The ride to the house was longer than she expected. They drove through city, into suburbs, through country and into what must have been the German equivalent of backwoods. They had a small house, on a small farm, and they ushered her and Kurt into the house. As soon as the door was closed, his mother was gesturing at Kurt's watch as she spoke.
"Alright," he sighed, disengaging it. As his blue self appeared, his mother's eyes lit up and she moved to give him a kiss. His father came up and hugged him as well. Then all eyes were on her again.
Talia had fallen asleep on the ride over, and now was in between asleep and awake. She was in a new place with new people, and she wanted to see what was happening, but she was also tired from the trip. Her head was against Wanda's shoulder, as Kurt moved over to turn off the image inducer. Both of his parents smiled widely as they finally saw their granddaughter.
"Beautiful! Beautiful madchen!" his mother said, moving close. His father was right behind, coming to take a closer look at her. She reached over to take the baby from her, and Wanda, very reluctantly, allowed her, her eye sliding to Kurt.
"Look at beautiful girl!" his father said, reaching over to pet a hand over her head. "Looks much like Daddy, ja?"
"Ja," Kurt said proudly, moving beside Wanda, putting an arm around her waist. She still played with her fingers nervously, watching these strangers with her baby.
"Eyes like Mama," his mother said, pointing to Wanda. "Und…" she paused, searching for the word. "Nose. Ja."
Talia took in to two who were gushing over her, then decided she was not having it. She sought out her mother and reached for her urgently.
"Nein nein, liebling," Kurt's mother soothed. "Oma und Opa, ja? We so happy for you." She kissed the girl's head.
Talia whined further, still reaching for her mother. Wanda moved to step forward, wanting her baby back, but stopped herself. Instead, she allowed Kurt to take her. He spoke to his parents and they nodded. He then turned the baby over to her. "We are going to get settled, ja? I will take you to our room."
His parents stayed in the other room as Wanda followed Kurt up a small staircase. The room he brought her to was so obviously his childhood bedroom, with small knickknacks on shelves, posters on the wall, and, what she expected was a new addition, a little crib in the corner. "It is not big," he said to her, taking a seat on his bed. "But we can make it the week, ja?"
She nodded, still looking around with a small smile. "This is where you grew up?"
"Ja," he said, looking around. He stood to pick a stuffed animal off a shelf. "I suppose I can put some of this stuff away… it's a bit babyish."
Talia spied the stuffed animal in her father's hands and reached for it. He allowed her to take it, and she looked to her parents with a triumphant smile. "Perfect for our baby," she said, then paused. "Why did your mother call Talia her baby?"
He shook his head. "My mother's English is very weak," he told her. "My father is better than her but still not perfect. She wasn't trying to say Talia was hers." He smirked at her. "Anyhow, my parents promised to try to speak English around you as much as they could. I don't want you to feel left out."
She smiled at him, then leaned in for a quick kiss. "Thank you."
"Thank you," he said. "My parents are so happy. I'm so glad we could come, and they could meet our daughter."
~&Q~
They'd had dinner soon after, and then the three of them headed for bed. Jetlag and the trip were getting to them, so they decided to turn in early. Talia had fallen asleep long ago, and Wanda could tell Kurt's parents were disappointed to not spend more time with her.
Early the next morning, Kurt woke her to let her know he was going to help his father. He urged her to go back to sleep, and she was happy to. When she finally did wake, she was shocked at the time on the clock and lunged out of the bed to check on her daughter. Talia should have woke her by now, but she found her child not in the crib. Panic started to creep in, but she decided before she act on it, to check downstairs.
She let out a small breath as she heard her daughter's happy giggle and the voice of Kurt's mother. Still, she did not like the idea of someone just helping themselves to her baby. She appeared in the kitchen, finding Talia seated in a high chair and Oma sitting at the table. "Mama awake!" she said, her hand on Talia's arm, pointing to where Wanda is. "Come sit!"
Wanda moved quickly to her daughter's side, kissing her head. "I didn't expect to sleep in. She usually wakes me."
"Nein, Mama sleep," she replied. "I take, I change, I clean, I feed. Baby happy." She said, smiling at her granddaughter.
She sat down at the table, reaching to rest her hand on Talia's back. "You didn't have to do all that." She didn't want her to have done all that.
Oma nodded. "Ja, I do," she said, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Take care of mein enkelin. Perfekte, schöne Mädchen." She leaned closer to nuzzle against Talia, who seemed happy to oblige.
Wanda just nodded, unsure of what she was saying. She would likely talk to Kurt when he got back about boundaries. It just rubbed her the wrong way that this woman had come in while she was sleeping and taken her child. But she bit her tongue, for now.
Oma reached over and put her hand on Wanda's, smiling softly. "You und mein Kurtie?"
Wanda furrowed her brow, instantly feeling uncomfortable. "Uh…yes?" What was she asking? I mean, it wasn't as if it wasn't clear they were together. They had living evidence in the room.
Oma paused, as she seemed to be thinking. "You…" she began. "You marry mein Kurtie?"
Wanda pursed her lips. What had Kurt told them? He had proposed, but they had no plans. She wasn't sure how to respond. But the longer she sat silent, the more she fidgeted. "I—want to," she told her honestly.
"Wunderbar," the other woman said, clasping her hands together. She smiled widely. "You marry. Happy!" She stood, moving to the kitchen counter. "Marry und have more baby, ja?" she asked her.
Wanda's eyes widened. She was not ready for that question. She was only a few months in to the first baby. Thankfully, Kurt's mother did not push. "Make food, ja? Bist du hungrig? Er….hungry?" she asked.
Wanda just nodded, and the woman got to cooking. Talia turned to her mother, and reached her hands out, wanting to be held. Happy to oblige, she pulled her out of the high chair. She noted the happy smile on Talia's face as she looked between her mother and grandmother, holding tight to and swinging a spoon. At least she was happy. That was more than enough for Wanda.
~&Q~
So...I will be posting some of the background stuff...eventually.
