Her head had been in the clouds for two days, ever since her date with Georg. She couldn't stop smiling, couldn't keep herself from humming a happy tune while at work. Ann had been making fun of her giddiness, dying to know every detail of her date. She told her little to nothing, of course, which frustrated the young woman to no end, but she wasn't about to reveal any of the events of their evening together. She preferred to keep the magic to herself, mostly for fear that the spell would be broken if she spoke about it.

He had phoned her the night before, and they chatted for hours about absolutely nothing, but it didn't matter. Simply being in the presence of one another was all they needed. Hearing his voice in her ear as she began nodding off to sleep had been the most warm and safe feeling she'd had for a long while. A simple date with him had stirred so many feelings in her heart, feelings she had vowed never to fall victim to, but somehow she didn't mind. He had been pure perfection that evening, in so many ways.

She looked out the small window from her place at her sewing machine and sighed. She found herself longing for the Summer days when she was at the villa with the children, playing in the warmth of the day and venturing out to enjoy nature. She had been cooped up in a dress shop for three years, and her heart ached to run and never look back. She found herself becoming resentful of the shop, no matter how thankful she was for the job and living arrangements afforded to her, as it took up so much time that she could have been spending with the children. She supposed that was what a real world job did though...and she had to remind herself how dangerous it would be for her own well-being if she were to get to close to them all too fast again. She had made that mistake before, and she was so terribly afraid of getting hurt again. There would be no chance in healing.

"Maria, are you daydreaming again?" Ann's words shook her from her thoughts, and she gave a small smile.

"I'm still working at least. Is it considered multitasking?" Ann laughed, moving to pick up a broom and begin tidying their area for the end of the day. It was nearly time to begin their weekend.

"I suppose, but you'd better make sure you're paying attention."

"Oh goodness, I think I could make alterations with my eyes closed." She smiled, knowing her words were probably true. She much preferred making full dresses to doing alterations, which unfortunately had become the norm for her very quickly. She would get the occasional request for a new dress thrust upon her, but it was more common for the shop owner to do such things on her own.

"Well don't try to sleep on the job either. Remember when I tried that?"

"Who could forget? It was quite the thunderous afternoon." Their boss had yelled far more than Maria had ever heard before and since. She truly had no idea how Ann had kept her job.

"I try not to think about that."

"You brought it up." She laughed, focusing a bit harder on the fabric in her hands as she began working her last row of stitches. Her eyes were hurting from a long day of work, and her hands were beginning to go numb from overuse. "Any plans for your weekend?"

"Actually, my boyfriend and I were hoping you and Jonas would go dancing with us." She shook her head and sighed, shaking one of her hands to bring the feeling back.

"No, thanks. I think Georg would get the wrong impression if I did that."

"He could join us?" She laughed, knowing Georg well enough to know that he would find their fun to be quite annoying. He wasn't much of one for going out like that, she supposed due to his status in society, or even perhaps his cynical nature. There was a chance he would act arrogant and rude around her friends...around her class of people. She shook her head at the thought. He wasn't like that, she was only trying to sabotage herself, she knew.

"Maybe another time. I don't need you scaring him away." She laughed, continuing to sweep the floor as Maria finished her final alteration for the day. She felt exhausted.

"It's just as well, I started my period earlier today anyway. I don't really feel like dancing at the moment. We tend to sync up, so I imagine you agree." Ann rolled her eyes a bit, having felt irritated by everything all day due to her state. "Perhaps we'll just come to your place tomorrow? We can go dancing another night."

"Yes…" She frowned, her blood feeling a bit cold at the conversation as her friend rambled on. Not that she cared much about having guests over, but Ann was right, she absolutely should have already started her monthly cycle. Shouldn't she? When was her last? She couldn't remember, honestly, but she knew it was sometime before Liesl's wedding. "Shit."

"Maria?" Ann laughed, and she shook her head, bringing a hand to her mouth.

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"It's like hearing your grandmother swear." She continued to laugh, putting the broom away as Maria stood to clean up her area as well. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I...pinched my finger." She smiled, hoping to appear authentic. Her friend seemed to buy it at least, and they continued cleaning up for the evening. Her heart could have easily pounded out of her chest, she knew it. Her mouth was dry and her hands shook as she hurried to put away her things.

As they left the shop, they waved to the girls at the front counter before stepping into the warm summer breeze, the sun blinding and bright against the blue sky. Maria's heart ached as she stepped onto the sidewalk and rounded the corner to the stairs of her apartment. She needed to get home immediately. Suddenly, she stopped at the sound of Ann's voice.

"Maria, are you even listening to me?" She turned, brow furrowed.

"I'm sorry?" Ann scoffed, stepping a bit closer.

"I said, are you okay with us coming over tomorrow night? We'll order in and buy the food if you buy the wine." She nodded, uncaring in the slightest. Ann gave her a concerned look, but knew better than to press her. "Well…alright. I suppose I'll see you then."

She nodded and turned to rush up the stairs to her apartment, her fingers shaking and having difficulty gripping her key as she unlocked the door. She needed to get her hands on a calendar immediately. She rushed inside, tossing the door closed behind her, removing the cat from the counter, and grabbing a desk calendar she used occasionally when she was attempting to be more organized. She counted back to Liesl's wedding, she remembered she was about a week or more past her cycle at the time. She looked to the sky, doing her best to remember anything from the week prior, anything at all that would help it not be true, but it was no use.

She bit her lip and felt tears begin to sting her eyes. Judging by her calendar, she should have started her cycle three days prior. She took a shaky breath, dropping the calendar upon the desk in disdain as she covered her face with her hands. It was possible she was merely a bit late, or perhaps she had miscalculated. It was certainly possible! She was a mess at keeping track, especially when she never had a need to do so. Of course, she had simply miscalculated…

Except she hadn't. Ann was right, their cycles were incredibly in sync. She would always start a few days before her friend, every time, like clockwork really. The realization made her feel lightheaded, and she sat heavily upon her desk chair. She began to shake, unsure what she was supposed to do. Oh, what would people think of her? The former postulant, unmarried and pregnant from one night with her former employer…at his daughter's wedding reception, how tacky! It felt so humiliating.

And what would Georg think? Surely he would be angry, she was angry herself. She was angry at herself, at both of them for making such a careless mistake. She wasn't sure what made her think she could escape his incredible level of fertility, he had seven children, after all, of course he was fertile. And she had been a virgin. How could she even have known what her body was capable of? She thought back to the night they made love. Both times she had pulled him deeper when he came, she wanted to feel his entire body shudder against her own as he let go. What a fool! She should have made him pull out. She knew that much from Ann's incredibly detailed stories of her own conquests, and yet she had still wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him so deep that there was no way to tell where their bodies ended and the other began.

In a fit of rage she grasped a small vase from her desk and threw it hard across the apartment, hearing it shatter against the kitchen floor as she began to cry. She wanted to scream, swear, and break everything fragile in her path. She turned and crossed her arms upon the desk, burying her face as she wept. Suddenly, there was a knock upon her door, and she rushed to compose herself, wiping her face the best she could as she stood to see who was there. She peered through the hole just as another knock echoed through the apartment.

"Maria, I know you're in there. I can see your shadow under the door." She sighed, squeezing her eyes closed to try stopping the tears. "I didn't get a good feeling when we parted."

"I'm fine, Ann, please go." Her voice sounded heavy, obviously full of tears and distress. It was impossible to hide.

"There's no way I can when you sound like that. Please open up." She sighed, wiping her face once more in defeat as she turned the lock and opened the door. Her friend looked into her eyes and nearly began to cry as well as she rushed forward and pulled her into a hug. Maria began to weep once more, unable to hold back any longer. She had never been quite thankful for the strange friendship she had found in her coworker, but she certainly appreciated her presence at the moment. "What's happened? You were fine all day. Please tell me you're alright."

"I don't know." She pulled back, hand over her mouth as she tried to catch her breath. She didn't want to tell her, didn't want the words to fall from her lips for fear it would bring them into reality. "I think I'm pregnant."

"Oh, Maria." She wrapped her in another hug, pushing the door closed as she led her into the apartment so nobody else could overhear.

Ann led her to the sofa and held her as she cried. It seemed like hours before she could finally pull herself together, her heart threatening to pound from her chest from the strain. She had never been one to allow her emotions to flow from her in such a way, but she was so caught off guard by the possibility of pregnancy that she couldn't control herself for a moment. Ann helped her lay upon the sofa, brushing her hair out of her face as she moved to the kitchen to make some tea for them. It felt like it took her ages to catch her breath.

She watched her friend muddling about in her kitchen, seeming much better versed in the room than she could have ever imagined to be. She just couldn't believe it, couldn't believe she had made such a hideous mistake. She was so much smarter than that, she had always been smarter than the other women she had seen made such foolish mistakes. A child was a blessing, she reminded herself, of course it was, but not in the way she was living. She should have been married before she should even think of bringing a child into the world, let alone her position of barely courting the father. They had only just found themselves on good terms.

"Thank you for being here." She sat up upon the sofa as Ann brought her a cup of tea, wiping her eyes before accepting the cup.

"There was no way I could have gone." She sat next to her, taking a sip of her own tea. "What will you do?"

"Die, surely." She took a sip of her tea, her friend not at all amused by her words. She sighed heavily, closing her eyes. "Perhaps I'm not. I could just be late."

"When you made love, did he pull out?" She blushed heavily, unprepared for the question. No matter the circumstances, her friend always knew exactly what to say to embarrass her.

"Honestly, Ann."

"Well did he?"

"I could've still become pregnant even if he had."

"Less likely. So he didn't then. Maria, have you never heard a word I've said about romance?"

"Romance? Please, I…well I…" She shook her head, a short, humorless laugh escaping from her lips. "It was supposed to be one night. Getting the past out of my system and moving on."

"That doesn't sound like you…have you done this before?" She knew what her friend was trying to ask, though she had no idea why she had suddenly become delicate about it.

"I was a virgin until then. I'd had this silly notion that I was saving myself. For what, I don't know exactly, but…it wasn't romance, it was pure lust. I feel so ashamed." The woman she was three years ago, before she had been broken and changed, would have been horrified by the woman she had become. That woman would have had the strength to avoid the entire situation altogether…wouldn't she?

"Was it lust or love?"

"If it were love, would I be so upset? Would I be so afraid to tell him?" Ann smiled, taking her hand in comfort.

"If it were only lust, would he be trying his hardest to court you properly, baby or not?" Maria shrugged, her head spinning. Whatever was she going to do?

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