Okay folks, here is the very last chapter. I have to sing 'My Favorite Things' right now because I'm feeling sad...single tear...
Marauder1, cremated affection, and stoneygem thank you so much for being my loyal readers! (And Megan too) I really appreciate it. Thanks to everyone else who reviewed too! I hope I've entertained you and done justice to the classic TSOM characters!
Before you read the last chapter I just wanted to mention, because I forgot earlier, that I think Eleanor Parker who plays the Baroness is a fantastic actress and so underrated (it goes without saying I think Julie Andrews is fantastic too). If you haven't seen 'The Naked Jungle' with Parker and Charlton Heston you should go rent it right now! With that said, enjoy the ending of Second Chances!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Sound of Music, Maria, Georg, the Baroness, the real von Trapp's or any of the other brilliant Rogers and Hammerstein characters.
Maria:
"I can't say I'm shocked Elsa," Liesl said. Maria nodded in agreement. Both she and her daughter knew of Andre's intentions from the beginning. Elsa took a sip of her tea as she watched Katrina and Richard play on the terrace.
"It's a surprise to me," Elsa told them.
Maria sighed and looked at her daughter. The two of them had given up hope on Charles' safe return long ago. Maria admired Elsa for holding on to the memory of her husband, for the von Trapp's missed him too, but Maria did not want to see her friend give up happiness for a memory.
"Andre is a good man," Liesl said, "And he likes your children."
"I know, Liesl," Elsa sadly replied, "But tell me, if either of your husbands died, would you remarry?"
Maria exchanged a guilty glance with Liesl. Liesl scooted forward in her chair and lifted her chin.
"Yes, I think I would," Liesl said, "But you can't know until you're put in that situation, which I hope I never am."
"You're young," Elsa reasoned and turned her glance on Maria.
"I wouldn't remarry," Maria replied slowly, "but as Liesl says you can't know until you're faced with the situation."
Elsa sighed and stood up. Maria could tell she had received little sleep the past week since she had been contemplating how to answer Andre.
"Elsa," Maria asked softly, "what does your heart tell you? I found that listening to your heart is always the best way to make decisions."
Elsa looked down for a moment and when she brought her eyes back up to meet Maria there was something in them Maria had never seen before. A stern unshakable determination and wisdom danced in Elsa's eyes.
"My heart tells me Charles is still alive," Elsa said. Liesl turned her head in surprise at Elsa's words but Maria merely nodded.
"Then," Maria replied, "You have your answer."
"Telling him will not be easy," Elsa mused, "And if people ever talked about me before, hah, this will send them through the roof."
Elsa:
Another week passed before Elsa sent for Andre to give him an answer. When she came upon him in the foyer he was waiting patiently, confidence emanating from his being. He was proud like Charles, but in a different way. He had probably never experienced the type of rejection that Elsa was about to give him. When Charles proposed he had expected a rejection, Elsa thought with a smile, Andre was expecting anything but rejection.
"Elsa," he said when he saw her, "How lovely you look today." He kissed Elsa lightly on the cheek and she led him to the den. She gestured for him to sit on the sofa and took a deep breath before giving him the bad news.
"I am sorry, Andre," Elsa said delicately. Andre looked angry, dejected and resigned all at the same time. He dropped his head and didn't look at her.
"It's funny really," Elsa began, trying to ease Andre's injured pride, "You are everything I ever thought I wanted in a husband. You're handsome, rich, charming and marrying you would make me the envy of every woman of rank in Europe."
When Andre still did not look up at her she sat next to him on the sofa.
"Then why not marry me?" He asked, although his eyes where on the ground.
"Those are all the wrong reasons, Andre. I just don't love you and I think, after you've had time to reflect, you'll discover you never really loved me either," Elsa explained, her voice gentle. Abruptly Andre took Elsa's hands and finally made eye contact with her.
"How can you say that Elsa? I am desperate with love for you," he said through his French accent. Elsa lifted an eyebrow with skepticism.
"You are desperate to marry someone that would fit into your world, that isn't me anymore," Elsa replied. Andre let go of Elsa's hands.
"I can see I'm wasting my breath," he said with anger in his tone. Elsa watched him pace the floor and he became more outraged with each step.
"I will tell you something. A cold and empty memory of a past love will not bring you comfort on cold and empty nights nor will it be a father figure to your children," Andre said his voice cold and harsh. Elsa straightened her back.
"That," Elsa said as she rose led Andre to the door, "is my concern, not yours."
When they reached the door Andre pressed his lips to her hand; "I suppose you'll be my empty memory now. I will cherish it always. Goodbye foolish Elsa Schraeder Jackson, woman who throws away happiness with both hands."
He turned and walked out of the house. Elsa felt a single tear work its way down her cheek. She was not sad Andre was going, nor was she broken hearted at his departure. She let the tear fall because the children would now be fatherless due to her own selfish stubbornness. Her only consolation was that Richard and Armina had a large family, even if it had no father. They had two grandmothers, Rosalind and Doreen, two aunts, Maria and Liesl, an Uncle Max, an Uncle Georg and an Uncle Jeof, and a number of cousins by the name of von Trapp. Elsa was amazed that her children could be surrounded by so much family when Elsa had started with an empty house only five years ago.
Andre was wrong about Elsa being lonely. She would always have the people she now considered her family, although, she had to admit the loneliness did get to her. Andre did not take her out anymore and as full as her life was she missed Charles with a sharp pain she thought would never fade.
Only a few moments after Andre left did Doreen enter the living room, where Elsa was standing near the French doors looking out into the sun.
"Was that the French kanoodler that just left?" Doreen asked. Elsa was not sure what 'kanoodler' meant but she was sure it was a derogatory American term for a man who sweet talks women.
Elsa nodded and inhaled deeply as she let the bright rays of the sun soak in through the white curtains. Doree'sn tiny hard legs stepped closer to Elsa and she leisurely sat on the arm of the sofa the way Charles often had.
"He won't be coming back will he?" Doreen asked, her voice nearly hinting at amusement. Elsa simply shook her head slowly from side to side and continued to look out the window. Meeting the disapproving gaze of mother of Charles Jackson was not something Elsa could bring herself to face at that moment.
"I'm surprised at you," Doreen began, "Why not marry him? I assume he asked you."
Elsa let the curtains fall back against the window. She felt composed enough now to look at Doreen but she dared not speech for fear of hearing the hard edged words of her mother-in-law. Elsa studied Doreen's expressionless face before she lowered her eyes and began to leave the room. Just before Elsa reached the threshold of the living room, Doreen spoke again.
"You think my son is still alive, don't you?" Doreen asked, although her tone made the statement sound like a well known fact. Elsa inhaled and for the first time lost her temper as she turned to face Charles' mother.
"Yes, I think he's still alive. Why not call me foolish, and selfish, and…and an unfit mother to allow my children to grow up without a father figure? Since you've been here I've tried to be kind to you, I've tired to get along with you and show you that Charles means more to me than…" Elsa trailed off as she felt a hard lump in her throat. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of Doreen.
"I'm sorry I can never entirely meet with your approval, but I am who I am, and like it or not your son loves me and no amount of torture or disapproval from you is going to change that," Elsa finished.
Elsa nearly fainted when Doreen reacted to her words with a pleased smile. Doreen rose from the chair, walked over to Elsa and put her callused, hard hands on Elsa's arm.
"I know he's alive, too, and I know he will come back to you," Doreen said, her voice softer than Elsa had ever heard it. The words pushed the tears Elsa was fighting back over and she quickly turned her head away from Doreen. To Elsa's great surprise Doreen hugged her tightly and then quickly exited the room.
Despite the comfort that Doreen offered Elsa in the following weeks, the Baroness could not get out from under the dark cloud that constantly hung in her thoughts. What if Charles was dead? He had been gone for three years. The tiny glimmer of hope Elsa held onto was being engulfed by darkness with each passing day.
Aunt Rosalind, nearing her seventy ninth birthday, picked up on Elsa damped spirits. The von Trapp's had journeyed to the plantation to spend the day. The entire family had left for a hike except Rosalind, Doreen, Liesl and Elsa who stayed home to watch Katrina and Richard.
"I do pity you my dear girl," Rosalind said, causing both Elsa and Liesl to look up from their work. Liesl was working on the decorations for the hospital bizarre while Elsa was working to figure out the different booth arrangements.
"My Richard died when I was sixty nine, and I had forty eight good years with him. You are too young to end up an old widow like me. Of course, you are a bit more attractive than I was when I lost my husband, but not by much mind you," Rosalind explained. Elsa smirked and looked over at Liesl who was trying not to laugh.
"Thank you," Elsa said flatly.
"Don't mention it," Rosalind replied. At this Liesl did giggle and somewhere in the background Elsa heard the doorbell ring.
"Do you think they are back from the picnic already?" Liesl asked.
Elsa gave her an unsure look and refocused her attention on the booth map. Rosalind dosed off in the chair and Liesl and Doreen began a discussion as each worked on a part of the decorations. Elsa thought she saw someone walk up to the doorway.
"Who's that?" she heard Katrina asked Richard. After finishing the last row of booth's she looked up.
There in the doorway was Charles Jackson. He was leaning casually against the doorframe intently watching Richard and Katrina playing on the floor. For a moment Elsa thought she had lost her mind. She was seeing ghosts and imagining things. Charles brought his gaze from the children to rest on Elsa. She tried to catch her breath but she was afraid if she moved or breathed Charles would disappear.
"He's beautiful, seems he got your looks after all," Charles said. Rosalind snapped awake so fast that little Princess on her lap yelped and landed with a splat on the floor. Liesl and Doreen both snapped their heads over their shoulders toward the doorway.
"Charles," Elsa said barely above a whisper.
She got to her feet and before she could move any further Charles had closed the gap between them. Elsa was in his arms once again, being showered with kisses as tears flowed. The Baroness didn't care if she was making a spectacle of herself, her husband was alive and home.
"Don't you ever leave me like that again," Elsa cried into Charles' shoulder.
"We have a son," he replied softly.
"And a daughter," Elsa added as she pulled away from Charles. She felt his face between her hands to make sure he was real.
"I know," he answered.
"You know, how do you know?" Elsa asked, regaining some of her composure and brushing her tears away. Charles grabbed her hands and kissed them before he turned to Aunt Rose.
"Rosalind I'm so glad to see you," he said and kissed her cheek all the while not letting go of Elsa's hand. Elsa was glad he held onto her she still could not believe he was real.
"I kept an eye on her just like you said," Rosalind replied, her thin lips stretching into the biggest smile Elsa and ever seen her give. Charles bowed.
"My compliments on a fine job," he said.
Liesl jumped up from the table and threw her arms around Charles.
"Liesl, hello," he said. He laughed and Liesl did too. Liesl sat down again and Elsa watched Charles' reaction as he saw his mother for the first time.
"Hello son," Doreen said in that familiar flat sarcastic nasal tone. Doreen no longer fooled Elsa, for the Baroness saw the tears filling her mother-in-law's eyes. Charles said nothing but released Elsa's hand and walked over to his mother. They looked at each other for a few long moments.
"I'm so glad you're alive," Doreen said, her voice nearly cracking. Charles' huge arms encompassed his tiny mother and there was not a dry eye among the woman in the house. Even Rosalind quickly put a handkerchief to brush something away.
"I got something in my eye," Rose insisted when Elsa looked at her with a knowing smile.
Charles released his mother.
"My boy," Doreen said as she put a hand to her son's cheek, "I was a stubborn old cow, and I'm sorry for it. I never thought I could like your wife as much as I do now. These last years would have been miserable without her and her family." Doreen had to blink away her own tears. Charles smiled at his mother as Rosalind's shaky hand latched onto Doreen's.
"We feel the same about having you here," Rosalind said to Doreen, in a rare moment of gentle kindness.
"You're mother never doubted you were alive," Elsa told Charles taking his hand once again.
"Neither did you," Doreen responded. "Where were you, Charley?"
Charles sighed heavily and moved around Elsa and sat in her chair. He pulled Elsa down on to the chair with him with his arms around her waist. His deep brow wrinkled and his face became dark and unreadable.
"I was at a prison camp that was only liberated a few weeks ago," he said his voice as dark as his expression. Elsa had experienced the horrors of war first hand and she knew by Charles look he was deeply affected by whatever had happened to him. After a moment his face brightened, though, and Elsa was glad to save consoling him on the things he gone through for later.
"I was going to send to you word but I decided instead to save my money to get home as quickly as I could. I walked all the way here from the train station," Charles said. Elsa breathed a sigh of relief that Charles really was home to stay.
"They gave me your letters, Elsa, when they freed us. I read the mountains of your writing on the train ride home. I know everything that has happened. I even know about Andre from the station attendant. It appears your rejection of him turned a few heads," Charles said with a teasing wink. Elsa straightened her back and was about to comment rudely back to him when she saw Richard on the floor.
"Come, meet your son," Elsa said and led him by the hand. She bent down and scooped Richard off of the floor.
"Richard, this is your father," Elsa said and she could tell Richard was digesting the information. He stuck out a tiny finger and pointed at Charles.
"Mine?" Richard asked suspiciously and Elsa nodded. Richard thought for a moment before he spoke again.
"He's tall," Richard said. Charles reached out and took his son from Elsa. She watched their first interaction with more joy than she thought was humanly possible. The Baroness was not a woman who cried often in public but this was an exception.
"Charles," Elsa began, stepping toward him, "If I ever do something so foolish again as to not tell you, you have my permission to throw me in the lake."
Charles gave his loud laugh and Richard smiled and clapped at the sound of it. The loud laugh of Charles chased away any remnant of Elsa's aching heart.
"Richard, I want you to remember that for papa," Charles said. Richard smiled and shook his head but seemed more interested in getting back to playing blocks with Katrina. Elsa knew her son well enough to understand the boy would come around eventually, after he finished the important business of helping Katrina make a tower.
Elsa could tell Charles reluctantly put his son back on the ground and watched him run back over to help Katrina. The sadness at being parted from the boy only lasted a moment as Charles looked at Elsa and took her hand again.
"I…I'm sorry I wasn't here for you Elsa, I…" Charles said slowly and with difficulty. It was the first time since she had known him that Elsa ever heard him stumble over his words. She was quick to interrupt him. She put her fingers over his lips and shook her head.
"Charles, don't, please don't. You have nothing to apologize for. You once said we are both too stubborn for our own good, and you were right. Let's not talk about the past, you are home, we are a family again, that's all that matters now," Elsa said. Charles smiled and nodded with relief. Elsa saw Charles narrow his eyes and then look down toward the floor. When she looked down she saw Richard tugging on his father's pant leg and holding up a block with the letter 'S' on it.
"Do you want to help us?" the boy asked. Elsa smiled widely and lifted an eyebrow when Charles grinned at her.
"Of course, if you show me what to do," Charles said. Richard nodded very professionally and led his father to the play area. Elsa didn't think she had ever been as happy as she was at that moment. Life was so hopeless only moments ago and now it seemed as if nothing terrible could ever happen again.
Of course, life has a way of being bittersweet and harsh at times. Not long after Charles return Rosalind's dog Princess passed away. The strain of living without the pup must have been too much for Rose because she followed soon after much to the sadness of all. Life for the Jackson's had its good moments too. Armina grew to love Charles as her father so fast Elsa could hardly believe it. Despite violent mood swings brought on by his years in the prison camp, Charles was a wonderful father.
Elsa was washing her hands under the kitchen faucet one day not long after Rosalind's funeral when she glanced outside the window and saw Charles kneeling on the ground. Gretl, Katrina, and Richard were all intently looking at something on the ground which Charles was pointing at. Elsa lifted an eyebrow in amusement and wondered what he was up to. She left the kitchen and went to the large bay windows to get a better look.
Charles stood up and disappeared around the house but the three children continued to look at the ground. Suddenly, Gretl jumped up and ran off. Elsa was shocked at first but as soon as the hidden sprinkler came on and sprayed Katrina and Richard Elsa knew why Gretl ran. Richard and Katrina screamed and laughed as they ran away from the sprinkler Charles had turned on.
The Baroness smirked and was about to get upset when the tiniest giggle escaped. Her husband was a trickster and she could hear his booming laugh from around the side of the house. He certainly had amused himself. As it does, life went on with joys and sorrows but for Elsa it was mostly joys.
Years and years after Charles' return Elsa had what she thought was one of the many great laughs of her life. Georg and Maria were visiting in preparation for Katrina's wedding. Liesl and Jeof had just left to get some last minute items from town.
Maria was sipping her tea when she suddenly put down her glass and placed a wrinkled hand on her aged but still lovely face. Elsa grabbed Charles' arm and gestured for him to look at Maria, whose eyes were wide.
"Do you realize Elsa," Maria began, "That after Richard and Katrina's wedding tomorrow I will be your son's grandmother-in-law?"
Elsa, Georg, and Charles stared at one another and burst into laughter.
The end. Thanks for reading and reviewing and remember to climb every mountain!