The captain asked what Maria would like to drink. She simply replied "Scotch." The Captain who had his head down shot his head up and gave her a knowing glance. Maria knew she should not be drinking. This is actually her first real drink, besides some champagne she had a few years back. She knew she would regret it, but she NEEDED something to help get her through this night. To dull her feelings.
"So, Maria. What brought you to Bern?"
"Well, I lived in the city of Montmarte in Paris for about 6 months, but then I realized that I missed the hills and the feeling of…oh, how do I put this. Being welcome?" Maria laughed.
"That sounded so silly!" Maria took a sip of her drink, looking at her glass.
"No, not at all. I know exactly how you feel." Georg replied.
She looked up at him and smiled.
"So, not to be too forward, but Georg, do you mind if I asked why exactly you and the Baroness parted ways?" Maria said.
Georg furrowed his brow and sighed. "You see, Maria. It really was a combination of things. One of which included I simply was not in love with her. Later I found out that she hadn't been in love with me either."
Maria just nodded.
Before Georg could bit his words back, he blurted out, "One can not marry another when is he is-" He caught his words just in time.
Maria looked at him quizzically, "When he is what?"
"In love with the other." He bit back too quickly. Even Maria had noticed that.
Knowing it was time to change the subject, Maria asked Georg how he settled here.
"The exact same reason as you. I wanted the children to have the closest thing to a true Austrian childhood as possible. I felt that this was the best place to give that to them."
They simultaneously took a sip of their drinks. They looked at each other and laughed.
They sat there for a few minutes in silence watching the fire in the fireplace. Maria finished the last sip of her drink, and stood up to leave.
"Leaving so soon?" Georg said standing up, a wee bit too close to Maria.
Her breath caught in her throat. "Yea-Yes. It was late before we had our drinks. Now it's even later and I'm feeling tired. You should retire also; you look worn."
Georg simply reveled in the feel of the heat from her body emanating on his.
"Yes, I think I will retire also. I'll get the things together for you room." He set down his glass and put his hand on the small of her back, leading her out of the room. He walked out and closed the doors. They walked silently to the upstairs portion of the house. Georg stopped and opened a linen closet, taking out some extra blankets and pillows. He handed a pillow to Maria, and closed the door. They walked into the guest room and Maria closed the door behind her. Georg looked up at her, questioningly.
"To not wake the children." She said.
Georg started to fiddle around in the room, setting up the blankets and pillows. Maria walked over to the window and pulled back the floor length curtains. Her breath caught in her throat. Georg looked up and found her leaning against the window frame, looking out at the mountains in the distance.
He walked up behind her, craning his neck over her shoulder to look out the window himself. "Beautiful, aren't they?"
She turned her head and her nose brushed his cheek.
A simple "Yes." Was all she could manage out.
They just looked at each other, only mere inches away from each other. Georg could feel her hot breath on his face, wanting so much just to kiss her. She knew she shouldn't be doing this, having these kinds of thoughts, but she felt that she should just throw caution to the wind and kiss the man. They started to move closer together, their lips almost touching, when the door of the guest bedroom flung open, revealing little Gretl gripping her teddy beat tightly.