the children," she whispered.
"Them too!" Georg nodded his head fervently. "They love you and you love them. You gave them back their father and a normal life."
He turned her around to face him. "Maria.. " She saw the love in his eyes and pulled him close to her with a relieved sigh. "I'm sorry Georg," she said, holding him so close he almost couldn't breathe.
He guided her back to the bench and sat down, still holding her in his arms. "You silly little nun," he joked, rubbing her shoulders. She let out a small laugh, a bit watery still, but a laugh nonetheless.
"Still, I don't understand it,'' he mused. "I've seen you stand up to me, to seven impossible children, to your superiors in the convent. How come you let yourself get so upset over a couple of strangers?"
She shrugged. "Well, when you only have yourself to make a fool of, it's not so difficult to stand up. It's a lot different when your actions are hurting the people you love." Georg nodded his head in agreement. He'd thought as much. "Nothing you can do will ever hurt me," he said, and kissed her on her forehead. They sat in silence for a while, and Georg felt Maria calm down in his arms.
"Just one more thing," she finally said. "I, eh.. The veil of my wedding gown will be held in place by an ivy wreath. Do you think maybe I should not wear it?"
He looked at her in utter surprise.
"Well," she quickly tried to explain," As the whole city seems so sure about me being with child, don't you think wearing a symbol of virginity will be taken the wrong way? It might actually cause even more gossip." She looked away from him, her cheeks reddening slightly.
"Maria, I couldn't care less about these people. And I think an Ivy wreath would be beautiful on your head. Don't let the outside world upset you so.. Once we are married, they will soon find something else to talk about."
She nodded. Relieved to have gotten all of this off her chest, she leaned into him closely. 'I really do love you," she stated seriously. "And I you, Fraulein," he agreed.
He started trailing little butterfly kisses along her neck. His hands hugged her tighter to him and she moaned softly in enjoyment. Turning around to face him, her lips found his. She was so eager to kiss him, that he pulled back from her in laughter. "What," she asked, looking taken aback. He touched her on the tip of her nose. "Nothing, my dear Fraulein. just take it easy. You don't want to end up having a REAL reason for not wearing the ivy, do you?"
Maria turned a deep crimson and cast her eyes downward. Still, she couldn't hide a little smile. Georg laughed again and took her face between his hands. "You are adorable," he whispered at her. 'I love you." And just before losing himself to her kisses again, he added: "And nothing else matters."
~~ THE END ~~
Chapter 4 - Nothing Else Matters
Friday came without further accidents or incidents. Maria had rounded up the children after lunch, and now the eight of them were walking down the Getreidegasse, the major shopping street in Salzburg.
With seven children and seven different interests, Maria found she needed eyes everywhere. Brigitta lingered behind, looking at the shop window of a large bookstore. Liesl had drifted to the other side of the street, where a well-known fashion store had a window full of lovely dresses. The little ones had been hard to get away from a toy store and the boys were fascinated by a shop with bikes and skis. Louisa just looked around in amusement, having a good time looking at all the people and taking in the sights and smells. Eventually, they managed to reach the large shop of the designer of Maria's wedding gown, without losing anybody. While the girls eagerly stumbled into the store, the boys stood looking at it with mixed emotions on their faces.
"You boys may run off across the street," Maria motioned with her head. "But back here in fifteen minutes, and not a second later!" Gladly, Friedrich and Kurt ran back in the direction of the sports shop. Maria shook her head watching them go, then turned around to step into the dress shop.
She found Gretl and Marta pleading with Frau Orbach, the shop owner, to show them Maria's gown. The lady was all smiles, but had managed to refuse their pleas so far. The other girls were wandering around, admiring the beautiful dresses and materials.
"Hello Frau Orbach," Maria greeted. "Good morning Maria, how are you? I have your shoes back here, they just arrived this morning." She walked towards a curtain, which closed off a section of the shop. "Shoes?" Marta asked surprised. She had hoped to see Maria try on her wedding gown. Maria knelt next to her. "Yes sweetheart. I have ordered white shoes to go with my wedding gown. And I don't want my feet to hurt when I wear them, so I'm going to walk in them at home a bit before the big day," she explained. "Aha," Marta nodded, looking at Maria as if this was the most serious thing she had ever heard. Then her face lit up with a smile. "So we will see at least a bit of what you will look like, Fraulein Maria," she declared happily. Maria smiled. "Yes. I think it will be quite all right for you all to know what my shoes look like." She couldn't suppress a grin.
Frau Orbach had returned with a shoebox in her hand, and mentioned to Maria to come over and try them on. Maria stood up. "Marta, Gretl, why don't you find Liesl and look around the shop a bit. I'll be right back." The girls nodded and walked into the shop, looking for their sisters.
The shoes were a perfect fit, so Maria was done quickly. She talked over a few details of her gown with Frau Orbach, and then called the girls together to get going. "Have you seen the boys return yet," she asked Louisa, who shook her head. "Can't we just stay a little longer, until they return," she asked with pleading eyes. "Sweetheart, we'll miss the bus. Come, let's see if the boys are outside waiting." Reluctantly, Liesl and Brigitta also pulled themselves away from the lace and ribbons they had been looking at. When they emerged outside, Maria just noticed the boys walking in their direction, talking vividly. "Oh, Fraulein Maria, we saw the most awesome bike," Friedrich told her excitedly. Kurt nodded, trying to add weight to Friedrich's words. "I'm going to ask father for one for my birthday!" he declared. Maria raised her eyebrows at him. "Your birthday is not for 6 months, Kurt! I'm sure you'll have thought of lots of other things by the time it's January." But Kurt shook his head fervently. "No, I want this bike, I'm sure of it," he declared seriously. "Well, we'll see by then," Maria told him. "All right, everybody here? Let's head for the bus stop, and no wondering off anybody, or we'll miss the bus."
They walked down the street, chattering nicely about everything they'd seen in the shops. Maria felt a small hand slide into hers and she looked sideways to see it was Marta. They smiled at each other, and for a little while Marta skipped happily next to Maria. After a few minutes, Marta opened her mouth. "Fraulein Maria," she asked, pulling Maria's hand a bit for extra attention. "There was a lady in the dress shop with us, who pointed at you and whispered to a man that you are Captain von Trapp's little whore." A frown formed in Marta's forehead. "She looked a bit like the baroness, that lady."
When Maria didn't say anything, Marta pulled her hand again. "Fraulein Maria, what does that word mean?"
Again, Maria didn't say anything, but Marta felt she stopped walking. She stopped to and looked up to her governess to see her staring ahead with a blank face. Maria's bright blue eyes shone with tears. "Fraulein Maria? What's the matter?" Maria seemed to come to her senses, blinked her eyes and looked down at Marta, forcing a smile around her lips.
"Oh, Marta, that was a nasty lady. That's a bad word, dear, and you shouldn't ever say that again." Marta nodded seriously. "All right. but why would she call you a bad word?"
Maria sighed. "I don't know sweetheart. I really don't know." She started walking again, to keep up with the others, and Marta practically had to jog along to keep up with her. When Maria remained walking in silence, Marta asked, "Are you angry with me, Fraulein Maria?" Maria squeezed her hand to reassure her. "Not with you dear, never. Come on, we're going home."
On the bus home, the children were all much too exited to notice how quiet Maria was. Only Brigitta looked at her with an investigative frown, but when Louisa asked her help to describe some kind of ribbon to Liesl, she too got swept into the chatter again.
By the time they arrived back at the villa, it was nearly time for dinner. Maria told the children to go upstairs and change, and she too disappeared to her room to freshen up.
At the dinner table, the children were still excited, and they gave their father and Max a detailed account of everything they'd seen in town. Kurt couldn't stop talking about 'his' new bicycle, and went on for so long that Georg eventually threatened not to buy him anything for his birthday at all if he didn't shut up right away. Liesl pleaded with her father for a new dress for the wedding. "Well of course dear, you will all get new clothes. Not that anybody will be looking at YOU," he quipped, and smiled at Maria.
She didn't answer his smile though. As a matter of fact, Georg wondered if she'd heard anything that had been said at the table at all. She had been awfully quiet this afternoon. When she felt him staring at her, she looked up quickly, and shot him an apologetic glance. Not wanting to confront his inquiring eyes, Maria let her eyes dart to the children and she took a bite of her mashed potatoes. Georg gave her a last look, then turned his attention back to Liesl. He was sure Maria was upset about something... But he would find out what it was after dinner.
During dessert, Maria fussed with her pudding, only moving it around her plate and not really eating. She was wondering how to tell Georg what happened. Of course she would have to tell him, she didn't doubt that, but as she saw Marta's innocent, inquiring face in front of her, she couldn't think of a way how. As soon as dinner was over, she quietly slipped out into the garden, trying to get a little more time to think. Georg noticed her, and decided to give her a few minutes to herself, before going after her.
Maria headed for the gazebo and sat down, her head resting in her hands. She heard the words in her head, over and over again. "Captain von Trapp's little whore.." ". his little governess is with child."
How could she marry Georg, if this was the opinion he would get in return for it? Obviously his reputation would be ruined, and it turned out that the children would not be spared, either. Marta hadn't realized the meaning of what she had heard, but what if it had been Louisa or Liesl? What kind of effect would these rumours have on them? She thought she could offer these children happiness, a new family life, but apparently all she had to offer them was gossip and loss of reputation.
She didn't notice that Georg quietly walked up to her. His heart sank as he saw her sitting, and he bit his lip when he noticed a tear running down her cheek, shimmering in the moonlight.
"Maria... " he whispered.
Startled, she got up. She turned her head away from him, wiping the tear away from her cheek. "Georg, I." she stumbled.
He walked up to her, sat down, and pulled her down next to him. "What is the matter, my love," he asked, as he put his arms around him.
"Oh Georg, I, today, oh, this is awful," Maria stuttered incomprehensibly, and not able to hold back her tears anymore, cried onto his shoulder. Georg just held her and let her sob for a while. He wondered what could be upsetting her so. Something more was wrong than just pre-wedding nerves, which had been his first guess.
When her sobs subsided, Maria managed to tell him what had happened that afternoon. "You should have seen Marta's face, Georg," she said sadly, "With those big eyes looking up at me and she asked what 'whore' meant."
She pulled back from his embrace and stood up, turning her back at him. She couldn't utter what she wanted to say next to his face. "I understand if you'd want to reconsider the wedding," she whispered so softly he almost didn't understand her.
Georg closed his eyes in a grimace of pain. So that was what had been bothering her. She'd felt guilty for doing damage to his reputation, so guilty even that she had been having doubts about whether he'd still want to marry her.
He stood up and walked up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist. She tried to step away from him but he didn't let her. "Maria." he whispered into her hair. "Don't you realise that I love you? I love you more than anything on this earth. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me." She shook her head. "But the children," she whispered.
"Them too!" Georg nodded his head fervently. "They love you and you love them. You gave them back their father and a normal life."
He turned her around to face him. "Maria.. " She saw the love in his eyes and pulled him close to her with a relieved sigh. "I'm sorry Georg," she said, holding him so close he almost couldn't breathe.
He guided her back to the bench and sat down, still holding her in his arms. "You silly little nun," he joked, rubbing her shoulders. She let out a small laugh, a bit watery still, but a laugh nonetheless.
"Still, I don't understand it,'' he mused. "I've seen you stand up to me, to seven impossible children, to your superiors in the convent. How come you let yourself get so upset over a couple of strangers?"
She shrugged. "Well, when you only have yourself to make a fool of, it's not so difficult to stand up. It's a lot different when your actions are hurting the people you love." Georg nodded his head in agreement. He'd thought as much. "Nothing you can do will ever hurt me," he said, and kissed her on her forehead. They sat in silence for a while, and Georg felt Maria calm down in his arms.
"Just one more thing," she finally said. "I, eh.. The veil of my wedding gown will be held in place by an ivy wreath. Do you think maybe I should not wear it?"
He looked at her in utter surprise.
"Well," she quickly tried to explain," As the whole city seems so sure about me being with child, don't you think wearing a symbol of virginity will be taken the wrong way? It might actually cause even more gossip." She looked away from him, her cheeks reddening slightly.
"Maria, I couldn't care less about these people. And I think an Ivy wreath would be beautiful on your head. Don't let the outside world upset you so.. Once we are married, they will soon find something else to talk about."
She nodded. Relieved to have gotten all of this off her chest, she leaned into him closely. 'I really do love you," she stated seriously. "And I you, Fraulein," he agreed.
He started trailing little butterfly kisses along her neck. His hands hugged her tighter to him and she moaned softly in enjoyment. Turning around to face him, her lips found his. She was so eager to kiss him, that he pulled back from her in laughter. "What," she asked, looking taken aback. He touched her on the tip of her nose. "Nothing, my dear Fraulein. just take it easy. You don't want to end up having a REAL reason for not wearing the ivy, do you?"
Maria turned a deep crimson and cast her eyes downward. Still, she couldn't hide a little smile. Georg laughed again and took her face between his hands. "You are adorable," he whispered at her. 'I love you." And just before losing himself to her kisses again, he added: "And nothing else matters."
~~ THE END ~~