Chapter Two
The following morning, the Captain took Liesl and Maria into Salzburg to shop for dress material. Liesl had practically begged Maria to make her a dress; Maria, when Liesl looked at her through her father's eyes, couldn't deny her that wish. It would take work, but Liesl promised to help with the younger children if Maria would do this for her.
"I don't like taffeta," Liesl said as they browed the bolts of fine material.
"Neither do I," the Captain replied as he surveyed price tags. When Liesl was a bit older he would spend money on gowns for her, she was still too young to appreciate what that type of clothing meant.
"Is there a restriction on the type of material or the color or cost, Captain?" Maria asked. "Knowing that would certainly help us choose."
"No taffeta or satin," the Captain replied. "Something light colored, nothing red or black."
Maria nodded, "Look, this one is interesting. With the little rose florals on it?"
Maria was accustomed to shopping on a budget. She knew the Captain could afford to spend any amount of money on dress material, but he wanted to make this experience as pleasant for him as possible. His little girl was that no longer; that was always hard for a father to accept.
"Captain von Trapp," Heinrich Mueller, the son of an old comrade of the Captain's greeted him. "It's been ages. It's so good to see you. I haven't seen you since…"
"Your father's funeral service, yes," the Captain replied. Heinrich was younger but not overly young. His father had been one of the Captain's first commanders and had passed away a couple years earlier. "How are you doing?"
"I'm well," the younger man replied. "Imagine running into you at the seamstress shop of all places? Are those your daughters? The brunette has your eyes."
The Captain stiffened. "No," he practically growled. "The older woman is my…is Fraulein Maria, she's the children's governess. Liesl is my oldest girl and yes, she's inherited several of my traits, pleasant and otherwise."
Heinrich was looking at Maria, admiring her golden hair and sweet smile. "I'm so sorry I was unable to accept the invitation your party, I was traveling for business that week. My father left quite a lot of contacts all over this part of the world."
"You inherited a good business," the Captain replied. "And a good name. How old are you now? Twenty-nine, I believe?"
"Thirty," Heinrich corrected him. "Just recently as a matter of fact."
"Well, best wishes on your birthday," the Captain replied. "If you'll excuse me, I best be sure my daughter doesn't intend to bankrupt me on her first ball gown."
The encounter with Heinrich had agitated the Captain. How dare he gawk at Maria like that? She was not a person to be stared at in such a way. Did he have no respect?
The Captain shook his head at his own thoughts. Was he doing anything different than Heinrich? He looked at Maria every chance he got; she was a sight to behold. The feeling he had in his heart was jealousy pure and simple.
"Father, look!" Liesl moved toward Georg holding a lovely gold colored chiffon material in her hand. "Isn't it beautiful? Fraulein Maria said she could make a long, flowy skirt for it."
"It is lovely, Liesl," the Captain replied with a gentle smile. "The color suits you. Has Fraulein Maria found anything she liked?"
"She has," Liesl replied. "It's the same blue as her flower dress at home. I told her she looked so beautiful in that."
The Captain nodded only once; he couldn't very well betray his roguish thoughts to his daughter. "Tell Fraulein Maria she can purchase the cloth. I'll be outside. It's hot in here."
Liesl looked at her father as if he'd grown a third head. It was far from hot in that shop, in fact she found the air to be quite chilly. She supposed he was just not overjoyed with having been in the shop for so long.
The clerk cut the material to Maria's specifications, then helped the two ladies pick out undergarments, stockings, and shoes. "And we will charge these to the Captain's account," she told Maria as she sighed the bill of sale.
"Thank you very much," Maria smiled and left the shop with four bags.
It was so natural for the Captain to take the bags from her and carry them to the car. He secured them in the trunk and then turned to Liesl and Maria. "Would you ladies like to get some lunch before we return? Or is there some plan at home that I'm unaware of."
"No, Captain," Maria replied. "Max, I'm certain is entertaining the other children for now. They do love him so. How did you come to know him?"
The Captain took Liesl's arm and turned them towards a nearby luncheonette he frequented, even on his own. Especially on his own, truth be told.
"In the Navy," the Captain replied. "We were both signed up in our own hometowns but when we were selected for service, we were in the same training camp. We didn't serve together, Max was on a destroyer, and I was, of course, on a U-boat, but we were friends so quickly."
Maria smiled, "It must be nice to have a friend like that. For you to have that kind of connection from such a young age."
"Yes, quite," the Captain replied. "Max was the best man at my wedding, he's come to the villa for the birth of each child."
"And I'm certain he is their godfather?" Maria asked as the Captain was being forthcoming with the information.
"Uh," the Captain replied. "No, actually, he's not."
Maria held back, she sensed a subtle change in the Captain's voice and chose not to pursue it. Liesl then changed the subject to some of the more popular folk dances that might be played at the ball. "I do know the Laendler of course, all but the ending from watching you," she chattered on.
Maria smiled, Liesl was not a frivolous girl, she was so focused and serious, it was nice to see her letting herself look forward to something like this. "I can show you the ending, Darling," the Captain offered. "Though there will be more young people at this ball, not as many couples, so I would be thinking that there will be more reels and polkas being played."
Liesl nodded, "What kind of dances did they play when you went to your first formal dance, Fraulein Maria?"
Maria looked down at her hands. She hadn't been very informative about her own past. "I didn't attend any, Liesl. In a way, this will be my first formal dance as well. That is one of the many reasons that I chose not to indulge Max the evening of the party at the house."
"Now you'll have a proper dress at least," Liesl smiled. "You are so pretty too, I wish I was fair-haired like Louisa. Our mother was. Don't you think that Fraulein Maria is lovely, Father?"
The Captain nearly choked on his coffee when Liesl had the forwardness to ask him that. His eyes drifted over to Maria. She looked like she wanted to crawl in a hole and pull the earth in over her head. She was absolutely mortified. He was in the worse position in the world here. If he denied the truth, that Maria was indeed beautiful, he would upset her and if he acknowledged Maria's beauty he would spook her again when she was just beginning to relax. Still, he had to speak the truth.
"Yes, I do think so, and the fact that you are unaware of your own charms, Fraulein, makes them all the more appealing," the Captain said as flippantly as he could manage.
When the lunch was concluded, they headed for home. The Captain drove down the same road he'd taken to bring the Baroness back to Salzburg. He began to chuckle as he remembered eight, light green and white covered beings hanging from the trees lining the road.
"What is so funny, Captain?" Maria asked from the backseat.
"Actually, you, Fraulein," the Captain replied. "It was this road where I drove home from Vienna and high up in the trees were my children. I can't imagine how on earth you got Marta up there. Marta is not fond of heights or anything loud or boisterous."
"It took a bit of doing," Liesl replied. "But she didn't want to be left out. Fraulein Maria helped Marta and Gretel and they both loved it. It's a whole different vantage point being up there."
"I feel that way when I look out from a ship at the horizon," the Captain told her. "It's been too long since I've been on the water. Before the summer is over, we will have to take the boat out again. Properly, of course."
When the trio arrived back at the villa, they were smiling and laughing. Anyone watching would think Maria and Liesl sisters, there was very little difference in their ages compared to the gap between the Captain and Maria. He sighed and watched them head inside with their purchases.
The Captain found Max and the children out on the veranda finishing their lunch. As soon as the girls saw the Captain, they hurried inside to see the material Liesl selected for her dress. The boys headed off a few moments later to toss the ball around, not at all interested in anything remotely female as yet. Though the Captain suspected he only had about six months or so before Friedrich would be there.
The Captain sat down heavily, "I am an old man, Max."
Max raised an eyebrow at that. "Georg, I'm the same age as you are. If you are old, then I am…"
"Do you remember Captain Mueller?" the Captain asked.
"Of course," Max replied. "Your first CO, he gave some terrific bashes for all of us when your sub was in our port. Didn't he die a couple years ago?"
"Yes," the Captain replied. "Lung cancer. Terrible, just terrible. They had a closed casket."
Max nodded, "What has you thinking of him?"
"I ran into his son, Heinrich," the Captain replied. "He's thirty years old now. He, uh…He thought Ma…Fraulein Maria was one of my daughters."
Max let out a low whistle, "And you corrected him properly of course?"
"Of course," the Captain replied. "But, Max, I'm nearly certain she could be. I don't know exactly how old she is but from the little bit she's let me know, she can't be older than 23. I could be her father. I'd have been a little young, but I could be her father. That's sobering because I don't feel like I could be her father."
Max nodded, "What do you feel like, Georg?"
'I don't see Maria as being so young," the Captain admitted. "She seems like such an old spirit to me. That's what they would say in India and those other places where they believe in past lives."
"She is," Max replied. "I don't know much about her either, she's very shy about her personal life, but there is a lot of wisdom inside that lady. She is a good influence on the children and you."
The Captain blushed and looked down at his hands. "Yes, she does. She is…special to this family, but I…I tried to tell her, Max, I did. The night we discussed it, I went to tell her, but showing her that side of me, she was scared to death of me, I've never seen anything like that."
"I think you're playing it the right way, Georg," Max advised. "Just become her friend, become her best friend and everything else will follow along in its own good time."
"Heinrich was leering at her today at the seamstress shop," the Captain told Max. "I wanted to rip his eyes out of his skull. I don't recall ever being so jealous."
"That would not be a good way to convince Maria you aren't scary," Max laughed. "I am on your side, I think the two of you, regardless of the age difference are good for each other. I know if I get the chance, I'll do all I can to nudge her in the right direction."
The Captain stood up and adjusted his jacket and tie. "Thank you very much, Max, but I work alone."