Chapter Three
Three Days Later
Morristown, Vermont

Maria bounced the tiny baby girl in her arms as Samuel helped Louisa into their home. "You see," Georg smiled at his daughter. "I told you that everything would be fine."

Georg and Maria had been staying with Louisa's older children at her home in nearby Morristown. Louisa's baby daughter had been born healthy, yet a touch smaller than her other three children, Robert, Michael, and Jonathan. "We finally have our daughter," Louisa told her husband after the doctor permitted him to come inside the room to see his newborn.

When Louisa got pregnant unexpectedly, she had secretly hoped for a girl this time around and her wish was granted. She had been terrified, every other baby she had was born late, but as Maria, Sam, and Georg promised her precious little Margaret was perfect.

Louisa smiled, "I know you did, Papa. You've been through this more times than any of us and we still question your judgment."

"How many times have you been a father or grandfather again, Georg?" Samuel asked as he set down Louisa's things smiling as his sons fawned over their new sister nestled in their grandmother's arms.

"Well now let me see," Georg sighed. "There's my ten, then Liesl has four, Friedrich has the two boys, Kurt has three but the twins only count as one birth, Brigitta hasn't blessed me yet, Marta has three and Gretel has three, and of course these four so that makes…twenty-seven, twenty-seven births and no, it doesn't get easier."

Louisa settled down in a soft arm chair nearest Maria and pulled her youngest boy close for a hug. "I wish they would do it here like they did in Austria. Even if you were "advanced maternal age" you had your babies at home. I really preferred the boys' births to this one."

"It's hard on all of us, Darling," Georg assured her. "I had to walk Samuel around the hospital grounds for about an hour to get him to calm down and he's a father four times over. I can't imagine how it is on the new parents, not even knowing what to expect. It's barbaric."

Maria shifted and handed little Margaret to her mother, "She's smacking her lips. I'll get a bottle warmed for her."

"That's the other thing, though I must say I do prefer this method," Georg said sitting down across from Louisa. Samuel was shipping their boys off for play, planning to join them and given them some time and attention. "Bottle feeding, the baby is stronger, I think. I know Cathy and Julia fed much less than any of you on the breast."

"I only nursed Robbie," Louisa replied. "And it is much easier sharing the feedings with Sam. Papa, I wanted to tell you, thank you for keeping me calm the other day. I know I lost it there for a minute…"

"I know," Georg replied. "I know and it's all right. Just because you are all grown up with children of your own doesn't mean you won't need your Mama or Papa now and again. I was glad to help."

Louisa passed the baby and the bottle off to Georg when Maria returned. "I think she wants her Grandpa."

Maria watched as Georg fed the tiny little girl. He had such an amazing way of connecting with all of his children and grandchildren, the girls especially. It was the same quiet strength and gentle force that Maria had found so helpful when learning to trust again, learning to love as a woman. She felt her girls, all 8 of them, learned what a good man was by watching their father and their boys learned what a good husband did by the same example. She only hoped she set the same for her girls.

Time would tell…

Six Weeks Later
June 30, 1960
Stowe, Vermont

The bakery thrived as did baby Margaret. Max was in his glory working with Rosamaria on the counter in the mornings then drumming up business in the afternoon. He hadn't returned to his apartment in New York since the bakery opened. Lida came in for lunch time, Rosa already expanded her menu to include coffee and more savory delights.

Two days earlier, Lida had turned 22 and Matthew had turned 20. Maria could tell Lida was restless, that she wasn't sure exactly what or who she wanted to be in life. Cathy was almost three years younger, but seemed more settled and focused on becoming a historian. Julia knew her future as well, she wanted to continue to expand her piano skills beyond the church, but was hoping for a young man to come her way.

"I want your happiness, Mama," Julia told Maria when she asked her why she was so focused on a suitor at only 17. "Most of my sisters were married by 21, it's just Brigitta, Lida, and Cathy that didn't marry young. Even the boys."

Maria touched her daughter's hand, "Just make sure you find your soulmate, be his friend and let the rest follow. That's why your father and I have done so well in all we've had to go through."

Julia almost slipped and asked her mother if she should be mirroring her older sisters new friendship with a very regular customer at the bakery, but she held her tongue. Lida and Cathy were close, but always relegated Julia to the status of "baby" and didn't tell her their secrets. If she spilled the tea on Lida they would never let her into their circle again.

Lida had become fast friends with the newcomer in town. She liked William Brown. He was funny, he was handsome, and the accent was adorable. Whenever he would come in he would buy a coffee, a savory pastry, and slice of strudel and sit in the far corner. Lida would smile at him, find reasons to talk with him, and it was noticeable, especially to Liesl who worked with the family three afternoons a week.

"Lida," Liesl said as she pulled her sister aside a few days before her birthday. "You are openly flirting with that man. What's going on?"

"He's handsome," Lida replied. "And he's so kind and funny. It's weird, every time he talks to me my pulse races."

Liesl sighed, "Then stop flirting. It's not lady like. Perhaps he will let you know he's interested too, but what you're doing isn't proper for being in a business especially."

"Liesl, you are so old school sometimes," Lida replied. "Girls do this all the time back at school. You should have seen the way Joanie and Ellen flirted with boys, and they both got married this year."

"I might be a little old fashioned," Liesl admitted. "But if Uncle Max sees you doing that, he might tell Papa and believe me you don't want that. You want to have something to tell and you want to be the one to do it. Papa is older, he's old fashioned too and if you get him upset, Mama will get upset."

Lida worried her lips. She didn't want any issues with her parents, they always got along really well, but this was uncharted territory for her. In the end, she decided to take Liesl's advice, be nice, but let the ball fall in William's court. And it did, in a big way.

"Your usual today, Will?" Lida asked when he came in that hot Thursday morning in late June.

"Yes, miss," Will replied with a smile. "I didn't see you here on Tuesday. I stopped by."

"I was off this Tuesday," Lida replied. "My parents took me to Montpelier for the day to do some shopping. It was my birthday."

"Well, Happy Belated and many happy returns," Will smiled, his British accent peaking when he murmured the familiar phrase of his childhood for birthdays.

"Thank you," Lida smiled. "I'll bring your order as soon as it's ready."

Will nodded but hesitated to go to his seat. Lida turned around to start making his coffee to his preference when she felt his eyes on her. "Was there something else?"

Will took a deep breath, "Yes," he replied. "A picnic. You and I, if agreeable with you. Perhaps tomorrow when you get off work here? When is that?"

"I finish at 3pm tomorrow," Lida replied. "Aren't you working on a Friday afternoon? I know you do work or you couldn't afford to eat her so often."

"I do," Will replied. 'But I am off on Friday and Sunday, since I work on Saturdays. I'm a carpenter generally, but I do repair work, I'm sure you know J and P's Home Repair in the next town."

Lida shook her head, "No, my father is actually very good with tools and all kinds of mechanical sorts of things. He never really used a service. If he can't fix it, usually my sister Brigitta can figure it out."

"Brigitta, I don't think I've met her yet," Will stated. "How many of you are there?"

"Ten," Lida laughed. "And that doesn't count husbands, wives, or kids, that's just my siblings. No, Brigitta doesn't work here, she just invested in the business." Lida thought for a moment, "I would like to have a picnic on Friday, I'll see you a little after three. We can meet up by that phone booth?"

Lida realized she was going against Liesl's advice, but she felt so much whenever Will was around and she couldn't put a name to it at all. She felt it was something she had to explore, she had to get a feel for this…for life and she had to do it outside the scope of being a von Trapp.

Lida was caught between two worlds. Her parents were immigrants and Georg much older than the fathers of any of her friends. They were more Maria's age, however, Maria was influenced by her own past in the convent and what was acceptable in Austria as opposed to the United States. Both Georg and Maria found propriety quite loose, even among Catholic families. Most of the other children had married over a decade ago, and many had married first generation immigrants from Italy or Poland where the rules of propriety were very strict.

Lida wanted to respect her parents, but in school, most of the girls were flirty, thriving, open about emotion, open about dating…that's how she felt, she wanted to be like that, she wanted to be open to new things and new ideas. Getting her father's permission to even have lunch with a very nice man was not inside the scope of that.

Two Weeks Later

The picnic lunch had gone well. William proved to be every bit the gentleman. He was handsome, devilishly so, with dark brown eyes, thick dark hair, and that adorably accented baritone voice. When his hand would brush up against Lida's she could hardly breathe, and when he enveloped her in his strong arms on their third date, offering a gentle, yet very sensual kiss goodbye, Lida was searching for breath.

They had five dates in fourteen days. Lida knew that eventually she was going to have to bring William to the farm to meet her family. She hid this from everyone, even Liesl who had always been her confidant. She knew they would all disapprove of her doing this on her own, without the family being involved, but it felt good to be independent and making choices only for herself.

As they concluded their walk in the park that Friday in mid-July, Will took Lida's hands and pulled her gently toward him to cuddle her close as they talked.

"So, your father's first wife was one of my people too," Will smiled. "Good, a connection then for when we finally meet."

"My father is older," Lida reminded him. "He's very formal when it comes to dating, in fact he still says courting and thinks you should only do it once, maybe twice in your life."

"Something to be said for tradition," Will replied. "I never met my father. He left my mother with friends in England while she was carrying me and returned to Austria to try and close out some business deals. He returned to England only a few times before the war broke out when I was four."

"I was three when the war broke out here," Lida recalled. "I don't remember much about it, only that Mama was holding me and Cathy so close to her. Papa kept packed suitcases by the door in case we ever heard the Germans had invaded. I remember he had a fear of that until I was at least 7."

"It was a brave thing your father did," Will sighed as he started to gently sway back and forth with Lida in his arms. "Standing up for what he believed. Mother told me that my father ended up fighting for the Germans, she heard he'd been killed in the Battle of the Bulge, but not until after VE Day."

"I'm so sorry," Lida replied. "I truly am. I can't imagine what my life would be like without Papa. He's always been there. Mama told me I was born into his hands, that he's been supporting all of us from the moment we were born. I feel terrible not telling him I've been seeing you, truly, but I'm enjoying your company too much to upset the apple cart, so to speak."

"You should tell your family soon, Lida," Will encouraged. "Perhaps after church on Sunday, I can wait outside. It'll be neutral ground, no man's land as the army types would say."

"That might be nice," Lida replied. "Okay, let's do that. Sunday after Mass we'll meet at the clock."

What Lida didn't think about, and didn't plan for, was how open the park was and how little the trees did to mask the view of the walkway from the street. Anyone could see anything if they got stopped at the midtown light…and someone did.

A/N: I'm finally feeling this story start to flow. It's been a lot harder writing this one than it was Building Trust, I think because with Building Trust I was just putting out a story Now, thanks to everyone that read and reviewed, I feel I have to make this one just a good or better. Been a little bit of a rough go.

Who catches Lida? What will they do about it?

I'm figuring on about 10 chapters for this piece and I do have those Snapshot pieces slowly coming together. Problem is they aren't coming in any real order. Stay tuned!