A Time to Wed

The fifteenth of August happens to be the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in the Catholic calendar, so it was very lucky for Georg that he managed to arrange the arrangement at the church that day at all without a congregation. The ceremony was scheduled for four o'clock exactly, and with the absence of the audience and a formal mass, it would take no longer than twenty minutes.

At half past three, Georg and his children arrived at the Church of St. Joseph – Max would be bringing Maria and Dominik at four. Georg had wanted to arrive early in order to have a chance to speak with Father Norbert.

While his children were collecting flowers and visiting their mother's grave, he and the priest were walking around the modest church.

"I don't think I need to tell you to be patient and gentle with her," said Father Norbert, walking up the center aisle towards the altar with Georg beside him.

"Believe me, you don't," replied Georg. "I will kill myself before I hurt her again."

Father Norbert gave him a brief glance of disapproval at such a simile, but he knew that Georg's intentions were good.

The older man led Georg up to the lectern, and searched the bible placed there to a certain passage in the gospel of Matthew*. "Take a look at this one, will you?" he said casually, pointing to a page.

Georg only had to read a few words before looking back at Father Norbert, almost amused at the sense of déjà vu. "You've shown this to me before."

"And I show it to you again," said Father Norbert. "This church's name-saint was, as the scriptures called him, a righteous man. It did not matter that he was descended from kings; what mattered is that he was a good and faithful husband to his wife, and a true father to her Son. He was not proud but compassionate, and always put his wife before himself. This I showed you over twenty years ago, Georg, and I show it to you again now with the same message: follow this example, and be the best man, husband and father you can be."

Georg had no intention of ever shying away from that promise, and he told Father Norbert just as much.


At five minutes to four, Max parked the car near Georg's larger one and then hopped out. Looking behind him, he saw Dominik help Maria out of the car. The young woman looked truly lovely in that white dress, and she would have looked radiant if her face did not look so scared and her hands did not shake so much.

He was pleased to see Dominik being a steady support for her in every sense of the word; ever since the two had met a week ago he'd taken a tremendous liking to the young man. He'd come by the Bristol Hotel some nights to hear him play piano – this young man had a true gift.

"I'll go on ahead and tell them you're here," he said. Max stepped forward and kissed Maria's cheeks. "It will all be all right, my dear."

Maria nodded but didn't really look reassured. Sadness twinging his heart, Max left the two siblings alone outside, knowing their cue would be the four chimes in five minutes, and headed inside the small church.

His entrance prompted the Von Trapps and Father Norbert to immediately get into place. The children all got into one of the front aisles, and Max took his place by Georg as best man.

"How is she?" Georg asked under his breath to Max.

His friend just gave a brief nod, but he knew Georg understood: She's here and she won't run away.

When the church bells somewhere above them rang four times, all heads turned to the large wooden entrance doors down the aisle. They opened and in came Dominik with Maria holding his arm.

Looking at her, Max could see her true emotions in her eyes, though she bravely smiled at each of the children when she saw them. He noticed that her eyes avoided Georg's gaze.

Looking at his friend, Max's breath caught in his throat for a moment. He hadn't seen such a look on Georg's face for years. His gaze was upon his bride, and all of the gratitude, worry, compassion, and awe of her beauty in her simple white dress was shining in his eyes.

From that moment on, Max knew two things: his friend, if he hadn't fallen in love with her now was at least falling; and also, Maria was in no danger anymore.


Maria and Dominik took their time walking up the aisle. She was so grateful that he was there, just because she knew that if she were to faint or trip, he was a steady presence she could hold onto. She felt like her body was an automaton, and her emotions were buried in some deep place where they weren't in danger of sabotaging her body to make it run away.

Seeing the children beaming at her instantly helped to ease her heavy heart. She smiled at each of them, and the knowledge that she would never be parted from them again felt very nice.

Her gaze found Max, giving her a gentle and encouraging smile. Then her gaze fell on the priest, Father Norbert. He must have been around eighty years old, but his wrinkled face held very kind eyes and a very kind smile.

But she felt one gaze more powerfully than the others, and that gaze she couldn't quite bring herself to meet. She could see he was dressed in a nice, dark blue suit and white shirt, and was standing straight and tall. But that was all she brought herself to notice.

Maria stopped when Dominik stopped, almost abruptly. There was no turning back now. She turned to look at her brother, whose gaze she found the most comfort in. Wordlessly, he kissed her forehead, and Maria had the strongest impulse to break down, because she knew that it was a kiss of giving away, even if he didn't see it that way.

She let him gently escort her to take her place on the other side of the priest and he stood behind her. Maria was very grateful that her back was to the children; it allowed her to keep her gaze on his light blue tie rather than his face as Father Norbert began the ceremony.

To Maria, it was as if she were underwater hearing him speak. She didn't feel like she was drowning but she did feel outside herself. She could barely make out the words that he was saying.

When the time came for the two of them to join hands, Maria only realized it when she saw the Captain's hands lift, palms open and up, ready to receive hers.

This would be their first touch since that day, and Maria felt a little scared. Don't be so silly, Maria. It's such a simple gesture and it won't kill you.

So she lifted her hands to his, hating how they were trembling, and put them in his bigger ones. The sensation surprised her: the skin of his palms was slightly rough but very warm, providing a nice remedy to her cold and trembling hands. He held her hands in a gentle grasp, his thumbs rubbing back and forth across her knuckles, caressing, trying to soothe. If she had not been in such a strange emotional state, her hands would have gripped his back.

His touch seemed to open Maria's ears again, and she heard Father Norbert clearly. He called for the rings to come forward, and Marta and Gretl each came forward carrying one. The Captain released one of her hands to take one from Gretl, and Maria took hers from Marta with the most genuine smile she could give.

"Georg, do you take Maria to be your wife? Do you promise to be true to her in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love her and honor her all the days of her life?"

He responded without hesitation, and she heard him say a soft but firm, "I do," while her eyes stayed on their hands as she watched him gently slide the unfamiliar gold ring onto her right ring finger. It fit perfectly, which surprised her.

"Maria, do you take Georg to be your husband? Do you promise to be true to him in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love him and honor him all the days of your life?"

The gravity of her vow made Maria's throat close up for a moment and she almost felt like fainting, but it passed quickly. She didn't know if she had it in her to meet all of the requirements she would now have to agree to, but she had made her choice and now she had to go through with it. So, she said her "I do" in a soft, toneless voice as she slid the Captain's ring onto his own right ring finger. Again, his fit perfectly.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Instantly, Maria's blood turned cold as ice. She had forgotten about this part, had even hoped it would be left out. Apparently not. The last and only time he had kissed her, it was far from what she thought a kiss would be. Circumstances aside, it had been – there was no other word for it – brutal. If her lips could bruise, they would have bruised from the pain and the force of it. That having been the only kiss of any kind she could remember receiving in her life, Maria didn't have anything else to go on about what a kiss felt like. So she expected nothing but the worst now. Swallowing, feeling as if she were awaiting a painful shot, Maria closed her eyes.

It surprised her when one of her hands was let go of and fell to her side. Before she could wonder any further she felt something cup her cheek. Instinctively, she jumped a bit before she realized the touch would not harm her. It felt…warm, gentle…just like his hand…it must have been his hand.

Then she could smell and feel his warm breath on her lips and nose; the sensation was not bad at all. Another surprise.

Then she felt something…lovely. Something soft, gentle, warm, and slightly moist engulfed her lips, applying a minute amount of pressure. It was reminiscent of a feeling she adored: a warm breeze grazing her cheek. Maria was astounded: this was the exact opposite of what his first kiss to her had been. Then it had been an attack; now it was a caress. Her body was responding to it, too. Her heart and skin felt as if a warm, soft blanket were covering them securely. Her lips naturally parted slightly in response to so gentle a touch, and she had a strong impulse to return the kiss, which she didn't understand. But the kiss was over before she could dwell on that.

Maria had never felt so astonished in her life, and her eyes opened and met his gaze for the first time. No words could describe the many emotions in his eyes; all Maria knew was that none of them scared her, just astonished her. No one had ever looked at her like that before.

This was not the man she had met ten weeks ago, the monster who'd assaulted her four weeks ago, or the father she had seen throughout the past week.

This man was a man whom she did not know, a man she never thought she would know in her life: her husband.


*Matthew 1:18-25