Chapter Eight
von Trapp Home
Stowe, Vermont
July 1960

It wasn't until the next day at supper time that Lida, Catherine, and Julia returned to the house on the hill. They were greeted with their mother's warm smile and the aroma of roasted chicken filling the air.

"Mama!" Julia almost knocked Maria over with the force of her embrace. "Are you okay? I was so worried then Papa told me I had to stay with Kurt."

Maria held her youngest girl close to her breast and rocked just a little bit. Maria could see Cathy and Lida both needed reassurances too, so she stretched out her right arm to take all three girls into a hug. "I am fine," Maria whispered. "I am fine, my dears. I am fine, I'm so sorry I made you all worry."

Georg was sitting in the living room listening to his wife soothe their daughters. They had talked extensively about what had happened all morning and Maria only wanted to put it behind them. He studied Julia's face, then Lida's, then Cathy's. Angelic all, and he didn't feel any difference in his heart, he loved them all the same.

It broke his heart that Lida might feel disconnected from the family. He never wanted that, and he prayed he had never given her reason to doubt his love.

Lida broke off from the little group and moved towards Georg. She understood more than the other two the unique connection her parents had. "Are you all right, Papa? You look exhausted."

"Your Mama had a tough night," Georg replied. "Go help her with supper. I'm going to get some fresh air and I'll be good as new."

"Papa," Lida said as Georg turned to head outside. "I need to talk to you and Mama about something in private. After supper."

"Are you all right?" Georg asked. Lida usually didn't ask; she just blurted stuff out like Maria sometimes would.

"I'm good," Lida assured him with a smile. "I'm really good. Don't worry Papa."

Lida gave Georg a kiss on the cheek then turned to help Maria with the rest of the supper.

The girls offered to do the dishes that night on their own so that Maria had more time to relax. Now that the three of them were together again, Julia filled her older siblings in on the details of what had happened the day before.

"I came down to ask Mama if I could go to Chrissy's house for a while and visit and I heard her crying. She was hiding under the steps like she'd just seen something awful," Julia relayed. "And Papa wasn't home, so I called the Sheriff and Curtis and they helped until we found Papa at Louisa's."

"You did well," Cathy praised. "I know I couldn't have done that. I'd probably have been crying with her."

"I was later," Julia confessed. "But she acted sick at first, so I thought it was like her heart or something."

Lida carefully dried the dish in her hand, "Did you see the man that came here?"

Julia shook her head, "I heard a man's voice, but I don't know what he said. Mama just said he smelled bad; she kept talking about him smelling, but I didn't smell anything. I'm just glad she's okay. Papa can always help Mama when she gets upset and she can help him too, it's like magic or something."

Lida laughed at Julia's observance, "It's not magic, Jules. It's love and that is a feeling like nothing else in the world."

Cathy winked at Lida, "Did Will say he loves you already?"

Lida blushed, "No, but he said he wants to take Mama and Papa out on Saturday and that he'd talk to Papa on their own after the way Papa likes it, so I guess he has some kind of feeling for me. That or he's never read a book about World War I."

"Papa isn't in all of the books," Julia supplied. Her sisters often left her on the edge of things like this and it bothered her they were so close even with a three year age difference. "And when he is in the ones at school, he's an enemy so…"

"Still," Cathy supplied. "I think it's a good sign. He's going to talk with Mama and Papa, you don't have to sneak around anymore, and I don't have to worry about saying anything about it where they can hear. You can tell me everything and we won't have to whisper."

"Oh, Catherine," Lida said shaking her head. "I sincerely doubt I'll be telling you everything, but he does kiss like a dream. I've only been kissed by two other guys and it felt like fish were sucking my face. It was awful. Will's different. I'm going to need you to back me up though if Papa loses it."

"Got your back," Cathy promised as they put away the final dish.

Lida took a breath, "It's now or never. Wish me luck."

Both girls nodded and Julia looked up at Cathy. She was the tallest of the brood, the same height at Liesl, if not a hair taller. "How do you think this is going to go over?"

Cathy sighed, "Lida wasn't honest at first, and that's going to make them angry, I think we might be in for some fireworks, especially without Uncle Max here to make jokes and lighten everything up. Still, he's never yelled at any of us, not like Brigitta said he used to, so I think it might be okay."

"Let's hope," Julia sighed. "You want to play gin?"

"Best out of ten, nickel a game?" Cathy suggested their usual wagering.

"You are on!"

Lida was so nervous as she went to initiate the conversation with Maria and Georg. They were sitting on the sofa in the parlor watching the television. Maria was knitting what looked like a baby sweater and Georg was reviewing the crossword puzzle in the newspaper. He had his reading glasses on the end of his nose but kept peeking over them to check on Maria.

"Papa, Mama," Lida said as she entered the room. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Ah, yes," Georg replied. "You mentioned earlier you had something to discuss with us." He set aside the paper and Maria put down her knitting so they could give Lida their full attention.

Lida nodded and sat down on one of the side chairs across from Maria and Georg. "Oh, God,' she took a deep breath. "This is a hard thing to tell parents...Oh God…"

"Whatever it is, LIda," Maria offered gently. "It probably seems worse than it is. I'm sure it isn't as bad as it feels right now. Most things aren't, you know."

Lida nodded, "Remember on Sunday," she finally began. 'Friedrich and I were mad at each other?"

"Yes," Georg replied. "I still cannot believe two of my grown children behaved like that, and Friedrich of all of them! He is the mildest mannered of the lot of you."

"Usually," Lida replied. "But I did something that made him really angry with me and I promised him I would tell you the truth, so…"

The word truth made Maria sit up a little more. "The truth? The truth about what?"

Lida bit her lip, "You are going to freak out, but please hear me out before you lose it all together. Please…"

Georg took a breath, "Of course we will listen to you, Lida," he replied in the gentlest tone he could muster in spite of mounting anxiety. That was his talent as a father, to speak and bring a sense of calm no matter what the issue. He hoped it was working.

"It got out of hand," Lida began. "At first, it was just a talking at the bakery when he would come in, then the Friday after my birthday he took me on a picnic to celebrate it. We had a really nice time, and he was such a gentleman. So, when he asked me on a walk a couple days later, I went."

"Back up," Georg's tone had changed from calm and encouraging to edgy. "You went on a picnic with some man you met at the bakery? Just some random man that happened to stop by for a pastry?"

"No," Lida defended. "Not that fast. He'd come three or four times a week for a month before…I kind of new him. He's six years older than me and he grew up in England. His father was killed in the war and his mom still lives there. He's a handyman, he works a few towns over."

Maria's mind was processing all of this. English. The man that was there the day before had a British accent. That must have been who'd come to the door, Lida's boyfriend.

Maria felt like she was going to have a panic attack. Lida's new friend smelled just like that man that attacked her. She knew it was not him, she knew this young man had nothing to do with him, but she still felt shaken. "Georg," she breathed, hoping he would see she was in need of him. "That must have been the man that was here."

Georg heard the urgency in Maria's voice and saw the change in her color. He got up and moved closer to Maria, taking her hand into his lap and smoothing his finger over her knuckles.

"He didn't tell me he was planning to come here on his own," Lida defended. "I'm so sorry, Mama. I know you don't like strangers coming around, I am so sorry. I guess he wanted to do the right thing after Friedrich saw us kissing in the park last Friday. I told him how upset Friedrich was with me, I was upset at myself for not telling you sooner I'd met someone."

Maria's hand was white knuckling Georg's. "If he did that," Georg reasoned. "He had no fault in what happened. He wouldn't be able to know that your mother gets nervous around strangers. What is his fault, and yours, Lida Rose, is not being honest with us before. It's been a month since your birthday, my girl, and we are only hearing of this now! If you brother didn't see you, would we even be talking?"

Georg got up and started to pace back and forth. His distress calmed Maria down almost automatically, his need for her overpowered her fears and memories. "Darling, please don't upset yourself. I'm sure Lida would have come to us in her own good time."

Georg's eyes flashed as he battled with his temper. He had never lost his temper with his girls, and he didn't want to start now. "That's not good enough, Maria," he finally said, his tone clipped but even. "I don't ask for much of my children, but I do ask for a little respect. You know how I feel about meeting any man you are interested in seeing, and how your mother feels about you girls being alone with strangers and you disregarded those things. Why?"

Lida studied her lap; she had let them down. "Because I was afraid," she admitted. "I was afraid you wouldn't like William and then I couldn't see him anymore and I wanted to see him again and then again until…I am sorry I wasn't open about it. I didn't want you to say no, and then when I let it get so far, I didn't want you to be angry with me."

Georg looked over at Maria, and she looked up at Georg. They were talking with their eyes again, something that was etched in Lida's memory. One of her earliest memories was of her parents with Liesl when Matthew was born, talking to one another without the benefit of words. "We're not, Sweetheart," Maria confirmed after a few minutes. "We're disappointed and a little hurt you didn't have more trust in us, but you did see what happened with Curtis and Tony, so we do understand. Now, when do we formally meet this young man?"

"Saturday for supper," Lida replied. "His treat, some French place in Montpelier."

"Not his treat and that is fine," Georg countered. "That'll be the day I'll take anything from any man interested in one of my daughters, please make that clear."

"I will, Papa," Lida replied. "You're really not angry with me?"

Georg bit his lip and shook his head, "I wish you told us before now, I wish that your brother didn't have to push it, but you came to us before he did and let us know what was going on. I can be understanding in that."

Lida gave Georg a strong hug, "Thank you, Papa," she murmured against his shoulder before moving to hug Maria. "Mama, I am so sorry. I really am, I don't know why he…He was nice to you, wasn't he? He didn't do anything that scared you on purpose, did he?"

Maria shook her head, "No, that was a memory from another time that did that, my girl. But please do me a favor?"

"Name it," Lida replied quickly. She knew she dodged a huge bullet with her parents' reaction.

"Tell him not to wear any cologne to this dinner, I am allergic to whatever it is he wears, that's what caused me to be unable to breath and then I panicked..."

"I will, I'll tell him," Lida replied. "And to be honest with you, Mama, I kind of hate that cologne too. I'll have to get him a new one for his birthday."

Maria and Lida's foreheads touched as both women smiled. Georg looked at them, mother and daughter, Lida looked almost exactly like Maria had her first days at the villa and Maria had aged so gracefully he could hardly guess she was 45. He still felt 45 when he looked at her. Well, most of the time.

"I really can't wait for you to meet him, Mama," Lida gushed. "I know you'll really like him when you get to know more about him."

"I hope so, Sweetheart," Maria whispered. "I hope so."

A/N: I have completed the revelation chapters, 12 and 13 as it turned out, but things get jumping in the next chapter. I'm not finished the story yet, so I'm going to release a chapter every couple days until I do just incase life gets in the way of it.

Let me know what you're thinking. I see the favs and follows, but I'm only hearing from a couple of you. Bloomandgrow, LynnVermelha, and new "guest" reviewer Dorothy, thanks so much for your valuable insights and encouragement. It is so appreciated. I can't wait to hear your views on what's to come.

Happy reading.