Scène 7, family visits part 2 - 1930
July of 1930
Liesl - age 9
Friedrich - age 7
Louisa - age 6
Kurt - age 4
Brigitta - age 3
Marta - one week old
Frank's children:
Michael - age 11
James - age 8
Catherine/Katie - age 6
William - age 5
Cora - age 2
After weeks of planning in advance, Agathe's parents and brother, with his family, would finally be visiting. The children were busy helping prepare the guestrooms.
"Here, you take these towels and fold them nicely, like this." Georg showed Liesl and Kurt with military precision.
Both grinned widely and saluted their father and ran off. Agathe rolled her eyes and tutted. "What?" Georg asked innocently.
"Oh, you know exactly what. I am not allowing you to run this house like one of your ships." she scolded him lightly.
"I thought you said so yourself that they needed a little discipline. Besides, they enjoy it." he defended.
"As long as you don't ever make them march about the grounds with a whistle or start bellowing orders. Promise me that".
Before Georg had the chance to respond, he was interrupted by his two children. "Father, could you check the ones we have folded?" Liesl asked.
"Yes of course, I will check them, Selly." he said as he followed them into the bathroom.
Georg and Agathe weren't too worried about their family's arrival. Though Georg had the urge to prove himself to Agathe's father. When he was courting Agathe, John, her father, was not too happy with that. He said that boys like him weren't any good and that he was betting that Georg would soon leave his daughter to hook up with another girl.
And then there were the children. Frank, Agathe's brother, had five children, three boys and two girls between the age of eleven and two. Last year the Von Trapps went to England and the children got along quite nicely, with some disputes and mischief here and there. Eleven children were going to be a lot to handle, but Georg knew that once the children found out their cousins and nieces would be visiting, they were going to be ecstatic.
The children were fluent in English, being taught by their mother. Agathe's family had Austrian roots, so they also spoke German. That made communication a lot easier.
Georg had unlocked the backdoor, so Frank and his family could sneak in and surprise Agathe, while she welcomed her parents.
"Dear, you look lovely!" Aggie exclaimed as she embraced her daughter in her arms.
"How are you holding up, Georg?" John asked while he shook his son in law's hand.
"Good, sir. We are lucky we have such good children, that does make having a new baby a lot easier." Georg smiled. John nodded and walked over to his daughter. Agathe wasted no time and embraced her father.
"He's been good to you?" John asked. Agathe smiled and lightly rolled her eyes.
"Yes father, my dear husband has been good to me." she teased as she let go of him. Her father hummed.
When she turned around she stood eye in eye with her brother, who stood there watching her with a broad smile. "Thought I'd surprise you." Frank said as he walked over to where his younger sister was standing. He handed over the bouquet of flowers and embraced his sister in a hug.
"I will have to admit, I did not expect to see you here".
They let go of each other. Frank grinned, and motioned with his head towards Georg. "You will have to thank him".
Agathe shook her head. "You knew this all along?" she asked Georg with a wide grin, who nodded in response.
After she had welcomed Margarete, Frank's wife, and her cousins, everyone headed towards the drawing room. It didn't take much time before the children ran off to play outside, leaving the adults behind to catch up with each other.
Not much later her father stood up. "I am going for a smoke. Georg, come with me".
Agathe was not sure if that was a question or not. She saw Georg glance over at her quickly, as if he were asking for her approval. She nodded, barely visible, in a language only she and Georg understood.
Georg placed his drink on the side table, and stood up. Agathe could tell that he was a bit nervous, though he masked it very well.
"Don't try to intimidate him, father. He is a good man." Agathe pleaded.
"Oh, I won't. I just want to have a talk with my son in law, that's all." John explained.
Georg followed John outside to the terrace. He could hear the children from a distance. John offered him a cigarette.
"No thank you. Agathe doesn't like it when I smoke." he politely declined the offer. John turned around, leaning against the balustrade with his back, lightning his cigarette. He inhaled the smoke, and not much later exhaled it.
"I am going to be honest with you. I did not think you would have lasted this long. From what Agathe tells me, you are a caring, kind and good man".
John paused, and turned to Georg, looking him straight in the eye.
"If I ever hear you are not a gentleman to her, like she tells me you are, or if anything happens to her, I swear to God…" he threatened, leaving the threat in the air between them.
"I understand, sir. I am doing everything to keep my family, and your daughter safe. I can't stand seeing her upset. Your daughter deserves the best, and frankly I don't think I deserve her." Georg said.
John turned around, leaning on the balustrade with his forearms. "I can see it in your eyes".
Georg looked confused. "Sir?"
"The way you look at her, or when someone mentions her name. You love her, I can tell." John explained.
Georg nodded. "I really do, sir".
John sighed and faced Georg again. "Truth to be told, that is what I want for my daughter. You are not so bad after all." John said as he patted Georg on his shoulder, walking back into the house.
Not much later Agathe came outside, looking for him. "What did he say?" she asked.
Georg shrugged. "Just the usual talk. Though he did say he could see it in my eyes, how much I love you." he smiled.
"Well, that is an improvement. I know that he secretly loves you. He is just too scared he is going to lose me forever. Can't say that I understand what that means, but I think that someday you will." she said, embracing him.
Georg smiled down. "I hope not. I can't imagine how your father did it. I don't think I will ever be ready for my girls to grow up and fall in love".
"I feel sorry for that poor boy already. You would crush the poor child into the ground." Agathe joked.
The adults were interrupted by a flood of children entering the drawing room. "Mama, may we have a biscuit, please?" Kurt asked. Soon nine pairs of eyes were watching Agathe expectantly.
"Yes, you may." she answered.
Not much later, all nine children were occupied with eating their biscuits.
"Troupe, I have presents for you." their uncle said. Uncle Frank always used to call the Von Trapps 'troupe', making it easier to tell which children he was talking to. The nickname fitted them quite well, they all had beautiful singing voices.
"They are spoiled enough already." their father said, shaking his head.
Frank called Liesl over. "What do you say when you get a present?" he asked her.
Liesl looked at him, confused. "Thank you?" she answered, unsure.
Frank clapped his hands together. "See, Georg, they're not spoiled." he smiled. Georg rolled his eyes. After handing out the presents, Frank wanted to catch up with his cousins and nieces.
Margarete excused herself and went with her youngest, Cora, to the guestrooms. After a couple of days of travelling, the two-year-old was very tired, so Margarete thought a nap would be good for her.
"Dad." William, Frank's five-year-old, said, trying to get his father's attention.
After getting no response, he tried again. "I'm having a conversation with your uncle." Frank said, ignoring his son.
William muttered something under his breath and groaned in frustration. That however did catch his father's attention. "Drop and give me five." Frank said, snapping and pointing to the floor. William lowered himself into a plank position, and did five pushups.
"Don't tell Margarete, she hates it when I make them do push ups or other exercises. I can't say I understand why though. Gives them a way to release their energy while thinking about their actions, plus with their behaviour they're gonna be the strongest kids on the planet." Frank told Georg.
Before Georg had the chance to respond, Agathe intervened. "Don't you dare even think about it. We are not running some navy here." Agathe warned.
"From what your brother tells me, it doesn't seem like a stupid plan. It could actually be helpful." Georg defended. Agathe shook her head and returned to her conversation.
Michael was the eldest, which caused all the other children to look up to him. He was proudly telling stories about things he and his friends had done. One particular story caused his father to look up.
"You'd better not be telling them all kinds of tales about your misbehaviour." his father scolded.
"Uh, I'm not." Michael stammered. Frank raised an eyebrow.
"You bunch go outside before you get yourself in trouble." his father said. Michael was lucky to be saved by his father and followed his cousins outside.
"Why can't we join you?" Louisa asked, with her hands on her hips, glaring at the boys.
"We already told you! You are girls, we just want to hang out together, with just the boys." Friedrich said. Michael, James, William and Kurt nodded in agreement.
"Ignore them, they think they're all great, just because they have dicks or something. Surprise, they're not, they're just little boys who think they're amazing. How pathetic." Catherine, though everybody called her Katie, said, grabbing Louisa by her arm.
Louisa and Katie were the same age, making them good friends. Sometimes they didn't get along very well, because they both could be very stubborn. Katie had brown hair and was the more outspoken one of the duo. Some would say she had a big mouth, however she would tell them that she was just sticking up for herself. Which was necessary considering she had two older brothers, Michael and James, and an Irish twin, William.
"Bye losers!" Katie said, pulling Louisa along, towards the gazebo. Liesl and Brigitta followed the pair.
"Shut up, Katie!" James, her eight-year-old brother, yelled after them.
Katie stopped, turned around and gave her brother the finger. "I'll tell dad you used that finger and he'll make you wear mittens!" William threatened.
"Oh, how mature of you! You are such a baby." Katie said, mocking her younger brother.
"Katie, come." Liesl said, trying to diffuse the situation, but no one seemed to hear her.
"Don't call me that!" William said.
"Or what? Are you going to fight me or something? I beat your ass last time".
That snapped something in William. He lunged himself at Katie, ready to prove himself. Michael sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Does this happen often?" Liesl asked him. Michael nodded, watching his siblings romp.
"Do we need to get an adult?" she asked.
"Nah, that's no fun. I want to see who wins." he answered.
Katie had the upperhand in the fight. William was thrashing around while she held him pinned to the ground.
After a bit Liesl sighed and decided that she needed to intervene. "Both of you, stop it." she said, while trying to detangle them. After she succeeded, the siblings stood opposite each other, dishevelled, glaring and panting. It had rained earlier that day, so their clothes were mucky now. That would need some cleaning before they could enter the house if they didn't want any of the adults to find out.
"Come." Liesl said, dragging Katie away from the boys, while holding Brigitta's hand.
"That was awesome! You totally beat his ass!" Louisa exclaimed. Katie smiled and the four of them were now really off towards the gazebo.
After both groups went their separate ways, and played, they got called in for dinner. First the children were going to have dinner and after they were finished, the adults had dinner.
Upon seeing his children arrive, Frank narrowed his eyes. Katie and William both had made sure to wipe as much muck as they could away, but it was still not fully gone. The others quickly took a seat, not wanting to get caught up in the mess.
"Will they get in trouble?" Kurt whispered to James, who shrugged in response.
"Maybe, I'm not sure".
"Are you going to be in trouble too then?" Kurt asked.
"If they're dumb enough to tattle on me." James answered.
Not much later Katie and William joined the rest. "What happened?" Louisa asked.
"Me and Will are gonna get a hiding before bed, for fighting." Katie said, scowling.
"Yeah, and I bet you are gonna get your mouth washed out too, for fibbing!" William added, causing James to grin.
Katie kicked her brother underneath the table. "Ow!"
"Are we in trouble as well?" Kurt asked anxiously.
"I don't recall you fighting, now did you?" Katie answered annoyedly.
"Oh." Kurt said, relieved.
The evening passed and soon it was time for the children to get ready for bed. Georg told the children a nighttime story, giving Agathe the time to talk with her family.
The next morning the children got ready for breakfast. It didn't take much time for them to be ready, they were too eager to see their cousins again.
Katie and William winced when they sat down, causing Michael and James to snort. "It's not funny! He got us good yesterday!" Katie said, giving her brothers her best angry look.
"It is! Like you don't enjoy it when I get in trouble." James said, leaning forward, trying to intimidate his sister, who clearly was not impressed.
"You shouldn't complain that much, you don't even get the strap!" Michael huffed.
"But I did get the soap and he's gonna make me wear mittens between breakfast and lunch!" Katie retorted.
"That might teach you to shut up!" James said.
"And not to use your middle finger." Michael snorted.
Katie held up her left fist, stuck with her other hand her index finger up and held it behind the fist, giving the illusion that she was sticking up her middle finger.
"Let's start eating, shall we?" Liesl suggested. Kurt nodded in agreement and dug into his pancakes.
To Louisa her Uncle Frank was a mystery. Most of the time he was fun and not really one to enforce many rules. Last summer he suggested that they could play football inside the hallway, because of the rain outside. Uncle Frank was however very strict about some things. He did not like it when they fibbed, and you would get your mouth washed out if you did. She couldn't decide if her uncle, or her father was stricter.
That day they decided to show their family the stables and they had a picnic in the mountains. In the evening their parents decided that they should play a piece of music, to show their grandparents what they had been working on.
Liesl still played the violin, like her mother, and she had learned a couple of basics for the guitar from her father. Friedrich played the piano and Louisa the cello.
"Do you already know what instrument you want to play, Kurt?" his grandmother asked.
Kurt nodded. "I want to play the guitar, grandmother." he told her excitedly.
"That sounds like a wonderful plan!" she exclaimed, causing Kurt to beam with pride.
After the three of them finished, they took a bow and joined the other children for dinner.
That evening the children decided to have a sleepover. After working the plan out, it was time to put it into action. Friedrich and Kurt's room had been chosen for the location. They were the only ones that shared a room, and therefore they had to move less.
After pushing both beds next to each other, Michael, Louisa and James went to her room to get another mattress. "Step aside, we'll carry it." Michael said to his younger niece, and started lifting the mattress.
Louisa huffed and pushed James aside, lifting the mattress, making more progress than the boys had made so far.
In the hallway the three of them were met by Liesl, Friedrich and Katie, who were transferring Liesl's mattress.
After they had placed the two mattresses on the ground, they all got settled. It was impossible for everyone to lay down comfortably. Friedrich, Kurt, Michael, James and William claimed the beds, while Liesl, Louisa and Katie got themselves comfortable on the mattresses on the ground.
"Do you want to hear a good horror story?" Louisa asked.
"Nah, I wanna tell a story." Michael said.
"I bet you're just scared!" she retorted.
"I am not! I'm the oldest so I get to tell you a story!" he defended.
"Why don't you go out in the hallway for a bit and create a story together?" Liesl suggested.
Michael huffed. "Why would we do that?"
"Wait! We could act the story out and-" Louisa started, feeling inspired.
"Ugh, alright." Michael said.
After Louisa agreed to that plan they left the room to put together a story. Not much later they came back in. Friedrich, James, William and Kurt were in the middle of a pillow fight, while Liesl was trying to braid Katie's hair.
"We got the story!" Michael said, getting everybody's attention and stepping onto a chair. Louisa went to Friedrich's and Kurt's nightstand and grabbed two flashlights. After handing Michael one, they could finally begin.
"This story is about a man, who happens to be a father of six children…" Louisa began.
After the introduction, the real story could start. "Every night he goes to the lake and drinks from the water". Michael held the flashlight under his face and pretended he was drinking from the lake.
"If he doesn't do this every night, his children will find out that he isn't actually from earth." she continued.
"He is actually a sea creature. He got his 'sixth sense', to find out if his children are misbehaving, from the sea." she explained.
"But then he is from earth." Friedrich interrupted.
"Shut up, Friedrich!" Louisa said annoyed.
"Where was I? Oh, right. So he secretly is a sea creature that senses if children are naughty". Kurt gasped, too involved in the story.
"Is father a sea creature?" he whispered to Friedrich, who shrugged.
All the children were so absorbed into the story that they didn't notice that their fathers had secretly entered the room. Without making any noise Georg and Frank sat down behind their children on the ground.
"I can assure you, I'm not." Georg interrupted. Immediately all heads snapped to where his voice came from.
"Though I will have to admit that it was a creative story." he said as he and Frank stood up. Louisa and Michael quickly jumped off the chairs they were standing on.
"Your mother said she couldn't find you in your rooms." their uncle said to his children.
"Well…uh…We were…" James stammered.
"You were having a party here, I see." his father said, nodding and looking at the state of the room.
"Something like that".
"We just thought it would be fun to have a sleepover." Louisa explained.
"And scare your siblings and cousins." her father added, raising one eyebrow, causing Louisa to scowl.
"Daddy, may we please stay here?" Katie asked as nicely as she could.
Georg and Frank exchanged glances. Frank sighed. "Okay, you can stay here, but if I hear that you didn't go to sleep immediately after I've left, there will be trouble." he threatened.
Katie ran over to her father and gave him a hug. "Thank you, daddy. I'll be good, promise." she said.
Georg and Frank went on the hunt to find an extra mattress, since they both could already sense that the children were going to bicker about not having enough space.
"We will talk about this in the morning." Georg said, walking towards the door after he had tucked his children in.
"Goodnight." he said, closing the door behind him. As soon as they were in the hallway, he could already hear muffled voices and laughter.
"Let's hope we made the right decision about letting them stay in one room." Georg said, shaking his head.
"Oh, we should let them have their fun. They don't see each other often, after all. We'll bust their asses tomorrow." Frank said.
The children stayed awake for over an hour, telling each other all kinds of jokes and tales. "So Mr. Wilson ran out of the classroom to get help from other teachers. That hat didn't budge one bit, it was stuck on his head. The whole class, heck I think the whole school, looked out of the room and we saw him run across the street in panic. Like this". James acted out how his teacher ran, causing everyone to erupt in a fit of laughter.
"Stop it! My muscles are sore from laughing!" Kurt laughed, grabbing his core, unable to stop laughing.
"Mr. Wilson suspected it was me and he phoned my dad. He wasn't too happy, but oh well, that was just the price I paid for some good fun, it was worth it. Mr. Wilson is a mean old bastard anyway." James said.
The next morning the children, as expected, were tired, so they slept in. They weren't allowed to leave the room until breakfast started, in the hope they would get a bit of extra rest.
Luckily breakfast went rather well, considering everyone was a bit cranky. No one wanted to get into any more trouble, so they decided to say as minimal things as possible.
After breakfast Georg and Frank called the children over to the terrace. Frank pulled a set of mittens out of his pocket and put them on Katie's hands.
"They itch, and it's too hot for mittens." she whinged. Michael, James and William were trying not to laugh, enjoying the fact that Katie got in trouble.
"And you're too young to be using the finger." her father retorted, tying a knot with the string he had wrapped around the mitten, so she couldn't take them off herself. Frank turned his attention towards all the children.
"Next time you plan on having a sleepover, you ask us alright? We might have said yes, and that would have spared you from going behind our backs." Frank said.
"Yes sir." the children echoed. Georg put his hands in his pockets and nodded.
"We have decided to oversee it, however all of you will be going to bed an hour earlier." Georg said, receiving groans from the children.
"Or I'll redden your behind, before you're going to go to bed an hour earlier. So tell me, what would you rather have?" Frank said.
"The first one." they all replied quickly.
"Louisa and Michael, stay behind for a bit. The rest, go off and play." Georg ordered.
The others scrambled off the terrace and ran off to play, leaving Louisa and Michael behind with their fathers.
Georg leaned against the balustrade with his back. Thinking back about the story they told their siblings and cousins last night made him smile, but he masked it with a stern look.
"Tell me why you told that story last night." Frank ordered.
"I… We thought it would be fun to entertain the others with a story." Michael explained.
Georg hummed and shook his head. "And that is why you told them a horror story, eh?"
"Michael John, tell the truth." Frank said.
Michael sighed. "Okay, we wanted to scare them a little." he admitted.
"You too, Louisa?" Georg asked his daughter.
"Yes sir." she answered. Her father tutted and shook his head.
"I will admit that it was a rather good story. Just don't tell these before bed, alright? I don't want you to scare the younger ones on purpose." Georg said. Louisa and Michael nodded.
"If I catch you scaring the others, I will show you my 'sixth sense'." he threatened.
"Yes sir." they both answered, and quickly joined the others.
The children got along nicely and played different self created games until they were being called in for lunch. Katie was more than glad to be freed from the mittens and immediately enjoyed being able to move all her fingers separately.
"Watch out, missy. You nearly made the same mistake." her father joked.
In the afternoon the children continued playing made up games. After playing nonstop for hours, everyone was a little tired. They flopped down on the grass and laid on their backs, watching different clouds pass by.
"I hate that you're not staying longer." Louisa said. Her grandmother and aunt both had other family members in Austria, and former Austria-Hungary, which they were also going to visit.
"I know, me too." Katie replied. The rest agreed.
"Maybe we will visit you soon enough in England, like last summer." Liesl said.
"Yeah, then we can show you our new boat!" William said excitedly.
"I'd like that." Liesl smiled.
Liesl wasn't completely sure how it had even started. She thought that Katie didn't like some vegetable on her plate and dumped it on her brother's plate. Somehow that resulted in food being thrown around the table, and that had evolved into a full foodfight.
Everyone, except Liesl, was now involved. Everyone else was standing and actively taking part in the war going on. She tried to bring back the peace and clean up as much as she could, but it was no use. The children had too much energy after resting and every time she picked food up, it seemed to be thrown around somewhere else.
The noise caught the adults's attention and soon their parents stormed in.
"Freeze!" her father bellowed. Not much later everyone had stopped what they were doing and the room had quieted down. Her father ran a hand over his face and closed his eyes for a bit. Uncle Frank looked like he was going to explode and also was trying to control his temper.
"I cannot believe you!" her mother said, hands going to her head.
Aunt Margarete walked over to the table and started cleaning Cora's face with a napkin, also clearly displeased.
"Sorry, mummy." Katie said, hoping she would get in less trouble.
"Oh, trust me, you will be, once you have been dealt with, Catharine Ophelia Whitehead." Aunt Margarete said, causing Katie to whine. Her aunt dragged her niece by the arm, spun her around and smacked her three times. Katie tried to get her mother to loosen the grip she had on her arm, but it didn't work, Aunt Margarete tightened her grip instead.
"Do any of you realise how fortunate you are to be able to eat three meals a day? Right now there are children your age outside searching rubbish bins for leftovers and you just throw it around the room like spoiled brats!" her father lectured calmly, taking his time to look each child into the eyes. The lecture really made the children speechless.
Georg himself knew multiple people whose families did not have the same luck as he had and still continued to have. Food, especially around these times was scarce, and each night hundreds of families went to bed hungry. It was important to him that his children learned to be grateful for everything they had.
Liesl looked across the table and saw Friedrich fidget with his hands and the legs of his shorts. Katie, Michael and Louisa usually had something to say, but even they seemed contrite, and had lowered their heads. Aunt Margarete released Katie's arm and walked towards her husband.
"I need to cool down before I handle this. All of you start cleaning up! This room will be spotless." Uncle Frank ordered and soon left the room. Liesl imagined he went outside for a walk. Not much later her father, mother and aunt followed.
Soon the children started cleaning up the room. After about fifteen minutes the adults came back to check on them and the state of the room.
"If you clean that bit up you're done." Uncle Frank said, pointing at some leftovers on the floor. Friedrich quickly got over to the place and cleaned it up.
"That will do. All of you go find a piece of wall in the hallway and put your nose against it. You know the rules, stand straight, absolutely no talking and no moving." her father ordered. They quickly scrambled out of the room and each claimed a spot. Not much later her mother came out to check if the children obeyed.
After what seemed like an hour her father and uncle finally came to get them. "Turn around and line up." Uncle Frank commanded. Glad to be freed from the wall, Liesl turned around and they lined up.
"Since you got into trouble together, we thought that it would be fitting that you should get punished together." her father said, waving his hand around.
"You will have to thank your uncle for keeping me from walloping your behind. So in substitution you will be doing some physical exercising tomorrow morning, 'till you're too tired to even think about getting into trouble." Uncle Frank said.
Liesl looked over to her siblings and cousins. They seemed relieved, but Liesl did not think that either one of them was going to go easy on them at all. Yeah, no, tomorrow was going to be a rough day. Her father and her uncle had been in the navy after all.
"Freshen yourself up and go straight to bed." her father ordered once more.
Liesl went to go upstairs, but a hand on her shoulder made her turn around. She was greeted with her father's now softened gaze. He pulled her into a side hug and whispered in her ear. "I know you put your effort in to avoid it from getting out of hand".
Her father leaned forward, kissed her head, gave her an encouraging squeeze and let go. "Off you go." he said, giving her a wink before she turned around and followed the rest up the stairs.
The next morning Louisa was woken up, not too gently and earlier than usual, by her mother. "Up you get! Your father is waiting for you." she said while she pulled the covers off of the bed. Louisa groaned and covered her head with her pillow. Her mother was having none of it and yanked her by the arm out of her bed and smacked her once.
"Wear something you can move in and make sure you get your hair out of your face." her mother said as she walked towards the door. As fast as she had entered, she had left.
Louisa quickly got dressed, put her hair into a ponytail and walked downstairs. Her father, uncle, siblings and cousins were already waiting for her. Looking around she saw that Katie wasn't there yet, so she assumed they were also waiting for her. Not much later her niece walked down the stairs, also clearly displeased by the commotion.
"Alright then, all of you eat something quickly and then we expect you outside in five minutes." her father announced.
After finishing a short breakfast they all gathered outside. "Let's start with a couple laps around the house, shall we?" Uncle Frank said, leaving no room for discussion. Her father and uncle positioned themselves in a way they could each keep their eyes on two different sides of the house, leaving no room for them to cheat.
Louisa sighed and put herself to the task. She caught up with Katie and they ran together for a bit, until she heard her father's stern voice. "This is not the time and place for a tea party, ladies!"
Both of them refrained from rolling their eyes and they reluctantly parted ways.
Last evening Frank convinced Georg that this would be the best way to get through to the children. Their muscles would be aching, surely, but they would survive. Georg recalled from his own childhood that the muscle strain he had the day after was a good reminder for him to not be stupid and be well behaved instead. He'd have to give it a try.
After having done physical exercise for one and a half hours the children were panting and gasping for breath. Some of them had given into the feeling in their legs and dropped themselves onto the ground.
"Gosh, I thought that getting a hiding was worse than any other punishment, but man, I was wrong." James said, holding onto a tree to stabilise him.
"Yeah Jamie Boy, I agree." Michael said as he patted his younger brother on his back. James flinched at the touch, his body was too sore.
"Dad was right, I'm too tired to even think about getting into trouble." Katie said from the ground, hands prodded behind her head while she laid on her back.
James managed to scoff at that. "For once". He received a glare from Katie at that.
"I really did not think I would survive. Liesl pinch me, I want to make sure I'm not actually dead." Louisa said dramatically. Liesl walked over to her sister, bent down where she was seated and pinched her arm.
"Ouch! Yes, not dead." Louisa announced, allowing herself to drop her back into the grass.
After lunch the Von Trapps spend some time with their grandparents. Tomorrow the Whiteheads would be leaving Salzburg and their aunt, uncle and cousins had decided that they wanted to explore the area.
Their grandmother had taught them some aquarelle painting techniques and their grandfather, mother and father tagged along.
"That is beautiful!" Liesl said, gasping at what her mother had made.
"You yourself are doing a great job too, little lady." her mother winked.
The children started arguing about who could have their mother's aquarelle, so she promised she was going to make each one of them a special aquarelle, fitting their interests and personalities.
None of them were looking forward to saying goodbye to their grandparents, uncle, aunt and especially not to their cousins and nieces. When they returned from town, no one wasted a minute and they all tried to soak in as much as they could.
The next day they reluctantly waved each other goodbye, hoping to meet again soon.
A/N: The first section has been inspired by the wonderful dearbloomandgrow.
I plan a lot I write, so I have a whole list with things I want to include. Everything that I write has a purpose and is necessary for future character development. This story isn't close to being finished, so don't worry! I'm also planning names already, so if that's your thing and you want to think ahead with me, contact me!