Looking over at Milena and Tomas, I see that they are having a heated debate. I suppose it isn’t surprising after she saw him kissing another woman as the clock struck midnight. I feel like such a floozy and the biggest fool. I trusted Tomas that it was over and that she wasn’t going to be here. I even wanted to believe that she had moved on. What was I thinking? I should have pushed him away. I begin to wish I hadn’t come this evening and tell Albert that I am going to leave.
‘Please don’t go because of Milena. She doesn’t care about him.’
‘But now she’s seen me kissing Tomas, and that’s terrible. I thought they were over.’
‘They are over. It’s no relationship. Tomas isn’t her boyfriend. It’s just her making sure he can’t have anyone else. That’s what she does. As soon as she sees him happy, she tries to ruin it for him.’
Was he happy now? Once again, I wonder what Tomas has told Albert about me. I have no idea what everyone has been saying, but the fact is, just like Marek and Aunt Grace, we live in two different worlds. Milena, on the other hand, is here, and they have a history together. I begin to make myself believe that if I am not around, they might be able to make a go of it, even if Tomas doesn’t realise.
I leave the party without saying goodbye to Tomas. As I close the door behind me, I look back and see him craning his neck to watch me. He looks as though he desperately wants to say goodbye and run after me, but ultimately, his feet stand rooted to the ground as Milena talks to him, or rather shouts in his face. It is best that I head home and cause no more trouble.
Back at the hotel, I burst into tears. For a moment, I thought my wish had come true, and I was living in some kind of beautiful fairy tale. What a foolish woman I am. I should have known that would never happen.
In between sobs, I realise that I still haven’t spoken to Zuzana about what she knew of Aunt Grace and Marek’s relationship, nor have I shown them the photos. I haven’t even said a proper goodbye to them both after I rushed off like that. However, I don’t think it is a good idea that I see Tomas again after this evening.
I will work out another way to go around there alone to chat with Zuzana and say my goodbyes. I am not going to message Tomas to ask if he can arrange a visit, so I decide that in the morning I will show up unannounced. I am sure Albert won’t mind.
At least by leaving the party early, I don’t suffer from a hangover the next morning. But I feel as though someone has well and truly taken the wind out of my sails as I head off to visit Albert and then Zuzana.
As I take a metro that is heading towards Albert’s flat, I watch a British tourist talk into their phone, which translates something to a local passenger. Then the person answers them, and the phone speaks something back to them in English. Why didn’t I think of this before? I can easily speak to Zuzana and tell her that she was mentioned in the letter without the need for an interpreter.
When I arrive at Albert’s apartment block, I decide to make a detour next door first to speak to Zuzana about what I found in the letter. It is my lucky day when I arrive to find the downstairs door open, so I don’t have to alert anyone of my presence and get buzzed into the building. I press for the lift with a tinge of sadness as it sinks in that I won’t have Tomas close by my side this time.
I knock on Zuzana’s door, hoping she is home so we can chat. I have decided to keep the photos as a surprise for her and Albert until later.
Thankfully, Zuzana answers after a few moments and looks at me quizzically when she sees who is behind the door.
I talk into my phone and ask Zuzana via the translation app if I can come in, which it then translates into Czech. Zuzana talks back to the phone, and it tells me to enter.
She leads me inside her flat, which is very different to Albert’s. Zuzana has pot plants everywhere that hang from crochet potholders. I can’t help but admire her skills in keeping all these houseplants alive. Zuzana leads me to her small kitchen and points to the kettle. I don’t know what she is making, but I accept her offer of a drink.
She makes two coffees and gestures to me to sit down. It feels strange being sat facing the wall, knowing that Albert is probably on the other side of it.
‘Can I ask you about my aunt, Zuzana?’ I say into the phone. She nods her head in agreement.
‘She mentioned you in a letter. She said you sounded “very lovely” and that Marek confided in you.’
I pause while the phone translates my words and watch for a reaction. Zuzana smiles, then she looks away from me and drinks some coffee. She talks in Czech for a while, fast and furious.
‘Yes, I remember the time. Like everyone will tell you, it was so good to see Marek happy. He’d finally found the one true love. I told him he should run off with your aunt. That he should leave here and go back to the UK. I never told Albert, but sometimes I feel like maybe it was my fault he died. It was me who told him to get enough money together for his visa and to start a new life. Of course, he wanted to do this anyway, but what if I made him rush more? What if it is my fault he became desperate to find the money to go to the UK, and that is why he died?’
Zuzana dabs at her eyes with the corner of her cardigan. I dig in my bag to find her a tissue.
‘Like I keep saying, it’s nobody’s fault he died. It was a pure accident. I guess that day, his time was up. There’s nothing anyone could have done or can change what happened. Please don’t ever think that.’
‘Oh, I don’t know… He was in such a hurry to get the money. He bought that engagement ring first. Then he saved everything so he could leave and show up in the UK with it. Why did it have to happen when he was at his happiest? It’s unfair.’
She pauses again for the translation app to catch up with her.
I lean back on the sofa, taking it all in.
‘I know. It’s very unfair. They were obviously madly in love.’
‘Yes, sometimes you just know it’s right.’
‘That’s what all the romantic people keep telling me. I’m not such a romantic myself. I used to be, before I got divorced.’
‘Well, maybe this is the year you get your romance back,’ smiles Zuzana.
