I am to be married on last day of September. Nobody is more shocked than I am over the whirlwind of events that have lead me to become a bride. I never anticipated to become one; I was to be a nun for goodness sake! I will always live for God but I am free to do so on my own terms. I don't think I have ever envisioned my life to be as happy or a busy as it is now. I could have croaked when Georg went ahead with the original date that could have been for him and the Baroness.

"That's only a month away!" I said to Georg, rather agast.

"I can pull it off," Georg told me, confidently. "I have people."

"Well, what about a place to have the ceremony? What about invitations? What about the children? What will they wear?"

"You are incredible," he laughed, shaking his head.

"What? We certainly have to think about these things!"

"I know," he says, still laughing. "Sweetheart, you are so worried about everyone else! You have to be the most selfless bride I've ever met!"

I had to laugh along with him. I guess I did spend most of my life thinking about others before I thought of myself.

"I guess you can take the girl out of the convent but you can't take the convent out of the girl," I said, jokingly.

"What an awful thing to say to your soon-to-be husband," he said, wrapping his arms around me. "That's one of the things I do love about you, though."

"There's more than one reason to love me?" I ask, hugging him back and kissing his cheek.

"That makes me sad," he says, giving my cheek a kiss now. "Nobody's ever told you how wonderful you are."

"Well, we can always say you were the first," I say, breaking away from the hug and holding his hands.

"No," he says, giving my hands a gentle squeeze. "The children think you're pretty special."

"I can't believe I left them like I did..."

I honestly feel like that's the one thing I will never forgive myself for. I can't believe I let the woman talk me into running away from the seven little darlings that had served me my destiny. I don't even want to think about how heartbroken they were to wake up and find out I wasn't there. I had started to cry over the thought of that and Georg pulls me into another hug.

"Don't beat yourself up over it anymore, you hear?" He asks, gently.

"I just don't know how I could have done it. How?"

"It doesn't matter; you're here now and we're all right. I swear on my life that they couldn't be happier that they get to have you for a mother."

"You think so?" I ask, looking up at him and wiping my eyes.

"I know so. Believe me Maria, my poor children have been through worse loss than those few days you were away. You came back to them and that's a lot more than they can say for a lot of other women who came before you; even their own birth mother."

"Their poor mother."

"I know," he said with a sigh. "Listen, they love you and I love you. Do you love us?"

"You know I do."

"Then what's the problem?"

He was right, he was absolutely right. I wrap my arms around him again and bury my face into his chest. He then hugs me back and buries his face into my hair. Outside we can see the children running around in the backyard; laughing and screaming as they tag each other. Twilight had crept in and it was about time I called them inside but it was so pretty out and they were having so much fun that I didn't dare. Georg and I just stood there hugging each other while our children played.