Maria was surprised as she put on her new, long, white gloves. She'd expected them to feel tight or constraining on her hands and fingers, but instead seemed to mold right to each as if they had always been there.
She looked at herself in the mirror again, and thought of yesterday, when she had asked Elsa if she should wear any make-up. To her surprise, Elsa had scoffed and laughed.
"My dear, you are too young to need to wear make-up. Your cheeks are naturally rosy, all of us wish for skin like that, and you need no paint or pencil to bring out the loveliness of your eyes."
Learning that had been a relief to Maria, who never liked the idea of smearing paint on her face, as if she were hiding something or trying to change her face. And somehow, she could sense that Georg would not like her to do that either.
There came a knock at the doorway, and Maria went to open the door, revealing Max. "I've been asked as messenger boy from an eager and nervous sea captain who is waiting downstairs, eager to see his date."
Maria chuckled and rolled her eyes. "I'll be right down, Max."
Max looked her over from head to toe approvingly. "I will bet anything that Georg will be left simply speechless at the sight of you." He laughed at her blush and walked away.
Maria rolled her eyes as she shut the door. She doubted that anyone, much less she, had the power to turn Georg completely speechless in admiration. But she couldn't deny that she hoped dearly that Georg would approve of her apparel.
Only one thing was left to be done. Maria walked towards where she kept her mother's treasure box, and took out the only piece of jewelry her mother had left behind: a simple pearl necklace. This piece was just modest and beautiful enough for Maria, and she smiled as she clasped it around her neck.
Going into the bathroom to look at herself all done, Maria gasped. Was this really her? She didn't recognize herself at all, with this beautiful turquoise Grecian gown, white gloves, pearls and all. And what would Georg think? She blushed just to think of it. Never before had she worn something that showed so much skin. Granted, the cut was still modest, compared to other gowns and pictures she had seen, but still . . .
Only one way to find out.
Max came down the stairs to find all seven children standing together, chatting excitedly, and Georg, dressed in a crisp black tuxedo and tails, standing near them. Max could see he was restless by the movement of his fingers at his sides. One who knew Georg well could always tell his true emotions by his hands, Max had concluded a long time ago.
"She'll be right down," said Max, coming off the stairs.
"Good," said Georg distractedly, the movement of his fingers not slowing.
"Father?" chimed in little Gretl.
Glad for the distraction, Georg turned towards his children. "Yes?"
"Will the singers tonight be as good as Fraulein Maria?"
"Well, do you think anyone can sing as good as Fraulein Maria?"
Gretl giggled and shook her head, while the older girls shared a sly glance, catching the meaning behind his retort.
"You look very handsome, Father," said Marta, giving a smile that showed her half-grown incisor.
Georg smiled and gave a dramatic bow. "Why, thank you, my lady," he said in a mock posh voice. The girls giggled and curtseyed to their father.
The sound of a familiar laugh from the stairs made everyone turn towards its source. All of the children gasped. Max simply smiled. Georg froze and his eyes widened slightly at the most beauteous sight he'd ever seen.
On the landing of the front door, there stood Maria, fully dressed for the opera. Her smile faded as she saw the nine people below her were all speechless and staring at her, especially the person she would be spending the evening with. She felt butterflies in her stomach as she blushed, keeping her gaze lowered as she descended the few stairs onto the floor.
The spell was broken by the children. "Oh, Fraulein, you look so pretty!" said Louisa.
"You look loverly!" said Marta, and the children shared a giggle at the uncommon word.
"Are you a princess, Fraulein Maria?" asked Gretl.
Maria laughed and gave Gretl a confused look. "What on Earth gave you that impression, sweetheart?"
Max chuckled at the conversation, and had to suppress louder laughter when he looked at Georg. He seemed frozen as a statue, and hadn't yet said a word. His gaze never wavered from the figure of Maria.
"And princesses have crowns," finished Maria, smiling.
"Twirl, I want to see your dress twirl!" ordered Gretl.
Maria laughed and turned on one foot lightly, her skirt swishing prettily. The girls applauded and giggled.
Liesl came forward and offered Maria's cloak to her, helping her put it on. Seeing this seemed to snap Georg out of his frozen position. "Yes, well, we don't want to be late. Children, you behave yourselves while we're gone, even if Uncle Max allows you to run amuck. All right?"
The children nodded and Max pretended to look offended. Georg headed for the front door, and Maria followed, waving one last time to the children. Once the front door had shut behind them, Liesl said, "Oh, she looks so beautiful."
"Father didn't seem to think so!" said Louisa. "He didn't even say anything!"
Max chuckled, satisfied. "Oh yes he did, he just didn't speak." When the children gave him confused looks, Max just said smugly: "I knew he would be struck speechless."
When Maria and Georg were alone outside the house, an awkward moment passed where Maria waited for Georg to tell her where the car was. At first he just stood there, the fingers of his left hand wiggling restlessly. "Well, um . . ." he started, trying to sound like his usual, collected self, but failing miserably. "Why don't I just, uh . . . I'll fetch – I mean get – the car, you just – wait here." With that, he hurried away towards the garage.
Maria stood dumbstruck for a moment. She'd never seen Georg like this. At first, she thought his lack of response to her made her believe he didn't approve of her, but somehow she knew he would sound more gruff or disappointed, and he hadnt. He seemed . . . was he nervous? Soon, she started to chuckle. To see this usually completely collected Captain have an awkward, nervous moment was quite funny. And on a subconscious level, she knew that she had something to do with it.
Georg, meanwhile, never felt more embarrassed as he walked towards the car. Getting in, he took a moment to try and snap himself out of it. He'd expected Maria to be lovely – there was never a time when she wasn't – but to have his breath completely taken away, struck dumb to say anything to compliment her, and feeling as if he were a teenager who'd just gotten a date with the prettiest girl in town. He hadn't felt like this since he was a teenager! Maria clearly had no idea of the power she had over him; he hadn't fully realized it until now. Georg knew he couldn't go on much longer before telling her of his love, but not now. He decided to just see what the evening would bring to them both.
So Georg drove up to the front of the house, determined to get back to his normal self; he realized, seeing Maria waiting for him, that his behavior might make her feel very confused, even ill-at-ease. That thought gave him some of his old courage back.
Maria made to get into the car, but Georg quickly got out and said, "Wait, allow me." He walked around the front of the car to her side, and opened the door for her. Just before she got in, Maria felt a warm hand on her waist stop her short. Maria felt his warm breath on her ear before he whispered, "Beautiful."
Maria closed her eyes, and felt a shudder of heat go through her entire body. Her heart seemed to flutter rapidly. She was thankful that he let her go right after he said that word, and she immediately got in the car. She used the few moments before he got in as well to collect herself and clear her head.
He caught her staring at him just before he started the engine. "Handsome," she murmured, looking at him.
"I know," he said casually, and a rather silly-looking grin formed on his face at what she'd said, as the sound of the engine starting couldn't drown out the lovely sound of her laughter.
From the moment the two arrived at the Salzburg Opera House, Maria felt herself being swept into a new world, from the moment the valet took the car to park it. Doors were opened for them, and Maria gasped at the splendor of the lobby. There were few people left there, for the performance would begin in a few minutes. Those who were there reflexively turned towards the doors to see who had just come. Georg noted that quite a few of them got wide-eyes at the sight of Maria, and he suddenly felt a surge of honor that she was there with him, holding onto his arm.
He showed an usher their tickets, and he immediately led them up the grand staircase to where their seats were, also handing them each a fancy program.
Maria gasped when he opened the door to the private box where they would be sitting. "Georg! How on Earth did you find us seats like these?"
"A close friend of mine holds season seats," replied Georg, glad of Maria's pleased reaction. "He and his wife are out of town, so I asked if I could put his empty seats to good use."
She smiled as she seated herself, and gasped as she leaned forward to take in the sight of the grand theatre. "This is like . . . being inside of a jewel-box!"
Georg held back a chuckled and gave her a fond look. He remembered the difference of their backgrounds, and how sights and places like this would fill Maria with awe. As a person who preferred the privacy of his study to the glitter and glamour of public places, he found Maria's young enthusiasm highly refreshing.
They had no more time to talk, however, for at that moment the conductor came out to take his place in front of the orchestra. With that, the opera began.
From the moment Maria heard the full orchestra sound, she was swept into the magic of the opera and everything about it. The one concern she'd had disappeared instantly when the singers began to sing. She'd been afraid she would not be able to follow the story, but the libretto was in German so she was covered there. Maria watched, entranced, as the story of the star-cross'd lovers unfolded: Tristan, an English knight, is bringing Isolde, the Irish princess, back home with him so she can marry his uncle, King Mark of Cornwall. At first, they hate each other, then they share a love potion and that all gets turned around. Drama followed when Isolde married her love's uncle.
There were three acts to the opera, and in the two intermissions, Georg and Maria stayed in their box, eagerly talking over the opera. Neither felt the need to go out and socialize; they had the best company in each other.
For the couple, the most poignant moment in the opera came at the very end. Tristan had just died in Isolde's arms, and she follows after him, singing the final song, called her Liebestod, or literally "love death." She dies in a kind of ecstasy, knowing she is soon going to join her love. To Maria, it was fascinating, having never known such a pleasure before.
Georg, too, was riveted. He knew the pain of losing the person they loved. At times, immediately after Agathe's passing, he'd felt as if he would die of the grief, alone in his study with the hard liquor coursing through his veins. He'd have given anything to go through what Isolde was going through after she'd lost her love. But God had other plans for him, and he was grateful for that now. What would have become of his children if that had happened? He couldn't bear to think of that. God truly had not given up on him, looking at his life now. And, if he did not make another mistake, he might have a chance to be whole again. With Maria.
Turning to her, Georg's breath caught to see her leaning forward slightly, entranced by the song, her eyes sparkling. One of her gloved hands was clasping the simple pearl necklace she wore around her neck, that he recognized from her mother's treasure box. It must have belonged to her . . .
Georg then realized that Maria's eyes were sparkling with tears, and his heart went out to her. She was clearly just as affected by this scene as he was, in a very personal way. When he saw her beginning to tremble, possibly trying not to cry, he reached out to take her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. Her head turned sharply and their eyes met. Georg nearly gasped at the expression in her tear-filled eyes. She looked as if she were seeing him for the first time, or something completely new to her. There was wonder, awe, and something else in those lovely eyes . . . something he was too scared to define, but something he dearly hoped was not a figment of his imagination.
In that moment, Georg could almost feel something binding him to her, and he knew that he would always be in love with her. He not only needed her as mother of his children, but as his companion through life. My soul mate...
Was it just him, or had their faces come closer together? Had he moved? Maybe. Had she moved? Possibly. Some kind of gravity, or magnetic force, was pulling them together. Maybe it was their hearts, already entwining. When he felt the puff of her breath on his lips, he knew they had come too close . . . achingly close . . . almost perfectly close . . .
The sound of applause and many shouts of approval broke the spell and both pulled back automatically, both reeling from what had almost happened. They applauded as hard as they could, doing anything necessary to collect themselves again.
The spell may have been broken prematurely, but something had changed, or evolved, between them in that moment.
On the way back from the opera, rain started pouring down. Lightning and thunder soon followed. Georg was an excellent driver and knew where he was going, so Maria was not worried. She was glad for the rain even, as something to be captivated by. After what had happened, or nearly happened, she was eager to have some time with God. She needed to talk to Him alone in her heart.
Georg parked the car in the garage, and got an umbrella out of the backseat. He let Maria out, and she gathered up her gown and cloak so they would not get wet. They ran to the front door of the house, huddled under the umbrella, Georg's arm securely around Maria. Both were extremely grateful that Franz had left the front door open for them. They came in panting but refreshed.
"Well, that came on rather quickly," said Georg, taking off his drenched coat and closing his umbrella.
Maria laughed when she got her breath back. "I'll say."
"Your dress didn't get ruined, did it?"
"Oh, no, it's –"
A rather loud thunderclap that shook the windows interrupted her, and some shrieks came immediately after, coming from upstairs.
"Still afraid of thunderstorms, I suppose," said Georg, more sympathetic than teasing.
"Poor dears," said Maria, looking in the direction of their rooms. "I should go comfort them." She turned again to Georg, knowing this was where they parted for the night. She suddenly felt at a loss for words, after what had nearly happened in the balcony. But she realized at least what could tell him. "Thank you, so so much, Georg. The show was . . . I can't describe how wonderful that experience was."
"You're welcome, Maria," said Georg simply. "It was my pleasure."
After a slightly awkward moment of silence, Maria said, "Well, I should go . . . check on the children." She went up some of the stairs but then stopped abruptly. After a beat, she turned back around and headed back to Georg. Before he could react at all, she'd taken his shoulders, stood on tip-toe, and kissed his cheek with her heart on her lips. "Goodnight," she breathed, and practically ran back up the stairs to the children's rooms.
Georg stood at the first floor landing for quite a few moments afterward, his dripping coat over his arm soaking into the sleeve of his tuxedo but he didn't care. His hand went up to the burning spot on his cheek where Maria had kissed him, a slightly silly smile beginning to form on his face.
Some time later, Maria sat in the chair by her window, watching the rain slow to a drizzle and then dissipate. As quickly as the storm had come, just as quickly it disappeared. It really had seemed to let all of it's energy out, though; the poor children had all been hiding under beds and covers when she'd found them. But all was well and everyone else was a-bed. Except her, for she didn't feel tired at all after this evening. Her eyes and ears had been opened to so many new things, and her heart had been . . .
The little clock in her room struck twelve times, Maria counted. The fifteenth had come; she was officially twenty-two. Another year to add to her age, and what a life-changing year – Lord, few months – it had turned out to be!
A soft knock and the sound of hurried footsteps away from her door caught her attention. Getting up, Maria put on her robe before opening the door. Looking around, she saw no trace of anybody. Then she looked down.
There lay a lovely cluster of edelweiss, tied with a red ribbon and a small note attached. She picked it up and fingered the blooms lovingly. She looked at the note. In that elegant, masculine hand-writing were the words:
Happy Birthday Maria.
She was smiling dreamily as she shut the bedroom door again.