Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
‘I think we should stop now,’ he said, putting down the sandpaper, ‘before my nails are wrecked. My fingers are worn to the bone. I think we need beer.’
‘Leo,’ said Anna with a laugh, which is what he’d been aiming for, ‘it’s half past three in the afternoon and we’ll be going to Jan and Michaela’s in a few hours.’
He smiled, unabashed. ‘But it’s five o’clock somewhere.’
‘I’ve only just got started,’ she said, gesturing to the wide expanse of table top that she was halfway through rubbing down.
‘We started at ten.’
‘And stopped for a two-hour lunch, when you dragged me to the coffee bar and a walk in the park.’ Both of which he’d done deliberately to stop her brooding. He could tell she was, because of the little furrowed line that kept appearing on her forehead, and it was back again. She’d barely said a word in the last hour. Shame Anna couldn’t see what a knobhead her boyfriend was. Fancy cancelling a trip two days before.
‘And now it’s beer o’clock.’ He grinned at her.
‘It’s not beer o’clock,’ she said shaking her head, laughing at him all the same.
‘All this sanding is making me thirsty.’ He turned pleading eyes on her. ‘And we need a new playlist.’
She laughed. ‘Don’t let me stop you. And it’s my turn to choose the music.’
He stuck his bottom lip out and battered his eyelashes at her. ‘It’s no fun drinking on my own.’
‘You’re bored, aren’t you?’ she asked.
‘Who, me?’ He clutched his dusty shirt.
‘I promise you the table is going to look fantastic when it’s done.’ She turned and surveyed the room. ‘This place could look really amazing. Tell you what, I’ll let you pick the next playlist.’
‘Deal,’ said Leo who was done with sanding for the day. He didn’t mind hard work but this was beyond tedious and they did need something more comfortable to sit on. It was starting to get too cold to sit outside, and the bistro chairs, which they’d now brought inside to sit on, really weren’t that comfortable, not even with the cushions they borrowed from Michaela.
He scrolled through Spotify and with a quick smile selected a dance anthems playlist. As the beat of ‘It’s My Life’ began to pump out through the Bluetooth speaker he’d set up, Anna’s head shot up.
‘Not fair!’ she said, her head already nodding to the beat.
He turned up the volume and watched as her body began to move in rhythmic little bounces.
‘Dance with me,’ he said, stepping into the empty space of the lounge floor.
‘Leo!’ she chided but her eyes sparkled, like he knew they would. Anna loved her dance music and she had quite a voice. ‘I want to get this done.’
‘Don’t be boring,’ he said. In their flat she’d happily sung along to anthemic choruses in perfect tune, while dancing with unselfconscious musicality.
‘I’m not boring.’ She glared at him.
‘Yes, you are,’ he said, knowing he’d found the touchpaper to her fuse. She never turned down a challenge.
She threw down her sandpaper, gave him the side eye and took the hand he held out.
He notched up the volume, the bass thumped out and there she was, instantly appearing in front of him. Anna Love, waving her arms above her head, her hips swinging, her eyes closed as she sang along.
He slipped out to the kitchen to grab two bottles of beer and handed her one. She took a sip before using it as a microphone, bellowing out the lines, her eyes laughing at him as she moved around. Every now and then she’d clink her bottle against his as she spun around, shaking her hair.
‘No Limit’ came on and she grinned at him, picking up the beat, whirling gracefully like wind through a wheatfield. They danced to another three songs before they both collapsed breathless on the floor.
‘God, that was fun,’ said Anna laughing up at him, lifting her bottle to her lips, her eyes dancing with energy and mischief.
It hit him like a lightning bolt and almost felled him on the spot. Anna Love, the woman he’d once loved. There she was again. Shining and happy. It was as if she’d stepped out of a shadow and was suddenly in full colour again, like she’d been six years ago. Inside he felt a quick clutch of fear.
‘I’d forgotten,’ she said, her eyes turning sad. ‘Forgotten what fun … what dancing…’ She swallowed and picked at the beer label. He caught the sheen of tears for an instant before she blinked. ‘And now you’ve successfully distracted me. I reckon I can get the rest of this done –’ she gestured to the table top ‘– before we go down to Michaela and Jan’s. Damn, I was going to nip and out get something to take.’
‘Why don’t I nip out now and get some flowers and a case of beer and you can carry on.’ He shot her a wink, as much to keep things matey as to hide the nip of alarm. He wasn’t going to fall for her again. He couldn’t. He might not survive a second time. ‘And I’ll leave the music on for you.’
As he left the room, he nodded to himself. She was still smiling and singing along as she wielded her sandpaper and block – that line between her eyebrows banished.
* * *
A couple of hours later, they stood on their neighbours’ doorstep, him clutching a crate of beer while Anna held the bunch of flowers he’d picked up from the little corner shop.
‘ Ahoj ,’ Jan greeted them and invited them in. There was already a hubbub of noise coming from the inside of the flat.
‘Oh, wow,’ said Anna. ‘This is lovely.’
‘Thanks,’ said Jan. ‘It’s mainly Michaela’s work, although I did the floor.’
‘It’s gorgeous,’ she said and immediately bent down to smooth her hand over the wide, oak boards lining the floor. ‘And the skirtings.’ Leo glanced at them, not really sure what she was talking about. All he noticed was the nice cosy glow created by the soft lighting and the group of people crowded together in the living room.
‘Everyone, this is Leo and Anna. They’re the Brits upstairs.’ Jan pressed a beer into his hand and quickly introduced them to Petra and Andrej, Tereza and Marek, Zdeňka and Lubica. Leo blinked and grinned. ‘Nice to meet you all. I’ll try and remember all your names.’
‘Hello,’ said Anna, a little shyly, almost tucking herself behind him.
‘Don’t worry,’ said Zdeňka, smiling back at him from soft brown eyes. He couldn’t miss the spark of appreciation there. ‘There are only two of you. We will remember your names.’
‘Leo,’ Michaela greeted him. ‘Anna. I’m so happy that you are here.’
‘Thank you. These are for you.’ Anna handed her the flowers.
‘Thank you. Come, take a seat.’ She guided Leo to a chair next to the small armchair in which Zdeňka sat with Lubica on her other side. ‘Anna, come with me. You wanted to see how dumplings are made.’ She led Anna away while Leo sat down. The two women immediately engaged him in conversation asking him what he thought about Prague, where he lived in England and how long he was staying.
He surveyed the décor and commented on the fine fashion drawings on the walls. ‘That’s Michaela,’ said Zdeňka. ‘She’s very talented. She makes her own clothes and has an online shop with Lubica.’
Lubica leaned over. ‘We make all sorts of things to sell – felt hats, scarves, socks – and Ond?ej built the website for us. And Zdeňka looks after our social media. She’s an influencer. We were all at school together.’
‘Part-time influencer,’ Zdeňka added. ‘The rest of the time I’m the marketing manager for a commercial property company. It’s very dull. I post lots of pictures of offices and empty spaces. It’s much more fun doing clothes and accessories. Are you on Instagram?’ she asked. ‘You could be a model.’ She gave the buttons on his shirt a thorough examination as if contemplating undoing them there and then to check out the goods.
‘I’m on Instagram,’ said Leo. ‘Not tried my hand at modelling.’ Not his thing at all, even though he’d had quite a few offers over the years, most of which were probably because his stepfather was an Italian movie star, although this summer he’d been approached by a model-agency scout on the beach in Italy.
‘You should give it a try. I’d love to feature you on my Insta account. I’ve got some men’s shirts that came in last week.’ She eyed him with a predatory gleam in her eye. ‘We could have some fun doing a shoot.’
‘I bet we could,’ he replied with a grin, liking her style. Direct, pretty and confident, Zdeňka was his kind of woman. Someone who knew the score, was looking for a little fun and not out for commitment. Someone who didn’t make his stomach contract in alarm.
‘Leo’s flat has an amazing roof terrace,’ said Jan.
‘That sounds perfect.’ Zdeňka’s eyes widened playfully. ‘Tell me more.
‘What do you want to know?’ asked Leo. ‘It has a great view, a table and chairs and it’s pretty private.’
Zdeňka whipped out her phone. ‘What are you doing the weekend after next?’
Leo laughed, again appreciating her direct, no-nonsense, no-beating-about-the-bush approach. She knew what she wanted and she went out to get it.
‘I’m not sure I have any plans yet.’
‘And your girlfriend?’
Leo smiled at the not so idle question. ‘I don’t have one. Anna is my roommate.’
‘Ah,’ she said, her satisfaction obvious.
‘Why don’t you come round and inspect my roof terrace?’ Leo asked.
‘I can do that. Why don’t you give me your number?’ She handed him her phone.
‘You work fast,’ he said, his mouth twisting in amusement, taking it from her.
‘Why not?’ She lifted her shoulders in an elegant shrug, raising her dark brows at him. ‘Who comes late harms himself.’
‘Zdeňka!’ Michaela chided her in a teasing tone. ‘Leave him alone. You’ve only met him.’ She took the phone from Leo and handed it back to her.
‘But he’s so pretty,’ she said with a pout, not seeming the least bit put out at Michaela’s intervention. Around them everyone laughed.
‘Leo, why don’t you come and help me and Anna in the kitchen.’ He couldn’t help noticing the severe reprimanding glare she sent at Zdeňka as she tugged him away.
The tiny kitchen looked like the aftermath of a party rather than the prelude. There were utensils covering every surface, empty cartons and packets strewn amongst them along with bags of flour and discarded potato skins. In the midst of it all Anna stood over a bowl, using a fork to bind together a mixture of egg, potato and flour. He noticed the counter space immediately around her was clear and chuckled to himself. He could bet she’d been trying to impose some sort of order.
He came to stand behind her, poking his head over her shoulder at the ingredients in the bowl.
‘Trust you to turn up when the work’s been done,’ said Anna with a dramatic heavy sigh, wrinkling her nose. ‘She made me grate the potatoes.’
‘Of course,’ said Michaela, with a gay laugh.
‘So what’s in them?’ Leo nodded down at the bowl.
‘Pre-cooked potato, peeled and then grated, then you add flour, egg and some salt.’
Michaela inspected Anna’s work.
‘That’s about done. Now you need to take it and roll it into a cylinder that will fit in this pan.’ She pointed to a pan of water heating on the hob.
‘Okay,’ said Anna.
Leo leaned back against the cabinets, watching her work. As always when she was carrying out a task, she was completely absorbed, her head down and her lips pinched together.
‘You can help,’ said Michaela, throwing him a tea towel.
‘No problem,’ he said, crossing to the sink and the haphazard pile of utensils on the drying rack. At any moment the whole lot could come crashing down like Jenga. He gingerly eased one of the larger pans from the top and began to dry it.
‘So what’s on the menu?’
‘We’re having traditional roasted duck, with braised red cabbage and potato dumplings.’
‘Smells amazing,’ said Anna. ‘I love red cabbage.’
‘So does Jan,’ said Michaela as her boyfriend appeared behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders. With four of them in the kitchen it felt very crowded.
‘I do.’ He squeezed her shoulders and dropped a kiss on the top of her head.
She ignored him and said with a huff, ‘But we have to use his mother’s recipe because he says it is better than my mother’s.’
Jan nodded with a teasing smile on his face.
‘And don’t get me started about the potato-salad recipe.’ She threw her hands up in the air, dislodging his. ‘Every family has their own special, potato-salad recipe – it is always different and at every family party we find ourselves with three or four different potato salads because everyone insists on bringing theirs because it is the best. It’s crazy.’
Jan pulled back her into his arms and kissed the side of her face. ‘It’s family,’ he said. ‘Who needs another drink?’
Leo volunteered to help him serve more drinks, leaving Anna and Michaela to put the dumpling into a pan of boiling water.
‘Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes,’ advised Michaela as they left the kitchen.
When they were all seated, rather snugly, round a table for six which had been extended with an additional, round bistro table at one end, Leo found himself squeezed in next to Zdeňka. It was quite a crush but everyone seemed in high spirits. Clearly there were some deep-rooted friendships here, judging by the good-natured teasing and banter going on and the obvious affection between them all. He fought the threatening pang of envy and wondered if perhaps his strategy over the last couple of years hadn’t been the right one. He’d amassed plenty of casual acquaintances and social friends who kept loneliness at bay, and he had his family, but there was no one who was his alone, and that was how he intended to keep things. Love had not been kind to him and he wasn’t about to give it another chance.
He turned back to Zdeňka as she poured him a glass of wine and focused on flirting with her as Michaela and Jan brought out several laden plates which they placed on the already crowded table.
‘Please help yourself, Leo,’ said Michaela. ‘This is a typical Czech meal.’
Leo didn’t know that much about Czech food and asked what was typical. Over the next ten minutes he was bombarded with suggestions of what he should try.
‘You should try Baramboky – that is a good restaurant,’ said Tereza on his left.
‘Or Cestr.’
‘If you like desserts, try Eska,’ came another suggestion.
‘And their burnt potatoes in ash.’
‘There are so many great places to eat, and not just in Prague,’ said Petra. ‘You should try visiting South Moravia or the Bohemian countryside.’
‘And Slovakia,’ said Lubica. Everyone laughed.
‘Explain to me. You were Czechoslovakia. When you split in two, was there bad feeling between the two?’ Leo was intrigued by this.
Again everyone laughed. ‘No, we’re sisters,’ explained Lubica.
‘Best friends,’ said Jan.
With everyone smiling and tucking into their food, Leo decided the question had been answered, so he asked another that had been plaguing him. ‘I’ve seen a few Vietnamese places, which seems odd because we’re a pretty long way from Vietnam and I’ve not seen much evidence of other ethnic cultures.’
Petra smiled. ‘It comes from the communist times. Vietnam was also a communist country, so we had good relations with the state. A lot of Vietnamese people came here as guest workers and when communism fell, they stayed. There is actually a huge Vietnamese market in Prague. It’s called SAPA or Little Hanoi and if you like Vietnamese food, it’s definitely worth a visit.’
‘I had no idea. You learn something new every day. Which is why it’s great to be here for a while, to learn more about the country. I’ve lived in the States, Italy and the UK.’
‘That’s very lucky. Imagine our grandparents, they weren’t able to travel during the communist regime. That’s why our chatas are so popular. It was a place to escape to in the country. We’re all excited to visit Michaela and Jan’s country house when it’s ready. Knowing Michaela and Jan, it will be amazing.’
‘They’ve definitely got an eye,’ said Leo, glancing around the room. The layout was very different from the flat upstairs and although it didn’t have as much character, Michaela and Jan had made the most of it. A cosy, wood burner sat in a corner of the room against a sage-green wall. Black floating shelves contained ornaments, vases and lamps and the wall was decorated with black-framed pictures. The remaining walls were cream, and one of them had been left unornamented so as to set off a large palm plant. The big L-shaped sofa covered in terracotta linen was dotted with cushions and throws in various shades of dark green and umber. It gave the room a warm, earthy feel which made it easy to relax. It was stylish without being pretentious, comfortable without being cluttered.
He could see Anna looking around. Did it remind her, like him, that their apartment, even with the addition of her soon-to-be-refurbished furniture, was rather sparse? But it was starting to feel like home, especially this last week and today. He’d got used to her being around, got used to cooking for two, got used to chatting over his day with her, arguing about what music they should play, her bossing him about the bits he’d missed when sanding the chairs. He’d got used to her quick smile when he teased her, the pensive look on her face when she was lost in thought and the sight of her legs and the scent of her hair when she was fresh out of the shower in her cotton robe – the one that he could see her nipples through, although he hadn’t pointed that out to her.
‘Leo?’ Zdeňka’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
‘Sorry, I was miles away,’ he apologised.
‘Somewhere nice, I think,’ she said in a throaty murmur.
Leo took a hasty gulp of wine, willing the image of Anna’s smooth skin and small, pert breasts out of his head. That way lay madness – plus, she had a boyfriend. He was much better off focusing on the here and now, rather than the past. Zdeňka was gorgeous and available and also secure enough in herself to trust him.
‘How long have you been an influencer and how does it work?’ he asked, regaining his equilibrium and resorting to tried and tested small talk. Thankfully it was a subject that Zdeňka was only too happy to expand upon and he was able to listen and nod, while corralling his wayward brain away from the sort of thoughts that could only lead him into trouble.