The Parent Trapp

Epilogue

"Come on, we'll be late." Louisa paced her shared room with Brigitta who was brushing her hair for the tenth time that evening.

"It has to be perfect." Brigitta responded irritably.

"You should've just let Maria do it." Louisa shook her head.

After a few more minutes of Louisa explaining why not every individual hair had to be perfect Liesl passed their room "come on Bri, you're the one we're waiting on."

"You're slow too." Brigitta retorted as she stood up from her chair.

"Yeah, but I'm not the one performing." Liesl put her hands on her hips. "Let's go." She held the door open and the two girls exited the room.

As they descended the stairs they saw their father straightening Kurt's shirt "Oh good, come on girls!" he yelled up to them.

"We're here dad." Louisa rolled her eyes

"I know, I know," he said, giving one final swipe to his son's shirt "You look mighty handsome." He winked and Kurt crossed his arms embarrassed.

"Maria?" Georg called around the corner to the kitchen

"Sorry," she came around the corner with a purse and a Pretty long sleeve dress on and the little girls followed behind in coordinating red and white dresses.

"Ok hurry I want a picture. Line up." Georg pulled out his phone and patted his son towards the front door.

"Really?" Kurt whined

"Kurt, shut up and listen." Friedrich rolled his eyes and checked his watch he'd gotten for his birthday back in October.

Brigitta and Kurt stood side by side while Marta and Gretl stood in the front. Brigitta had on a green dress to match Kurt's dark green shirt.

"Maria, get in the picture." Liesl motioned with her head.

"Oh but I-"

"She's right," Georg approached her and grabbed her elbow and kissed her cheek.

"But I didn't do that much," Maria protested, "the kids did more than I-"

"Oh shush you know you helped Mrs. Bertram out more than ever. Why else would she push her retirement up a semester." Georg chastised and Maria pretended to flip her hair

"You flatter me and it works." She walked behind the children and smiled.

The school year had been somewhat of an adjustment. Marta and Gretl finally got their room done, and Maria officially moved in. She opted to keep her own separate room for the time being and Georg was happy to comply with her boundaries, the last thing he wanted was to upset his girlfriend, especially when she would end up winning anyway.

The kids had adjusted well, Ellen would come over in the afternoons early to spend time with Maria who was helping out now and again in the music department of the kids' elementary school. Max and Ellen were going to meet them there that night. Kurt, Brigitta, Marta and Gretl were all performing in the Christmas concert. It didn't really look like Christmas outside, the thinnest dusting of snow covered the fields, but the mountains were more opaque with white than anything and it was plenty cold. The horses were cooped up in the cozy barn. The living room was covered in Christmas decorations with a large tree in the corner. The fireplace had nine stockings of all different sizes and patterns hanging on it. The house was large but warm and the kids had loved doing cliché Christmas things like ice skating and decorating the tree with their father and Maria.

The family put on their coats and loaded themselves in the car. Maria shook on the entire drive, worried that if the concert was a bust it would be on her hands even though everyone knew good and well it was going to be just fine. Georg just squeezed her hand as he drove.