‘Oh, it’s nothing. No big deal.’
That’s what they all say. It sounded like a pretty big deal to the woman on the phone.
‘Right.’
‘Anyway, where are you thinking of going next?’ asks Tomas.
Typical! Men always change the subject. But I suppose his personal life is nothing to do with me.
‘Letná Park.’
‘Ah, can I take you somewhere before you go there?’
‘Where?’
‘It’s a surprise. It’ll be fun. I promise.’
I follow Tomas through the streets until we reach what looks like a shopping centre. I’ve not met many men who like shopping centres; perhaps he really is trying to be sweet.
‘Why are we here?’
‘Just wait and see.’
When we get inside, I see it is no ordinary shopping centre. Tomas leads me to a statue of a horse hanging upside down. The horse’s tail hangs towards the floor.
‘See that tail? Whenever I arrange to meet someone, I say I’ll meet them under the horse’s tail. Quite fun, isn’t it?’
Then he rushes me over to a grand piano that is suspended from the ceiling. I’m beginning to feel like I have vertigo!
‘But you’ve not seen the best bit…’
My life flashes before me as we go around a corner and I see a paternoster lift! Please tell me Tomas doesn’t want me to go in that. The lift at the apartment block is bad enough.
‘Come,’ he says.
‘No, I can’t go in there.’
‘Yes, you can.’
I watch in horror as the open lift quickly moves up.
‘How am I supposed to jump into that?’
‘Come on. I’ll show you. I promise it’s worth the ride.’
Tomas grabs hold of my hand, and we jump in the lift together. It reminds me of my panic trying to get on a chairlift once in Innsbruck. However, much to my surprise, I manage the lift much better than I did the chairlift.
Once I am safely on board, I laugh with Tomas as I watch the different floors go past in front of my eyes.
‘That’s bonkers,’ I smile. I notice that Tomas is laughing at my reaction.
‘You get used to it.’
The lift is much faster than the one at the apartment block, so I soon have to work a way to get out of it. Tomas acts like a gentleman and grabs my hand to help me.
‘Well, I’ve certainly never done that before,’ I say with relief once I am on the outside.
As I catch my breath, Tomas leads me outside onto a rooftop garden. In front of us is the most gorgeous 360-degree view over the city.
