"Ca-captain" Maria stuttered

"Maria! It's you! I can't believe it!" The Captain said happily.

"Yeah, it's me." Maria muttered, acting happy.

"Oh my goodness! Maria, how long have you been here in Bern?"

"Oh, about 3 months. You?"

"About a year. We have a little cottage on the outskirts of town."

"Oh, it sounds lovely." Maria said

The children came up to their father and started shouting "MARIA, MARIA!" They were so excited to see her. Maria had realized just how much she missed them, and how much they missed her. But mostly, she missed the Captain. But, what with the Baroness…

"Maria! You must come back for dinner with us!" Kurt said loudly.

"Yes, Maria. You really must." The Captain said.

"Well, I get off of work in about an hour." Maria stated.

"Okay. We'll finish shopping and meet you back here then." The Captain said and gathered the music to purchase. He bought them, and with one look back to Maria, who was shelving the music that fell to the floor earlier, he walked out the door.

Oh my goodness, Maria thought. She couldn't believe what had just happened. The Captain. The Children. They were here. She was going to dinner at their house! She didn't know if she would be able to do it, but she had to. She had to see those children and see how they were doing. She had missed out on so much. But seeing the Captain and the Baroness together-that would be inconceivably hard. She wasn't going to think about that now. She had her job to do.

The Captain was hardly able to concentrate on anything. Maria was there. She was coming to dinner. He wondered how she had come to stay here. Why she wasn't a nun. That was puzzling him. He would have to ask her. All he knew for sure was that he thanked God for bringing her here to this town, where he lived. He was bound to set things right. He was ecstatic. The children were so happy, they chattered the whole hour, nonstop.

The hour passed slowly. The children and the Captain made their way back to the music store. They walked in, and saw Maria cleaning up. She saw them, smiled slightly, and motioned she'd be one minute. She disappeared behind the door to the 'employee's only' room. She gathered her things and thought to herself, 'here we go'. And walked back into the main showroom. She went up and the children ran to her, nearly knocking her down. They hugged her so tightly, she thought her head was bound to pop off.

The Captain cleared his throat and the children stepped back, giving her some breathing room. He motioned for the children to walk out the door, then went over to Maria and said "I'm glad that you decided to come. It is lovely to see you again after all this time". They both walked out the door, and started the short walk back to the von Trapp house.

After a while of walking, the children spotted the house and ran for it, leaving the Captain and Maria alone. She was mentally bracing herself for seeing the house, and most of all, what was in that house.

Georg was playing with his hands, trying to distract himself from the many questions that would soon spill out of his mouth and create a truly awkward conversation. So he waited, zipping up his lips, until he sensed the right time. They came up to the gate.

"Oh, Captain. It's a lovely home!" Maria stated with a smile. "I almost like it more than the Villa!"

The Captain smiled. "Why, thank you. I quite like it myself, too."

He opened the gate for her, and she walked through. He walked through and closed the gate. They walked side by side up the pathway to the house, and walked in the front door to see the kids unpacking the groceries and getting things ready for dinner.

"I see you've got yourself a little system here, Captain." Maria said and laughed.

"Yes. I hardly do anything." The Captain said jokingly.

"Here, let me help." Maria said, setting her things down on the counter and walked over to the kitchen.
"Oh no, no, no." The Captain said and grabbed her arm. "Guests do not help." He said and smiled.

"Well, it's really no trouble at all, sir." She said formally.

"Let's get one thing straight. You will not call me Captain. I am no longer your employer. Alright? My name is Georg." He said, invitingly.
Maria just smiled.

"Oh kids," Maria thought, "Hurry up with that dinner."