~*Chapter 5*~

Maria ran into the house when she heard the sound of the phone. Still holding little Johannes in her arms, she reached for the receiver.

"Do you have any news?" she asked immediately, knowing it was Liesl.

"No. He seems to have vanished." Her oldest daughter sighed. "Has Friedrich already phoned you? Does he have any news about father?"

Maria shook her head. "He called last evening, but he hasn't found out anything either."

"But he must be somewhere!"

"I'm sure you'll find him, Liesl."

"Not even his wife knows where he is. Or should I say ex-wife?"

Maria hold her breath. "Ex-Wife?"

Liesl answered in the affirmative. "They divorced after the war. She confirmed the story he told you. At least he never left you because of her."

"Liesl, you shouldn't talk of him like that. He only wanted your safety."

"Really? Well – if you ask me, there would have been other ways."

"But you know he never intended to hurt you. Look at Europe, at all the bombed out towns, all the deaths and the misery and tell me you're not happy that you weren't there. That you were safe."

"Of course I'm glad that you brought us out of Europe. You, Mother. Not Father."

"But I never would have done so, if he hadn't told me."

"He lied to us! We've been there at his wedding, we've been around him for some days. He could have told us. Didn't he trust us? We wouldn't have told anybody."

"Liesl, please, can't you just forget what has happened?"

"Could you ever, Mother?"

Maria twitched. Liesl had touched her sore spot. "That's something different." she said quietly.

"It is not. You know it isn't." Liesl retorted, not understanding how Maria could look at her Father's behaviour from two different points of view. She knew that her Father had hurt Maria deeply – still she always sheltered him from the blame of his children.

~*~*~*~

Georg had lost the track of the time. He had no idea how long he had been staring at the house; he only knew he had to see her, even if he would risk bumping into her new husband. He realized it would not make any sense to put off their meeting. He wanted to see his children and as she was their Mother, it was inevitable to see her again.

~*~*~*~

Silently, Maria closed the door behind herself. Johannes had finally fallen asleep and she still had to look after the clothes.

"Hello, Maria."

Maria took a step back. "Georg?" she asked, unbelievingly.

He nodded.

"But – we thought – we've been searching for you" she stammered.

Her words relieved him. "You were?"

"The children, yes."

"The children...."Georg said lovingly "How are they?"

"Fine. They became wonderful people." The whole situation made Maria feel uneasy. She did not know what to say to him after all this years, although she had imagined it so often. Therefore, she just looked at Georg for a few moments, finally asking him to come in.

They did not talk to each other, while Maria made some tea, they didn't talk to each other while they sat at the table of the kitchen, both stirring their tea thoughtfully. Neither of them knew what to say, although there were so many things occupying them, so many questions running through their minds and both were truly thankful when the sound of a crying baby broke the silence.

"I'm sorry." Maria said after she returned. "He's teething."

"No problem. I remember how –"Georg stopped.

"How?" Maria asked softly.

"How the children were getting their first teeth." He sipped at his tea. "You must be very proud of him."

"Yes." Maria smiled, suddenly realizing that she hadn't told Georg of Johannes yet.

"Your husband –"

"He's your –"

They said at the same time.

Maria looked confused at Georg. "My husband?"

"Yes. I suppose he's a very lucky guy." Georg stammered.

"My husband?" Suddenly Maria could not help laughing, for a moment forgetting all the things that had been bothering her. "Oh Georg, I'm not married."

"You're, you're not?" Surprised he looked at her and the expression on his face made her laugh even harder. "But the, the baby."

Maria gasped for breath. "I'm sorry, I just –"she wiped a tear out of her eye. "I'm not his mother, Georg. He is my – your – he's our grandson."

"My grandson? You mean I'm, I'm a –"

"Grandfather, yes." Maria nodded.

"But who?"

"Johannes is Liesl's son. She married two years before."

"But she's still a child."

"She's 24 years old Georg. She certainly isn't a child anymore." Her words made both of them hold their breath, realizing how much time had gone by, how much Georg had missed.

"What about the others?" he asked quietly.

"They, they're doing really well. The little ones are still going to the school and Friedrich is studying medicine. He has a wonderful fiancée, too. And Louisa, she's doing a pretty good job as nursery-school teacher." Maria swallowed. She could have told him so much, so many wonderful stories about his children. However, her voice refused to.

"Are they mad at me?"

Maria shook her head. "They've been sad, disappointed. Maybe angry, but never mad. Do you think they would be searching for you if they were?"

"I don't know." Georg shook his head sadly. "I don't know if it was right or wrong to leave you all like this."

"You wanted them in safety. There's nothing wrong about it. Parents want to know that their children are safe."

Georg glanced at Maria "What about you?"

"Me?" she whispered.

"Yes. Are you mad at me?"

"I can't answer this question simply. I – I would have done everything for you Georg, I trusted you blindly. For the first time in my life, I felt complete – and in one second I lost everything. When Zeller took you to Bremerhaven, I felt lost, but I still carried on – for the children, for you. From one moment to the next, without any sign you left me, you took the children away from me. You could have murdered me and it would not have made any difference. However, after you came to me that night, I understood why you had done it. I did what you told me, because all this –"she stopped, tears glittering in her eyes. "- it shouldn't be in vain." She whispered. "To say the truth, Georg, yes, sometimes I really hated you. And even worse, I never stopped loving you." Maria reached for some of the dishes, quickly bringing them into the kitchen, where she started washing them, her tears mingling with the dishwater.

~*~*~*~

Maria's words echoed in his head. Georg couldn't move nor put his thoughts in order. He didn't know what he had expected. He had hoped that they maybe would get a second chance, yes, but Maria's soft words had hurt him more than any insults ever could.

To be continued

**ATN: Thanks for all your kind reviews..keep reviewing, LOL.*** Hugs to my two awesome Betas!***