"Oh, I can't wait for you to meet them all. They are truly the most perfect children you'll ever see." Otto laughed at her excitement as he drove them to the Von Trapp villa, enjoying the sights of the countryside himself. He was born and grew up in the city, and he had never paid much attention to nature the way his wife did. Her joy and excitement about the world was one of the first things that had attracted him to her. She was an enthusiast on everything natural and earthy, which always made him laugh to himself. There were so many other things he needed to make sure she saw in the world, he mused.
"I'm sure they are lovely."
"Not just lovely, brilliant." He laughed, reaching to take her hand between them. She allowed him to lace their fingers together, giving him a quick smile as she pushed away the heavy burden of her night with Georg that was weighing upon her chest. Her husband was certainly allowed to take her hand.
"You know, we could start trying for children of our own." Her heart stopped, she swore it, and she felt dizzy for a moment. She laughed to cover her surprise.
"We're...still in the newlywed phase. Shouldn't we enjoy one another more thoroughly first?" He laughed wholeheartedly, thrilled at the thought of his wife wanting him to herself for a while. In reality, she wasn't even sure she wanted to have her own children. Aside from her own recent transgression, she felt he was far too immature to be a father, and she was afraid to bring a child into the world they lived in. She couldn't imagine a child thriving with their lifestyle, and she knew he would never agree to put their social calendar on hold for anything. He was simply not the man she ever imagined she could have a child with.
As they arrived at the villa, she felt her heart beat faster with anticipation. She remembered the nerves and fear she felt on the first day she walked through the gates, tripping on the rocks and dancing about like a fool to keep herself calm. The feeling was so entirely different all of a sudden, as she knew exactly how much love and adoration awaited her on the other side of the door. She nearly pulled her husband to the house as they approached, and he laughed at her excitement.
"Maria, no." He scolded her quickly as she moved to simply open the front door. She had lived in that house for months, become a part of the furniture, after all. She met his eyes in apology. He clearly hadn't expected her to be quite that familiar with the family.
"I…they would expect it from me."
"I should hope not." He reached forward and rang the doorbell, rolling his eyes at her impropriety. She supposed he was right, she needed to remember her place. Franz opened the door, annoyed as ever by her joyfulness, and he quickly led them to the veranda where the family was spending time before supper. She looked around briefly, noting that not one thing had changed since she ran away from the party, nearly eight months ago by then. It felt like so much longer and equally as if no time had passed at all.
She immediately spotted them, smiling brightly as the children played some silly game they made up together, laughing and carrying on in the most amusing way. Tears of joy began to pool in her eyes at the sight. In a matter of months they had grown so much, and she couldn't believe how different they all looked. She had missed way too much time with them. She swore Kurt was nearly as tall as her, and Brigitta looked like a young woman in the blink of an eye.
Suddenly, Georg met her eyes as Franz announced their arrival, and he quickly stood to greet his guests. Her heart pounded against her chest at the sight of him, sweat beginning to form in the palms of her hands. A blush crept upon her cheeks, and she found him amused by it as he approached them. She was amazed at how he showed no signs whatsoever to Otto that he had bedded his wife only the night before. He acted as if nothing at all was amiss, and she could not have been more impressed. She, on the other hand, was shaking with nerves. He gave her a gentle smile, motioning his hand toward the garden, and she returned the smile brightly as she let go of her husband's hand and rushed toward the children.
"Fraulein Maria!" Shouts of joy and excitement echoed across the grounds as she ran to them, and they all embraced happily. She cried with excitement as she hugged each and every one of them, all shouting and trying to get their moment with her.
"Care for a drink?" Otto took his gaze from the spectacle in front of him and met Georg's eyes with a smile. The men looked one an other up and down for a moment, sizing one another up, so to speak, before Georg returned his smile.
"I…well, what are we drinking?" Georg laughed and directed him toward the table where Max was doctoring some lemonade for them.
"Max, this is Otto Von Schneider." Otto shook his hand, and Max gave him a hard once-over as Georg resumed his seat. He had met the man at a few social events in the past, but the only things he really knew about him had come from Maria. And, of course, the fact that he was her husband was enough for him to disapprove immediately. He had shared as much with Max, who promised to keep things light and fun.
"You'd better sit down." Max smiled cheerfully as he poured a glass for Otto. "You will not be seeing your wife again for quite a long time, I fear."
She really couldn't have said exactly how long she played in the garden with the children. It felt like time had reversed and she was suddenly their governess again, frolicking and running about like a child herself. She kicked off her shoes and chased a ball with them, skipped rope with Brigitta, and she even fell to the ground playing tag as she tried to chase Kurt. She hadn't laughed like that in so long, her stomach aching from the strain of her constant amusement with the children. Their faces gleamed in the sunlight, so happy to be by her side as well, and she couldn't believe she had ever been able to leave them. She truly felt in that very moment that the missing piece in her life had been found; she was whole again.
He watched as she played with his children, and he wasn't sure he could love her any more in that moment. Her laugh floated on the breeze, and he nearly lost his mind with the need to go to her. Of course, he didn't. What would have been the result of that, he wondered with a sigh. He looked to Otto at various points in their conversation, finding him to be a bit annoyed by his wife's antics. He caught him rolling his eyes, appearing very bored or aghast as he observed her running about the garden, much like a child herself. Georg found that he adored that side of her, that childlike quality she sometimes allowed to fly free. It seemed that her husband, however, could not have been more appalled by it. He was reminded quite a lot of Elsa's similar response to her, and he wondered what it was about people from their social class that made them lose their sense of joy in life.
When supper was announced, the children took her hand and led her toward the villa. She saw Georg smiling happily as he watched them approach, and she quickly stepped into her shoes, stumbling a bit against Louisa in the process. They all laughed, the little ones rushing to their father in excitement as she found herself suggesting they all wash their hands before eating. They obeyed immediately, as if she were still their governess, and the adults shared a laugh about it as the children rushed away. Otto met her at the top of the steps, allowing Georg and Max to enter the house ahead of them. He suddenly grabbed her upper arm, roughly pulling her close to press his lips against her ear.
"Jesus Christ, Maria, you are a Baroness, not a governess. Behave accordingly, you're embarrassing me." His words were bitten harshly, and she was taken aback by how quickly his mood had changed. He had seemed happy enough upon their arrival, and he certainly showed no signs that he wasn't enjoying himself with the men. Her entire smile fell, his tone cutting through her, and she nodded quietly as he gave her one last harsh look before walking toward the villa.
She smoothed her dress, noticing a grass stain or two upon her skirt, and she bit her lip. Perhaps he was right, perhaps she needed to act her age and status…and she knew she did on any other occasion, but the children…she shook her head. She had gotten carried away, and she knew she needed to button up a bit more. The guilt of her own betrayal was heavy and hard in her stomach, and she felt she owed it to him to behave more like he expected of her.
She began to walk toward the open door, jumping in surprise as she met Georg's eyes. He seemed angry, and she knew he had seen the exchange between she and her husband. Had he heard her husband's words as well, she knew there would have been an argument between them. She stopped in front of him as she entered the villa, and their eyes held a conversation that didn't require words. He was very clearly concerned for her. She gave him a small smile, ending their gaze as she walked swiftly toward the dining room. He looked after her for only a moment before following, the defeated look upon her face from moments prior still haunting him.
He watched her throughout supper, laughing and interacting with the children, but that underlying sadness was still prevalent. He wasn't sure if anyone else could see it, but he could. It was right behind her eyes, a hollowness that he couldn't quite place. She clearly missed his family, in every possible way, it seemed. Whenever asked about her own life, she allowed her husband to take the lead as far as enthusiasm went. If he were honest, it seemed as if Otto was the only one enthusiastic about their life or marriage at all. She merely sat idly at his side and nodded her head when appropriate. He couldn't help but continuously wonder why on earth she had made such a hasty decision to get married, no matter how heartbroken she had been at the time. She couldn't have just courted the man for a few months longer before making the decision? He supposed it wasn't his place to ask, after all. He was in fact the reason for her heartbreak, he had to remind himself.
She met his eyes, and he gave her a supportive smile, which she immediately returned. Her stomach had been in knots ever since she returned to her husband's side that morning, but her heart felt warm at the look in Georg's eyes. It was frightening how well he understood her, how he could see directly into her soul. It was something he had been able to do since the very moment they met, and it still shook her to the core. Otto took her hand atop the table, and Georg cringed without his control. She softly smiled in apology, blushing a bit as she looked away and doing her best to pretend that she didn't see his reaction. It wasn't fair to either man for her to put them in that position, and she felt incredibly remorseful. Though, she couldn't tell exactly where that remorse lay at the moment. It should have been obvious, she knew.
"I have always dreamed of visiting Vienna. May I please visit you sometime?" Liesl asked excitedly as they finished their dessert. Maria smiled, not even hesitating to agree.
"Anytime, of course! School will be out soon enough, you should come back with us." The rest of the children spoke up with excitement, and she laughed wholeheartedly. "Yes, I'll take any and all of you whenever you'd like. If it's okay with your father, of course."
"I'm not sure if I could really trust you with them…" They all laughed at his sarcasm, and he broke a smile after a moment. "Of course I'm alright with it."
"All at once?" Otto turned to face her, his eyebrows high as he appeared overwhelmed by the prospect. She laughed at his surprise, shrugging.
"We have plenty of room." She hurried to change the subject before he could continue. "Give me some time, and I can plan out many places to take you all."
They became quite noisy with excitement, and she smiled, happy to hear such joy in their voices. She missed them terribly, and she would absolutely make good on her promise to bring them to Vienna sometimes. To have them in her life, in her own world, would have been the most amazing gift. Their presence in her home would certainly brighten the place up, she decided. Her life lacked the color that the children would most certainly bring.
When supper was over, they all retired to the sitting room where Liesl brought out her old guitar, and they sang the most beautiful song to her. They had apparently been preparing for quite a while with how perfectly their voices blended, and she was terribly impressed with their sound. While she supposed she could take credit for teaching them what she knew about music, they had thrived after being given the tools they needed. She began to cry as the last chord was strummed, the last harmony echoing against the walls, and they all applauded the beautiful arrangement of their song. She missed the music most of all.
"Your turn. What have you been working on these days?" Georg smiled as he took the guitar from Liesl and held it out to Maria. She fondly remembered a time she had done the same to him.
"I'm certain she doesn't have one musical bone in her body." Otto laughed, shaking his head, as a look of uncertainty flashed across her face. Georg's smile fell, as did those of the children, while their confusion took hold. His heart turned to ice at the words.
"Fraulein Maria taught us to sing." Marta spoke up, concerned that her former governess had somehow forgotten their summer together. Otto seemed very confused, giving her a surprised glance.
"You did?"
"Yes, she sewed us clothes out of her curtains and took us to the mountains for singing lessons." Kurt spoke up, and the rest of them laughed at the memory of their father fuming at the idea of clothes made from drapes.
"You can make clothes?" She blushed heavily as her husband met her eyes in question, surprised to be learning things about her from children who should not have known her better than he, in his opinion. She could tell he was annoyed by the revelation, possibly angry with her, she wasn't sure. She'd find out on the way back to their hotel, she knew.
"I…yes, I used to make my own clothes. And this guitar was once mine." She gave him a soft smile, shrugging. In all honesty, since she had left the children, and Georg, she hadn't much felt like singing. It was a vulnerable act that she wasn't ready to try for fear of opening her heart. "I suppose a new life meant new interests."
"Please sing for us, Fraulein. You have the most beautiful voice." Gretl begged as she took her hand, giving her sad eyes that she couldn't possible deny.
"You are about to be blown away, good man. I could've made so much money off of her." Max spoke up from the mini-bar across the room as he poured another glass of wine and brought it to Otto. She could nearly see the steam coming from his ears, and she felt quite ashamed. She hadn't meant to be dishonest or leave out anything about herself necessarily, it just sort of happened that way. She supposed there were a great many things he didn't know about her.
She gingerly took the guitar from Georg, who gave her a look of encouragement, and she took a deep breath at the comfortable feeling of the instrument in her hands. It was as if no time at all had passed since the last time she played, her fingers beginning to caress the strings before she stopped to bring a couple of them in tune. Her husband watched from her side, shaking his head in wonder as she began to sing one of the songs she used to enjoy singing with the children. Eventually they joined in, unable to stop themselves, and she smiled brightly as she was reminded of their summer together.
She knew she needed to stop living in the past, to stop tormenting herself with thinking about how things could have or should have been. She had been on a path of self-destruction for a long time with her line of thinking, and she needed to break free from it. She knew it to be true, and yet she found herself aching for another moment in Georg's arms, wondering if one more kiss would really be so bad. She knew the answer to that question as she began to play another song for the children, one that caused them to laugh and carry on as if they hadn't a care in the world.
She loved them desperately…but catching her husband's glaring gaze reminded her yet again of the life she had chosen.