Chapter 15
The next day, Maria left the house to go invite Mary for lunch. When she arrived at her house, she rang the doorbell. Mary opened the door, and when she saw Maria on the steps of her house, she shrieked. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHH" She threw her arms around Maria and hugged her. Maria, overwhelmed, just hugged her back. When Mary pulled away, she said, "What are you doing here? I thought you had that job as a governess?" "Don't you remember?" Maria scolded, wagging her finger playfully. "I wanted to invite you over for lunch, but I had to ask the Captain first. He said it was ok. So, I was hoping you would be able to come." Maria finished, looking at Mary hopefully. Mary laughed. "Oh yeah! Silly me. With all the excitement, I forgot about that. I'd be delighted to go out for lunch." Maria clasped her hands in delight. "Oh wonderful! Let's go now!" Mary went in the house, got her things, and off they went. On the way there, they just caught up with each other's lives. By the time they arrived at the house, they were laughing so hard that the children could hear them a mile away. The children quickly went out to meet them. Maria saw them come in, and quickly introduced them to Mary. "Mary, I would like you to meet the children that I'm taking care of. Children, this is Mary, the friend that I told you about." "Pleased to meet you." Mary said, smiling kindly. The children felt at ease with her at once. Smiling, they said, "It's nice to meet you too." "Well, why don't we go inside? The Captain will probably be there already." Maria said, motioning for the children and Mary to follow her in the house and into the dining room. The Captain was sitting on the table, reading a newspaper. When he heard the sound of voices, he put his newspaper down, and waited for them all to come in. When they arrived, Maria, noticing the Captain, said, "Oh, Captain! I want you to meet a good friend of mine, Mary Poppins. Mary, this is my employer, Captain Von Trapp." Mary smiled, and extended her hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance." The Captain shook her hand and smiled back. "Likewise. Now, I'm not sure if you're hungry or not, but we usually have our lunch around this time. Is it ok to eat now?" Mary nodded, surprised that he asked such a question. "Fine with me" "Good!" Kurt grinned. "I'm starving!" Everybody laughed, except for Mary, not getting the joke. "Kurt is known for his big stomach. He is usually one of our biggest eaters." Maria explained. "Oh" Mary said, now understanding the joke. "Shall we eat now?" The Captain inquired. The children rushed to their seats. "I guess that answers the question." The Captain laughed. "Ladies," He gestured for them to take their seats. The two went to their seats, and sat down. Frau Schmidt had graciously provided them with an extra seat next to Maria. As the two ladies took their seats, Mary whispered in Maria's ear, "You never told me how handsome your employer was." The Captain said, "Shall we pray before we eat?" He bowed his head, as did the others, and he said a quick prayer. After they were done, Maria turned back to Mary. Shocked, Maria said, "You're not interested in him, are you?" Giggling, Mary said, "Maybe. Why not? I mean, he's very handsome, and polite." "But- he's a naval hero! Surely he's not your type!" Maria argued. "Fraulein Maria, can you help me cut my chicken?" Gretl asked politely. Maria turned to Gretl and smiled. "Of course, darling." She reached over to Gretl's plate, and took a knife and began to cut. Peeking back at Mary, she noticed how she was constantly looking at the Captain with a dreamy expression. The captain, thankfully, didn't seem to notice. Thankfully? What am I thinking? Why am I thankful that the Captain didn't notice? I don't like him! … Then why do I feel bad whenever I see Mary looking at the Captain that way? All these questions passed through Maria's mind as she finished cutting Gretl's chicken and turning to eat her own untouched food. She took a bite of her chicken, and looked around the table. The children were quietly talking while the Captain was just eating his meal in silence. He seemed to be thinking of something. His handsome face was creased as it appeared that he was thinking of something hard. Wait. Did I just say that he was HANDSOME? What is wrong with me? I don't like him! I don't like him… then why am I saying that he's handsome? I don't like it when he stares at me, but I notice how handsome he is. No- I don't like him. Maria shook the thought out of her head. She started eating again, but somehow she couldn't stop thinking about it. At the end of lunch, Maria thought that maybe if she kept herself busy, she wouldn't have time to think about it so she brought up the subject of taking the children on a picnic with Mary. The children agreed, as did Mary. But then she did something that was completely unbelievable. She turned to the Captain and asked, "Captain? Would you like to join us? I would like to get to know you better, as I do the children, but if you don't go, then I wouldn't be able to do that." She smiled at him sweetly. The Captain looked surprised and taken aback at the suggestion. "Well, I would like to come along, if it's ok with Fraulein Maria and the kids." He turned to the children and Maria. Fraulein Maria looked just as surprised as he did, but she quickly recovered and said, "Fine with me." The Captain smiled and turned to his children. "Of course it's alright!" His children exclaimed. Chuckling, Mary said, "Well then. I suppose we should all get going. I'm afraid that I'll have to go back after dinner tonight so we'll have to hurry." Everyone agreed and, after packing a couple of snacks and such, left for the mountains. On the way there, Maria and Mary took turns telling the Captain and the children about their old adventures at the mountains as children. They kept on laughing and laughing. Finally, they arrived at their destination. The children wanted to play tag, so they got their father playing as well. Maria and Mary decided not to play, and sat on the grass. Mary sighed and said, "You're lucky, Maria." Maria turned to Mary. "Why?" "Because you get to see the Captain everyday. I won't be able to." Mary said wistfully. Maria sighed. Again with the Captain. Can't she forget about him? "It's not always a good thing to see him everyday. You haven't seen him when he's upset." Maria replied, remembering the fight in front of the lake. "Well, still." Mary said. "I would want to see him upset, because then I'll know him. I hardly know anything about him." Maria sighed again and said, "Well, you can come again some other time right?" Mary brightened. "Of course! Thanks Maria. You're the best." She hugged Maria. Maria, feeling bad, hugged Mary back. She promised herself that she wouldn't feel anymore of those thoughts anymore. She didn't even know why she felt them, anyway.
That's a wrap up. Not too great for an ending… but hopefully you liked it! Read and Review please! Thank you