"Thank you, Anna." The young woman smiled, as she placed plates of food in front of Maria and Liesl. Maria had never really been comfortable with the idea of servants or maids, but it seemed impossible to avoid as she stepped into the upper class. However, she refused to pretend there was any difference between herself and the people working in her home. She gently placed her hand upon the woman's arm to stop her from leaving so quickly. "How is your mother doing?"
"Oh, she's quite well, thank you. She's been up and moving around a lot more." The woman smiled, letting her guard down as she relaxed beneath the fact that Maria not only had remembered her name, but also that she cared enough to remember her mother had fallen ill. She was always so amazed by how surprised the staff was when she reminded them that she genuinely cared.
"That is wonderful! I've been praying for her very diligently. If there's anything you need, please be sure I know."
"Thank you, Baroness." She smiled, heading back toward the kitchen with an extra bounce in her step.
"She is such a sweet girl. She dreams of going to Paris one day and working with art." Liesl smiled, placing her napkin upon her lap.
"You really do make friends everywhere, don't you?" She laughed, taking a sip of her water.
"Well why not? One can never have too many friends." They shared a smile, beginning to reminisce about their day. They had certainly been all over the place, having made their way through a couple of smaller museums by lunchtime, and then they viewed stunning cathedrals and landmarks that Liesl simply knew would be something to brag about to her siblings upon her return home.
It had been quite a full day indeed. Each day that she had spent entertaining Liesl had been a full day, long and exhausting for them both, but she wouldn't have changed a moment of it all. They were having the time of their lives together, and she dared to dream about what it would have been like if she could spend all of her days like that, with all of the children by her side. It was a silly thought, as she knew she could potentially have that life if she was brave enough to take it. In her heart she knew that she would never be quite that brave. She was simply a foolish dreamer.
Suddenly, Otto stormed through the door, appearing exhausted from his day as well. He had been working late every evening since their return from Salzburg, apparently making up for lost time, even though they had in fact been traveling for his job. He was quite frustrated by the fact that he had to pick up so much slack upon their return. She had heard all about his frustrations every night before bed. His incessant complaining rang in her ears, in her dreams, she could hardly bear it. The air in the room shifted immediately upon his arrival, and she hoped Liesl didn't feel it too. She had been trying so hard to keep her distracted from anything that wasn't bright and happy, but her husband certainly made that difficult at times.
"Why are you sitting there?" He addressed Maria with frustration in his voice, starling her. She was seated next to Liesl upon one side of the table. It wasn't her usual place, but she felt it didn't much matter if it would just be the two of them.
"Did you have bad day, darling?" She tried to appeal to his softer side, but it seemed he was far past that.
"Don't change the subject. Why aren't you sitting at the head of the table where you belong?" She shrugged, meeting Liesl's eyes with an apologetic smile.
"I wanted to sit next to Liesl. It helps when we don't have to shout across the table at one another." She gave Liesl a wink as they shared a smile, and she leaned over her plate to take another bite of her food.
"Maria, I think you don't understand that it was more of a rhetorical question. You belong at the head of the table." He was completely serious, and she was a bit stunned by it. He had literally just walked in the door, hardly had a chance to sit down, and he was acting like quite the child about the seating arrangements. She swallowed the food in her mouth, deciding how to even speak to him in that moment.
"Don't be silly, I'm nearly finished eating."
"Then you will finish in your proper seat. Pick up your plate and move." Her heart was pounding, teeth clinched as she was ready to simply throw the plate in his face. She felt Liesl shrinking by her side, and she was very aware of how uncomfortable it must have been for her to be there in that moment.
"I will finish here, thank you." He stood quickly, the sound of his chair sliding against the floor as he rushed to her side and lifted her plate from in front of her. He swiftly walked to her usual seat and slammed the plate upon the table, shattering it and sending shards of it flying in all directions.
"Then you won't finish at all." He yelled before making his way back to his seat, sitting down in a huff and taking a bite of his own food. She felt her blood boiling, her heart threatening to pound out of her chest as her anger rose inside of her. The silence of the room was deafening, and her hands began to shake with frustration.
"Liesl, you'll be late to phone your father." She checked her watch, as if the girl really had a set time she was supposed to call, but she understood that she was being given an out. She quickly accepted the suggestion, leaving the room to head toward the study.
"You don't want her to see what happens to a disobedient wife."
"How dare you?" He stood from the table once more, and she did the same, ready for anything as he huffed toward her with his fists clinched. "What, you're going to hit me? Perhaps in the nose this time, show everyone you can make me bleed."
"You would love it if I did." She scoffed, unable to believe the man she was talking to.
"I would absolutely not. Whatever happened to the man who was so apologetic and wanted another chance to…"
"Maria, I have had a long, bad day. When I come home and ask you to…"
"You asked nothing, you commanded the most foolish nonsense I've ever heard." He met her eyes angrily, but she wasn't backing down. If he truly wanted her to give him another chance, she would not be afraid to demand respect. "It does not matter where I sit to eat."
"It does if I say it does." She gave a short laugh, making her way to the door. "Don't you walk away from me."
He was clearly in a mood that would not be changing anytime soon, and she didn't care to be around for it in the slightest. She was partially surprised he didn't try to follow her, either to apologize or to continue the argument, but she was glad for it. It was difficult to determine which direction he would take with each argument…and that seemed to be all they did anymore. He had been so ready to start over, to show her how much she really meant to him, but she should have known it was a facade. It had always been just another way for him to keep her to himself. And, she realized, that was all he ever wanted, really; to keep her to himself.
She stopped by the wine table in the hallway, on her way to the study, and poured herself a glass of wine. She had never been one to drink, but she certainly didn't mind some help to take the edge off for a moment. She felt embarrassed that Liesl had witnessed one of his tantrums. No matter how annoyed or upset he was with her, she expected he would keep it between them only. Certainly it should have embarrassed him too, if he was as worried about appearance as he seemed. It didn't matter anyway. All she knew was that she needed to keep him at bay until Liesl was safely home.
She smiled as she made her way to the study, hopeful to steal a moment of conversation with Georg, if she could. She missed him terribly, but she didn't want to appear too eager, especially in front of Liesl's watchful eye. Just the thought of him made her entire body buzz with excitement, but she needed to be calm. Instead of thinking too much about it all, she simply knocked and entered the study with a smile.
"Oh yes! We had the most delightful day. I have now seen every possible museum I can imagine." She sat in front of the desk, taking a sip of her wine as she listened to Liesl recount the events of their day. While she felt it was a very lovely day herself, it seemed that the girl's heart was soaring from the fun they'd had. She couldn't stop smiling at the excitement she heard. "Baroness, would you like to speak to Father?"
"Liesl." She laughed, shaking her head at the title. She heard Georg laughing through the phone and wondered if his daughter had told him Otto's preferences or if he simply was surprised.
"Well, would you?"
"Yes, alright." She smiled as she changed places with Liesl, sitting in the desk chair and bringing the phone to her ear. Liesl began to walk out of the room. "Wait, where are you going?"
"I have to use the restroom." She wasn't sure if she believed her as Liesl smiled brightly before leaving the room.
"So, Baroness, did you find your day just as enjoyable." She heard Georg teasing her through the phone, and she laughed.
"As a matter of fact, yes I did, Captain." He laughed a bit harder, the sound of his voice soothing her entire soul. The wine helped a bit, but he completely set her at ease.
"What is that all about?"
"Oh, another of Otto's ridiculous preferences. He was afraid the staff at home would find it disrespectful if she called me anything else." He scoffed, certain there were many more ridiculous preferences, as she called them, that he would be appalled by.
"So he's changed a lot then." He meant it as a joke, but she felt tears beginning to well up in her eyes. She didn't mean to feel emotional, it caught her off guard. She supposed she was a bit of a mess inside from the constant uncertainty in her life. He heard her silence, immediately worried he had gone too far. "I'm sorry, my love, I didn't mean…"
"No, it's alright. Hearing your voice helps tremendously."
"Liesl said supper was interesting tonight." She bit her lip, wondering if Liesl would have pretended it didn't happen, but knowing how honest she always was with her father.
"Yes…he's such a child. We were having a perfectly fine time before…" She stopped herself, knowing she needed to stay buttoned up. It had been her decision to come home with him, after all. "I'm sorry, it's quite fresh in my mind."
"Understandable. I'm always here to listen." She smiled, wishing she was in his arms instead of only on the phone.
"I would much rather know how you and the rest of the children are." He chuckled, understanding that she needed a change of subject.
"We've been well. It is quite odd for Liesl to be gone. It's giving me a taste of what it will be like when she attends university, and I am not ready for that." They shared a laugh. She could only imagine how lost he would be when his children did start leaving home. "I took them out on the rowboat today, properly, I will add."
"Properly? You mean you didn't tip it over?"
"I did not." She laughed, taking the last sip of her wine. She didn't remember drinking the whole glass already. "They seemed less excited about staying dry though. Apparently they like to nearly drown."
She laughed wholeheartedly, and he was thrilled to hear the sound in his ear. He worried about her well-being quite a lot, especially when he would hear that there had been a disagreement or incident that his daughter had witnessed. He assumed that however tense his daughter noticed things were, it had to be so much worse when she wasn't around. He knew she would never let anything happen to Liesl, but he worried just as much about something happening to her. She didn't seem to realize how potentially dangerous her husband could be…or perhaps she did, but she was pretending everything was fine as she always did. While he admired her sunny disposition, he did worry that she was a bit too good at hiding things.