‘You probably know more about beer than I do,’ said Michaela, unknowingly defusing things. ‘But we can teach you how to order in Czech.’
‘That would be great,’ said Leo. ‘So far everyone has spoken really good English but I think it’s rude if you don’t at least try.’
‘It’s okay. It’s a very difficult language to learn.’
‘How do you ask for two beers, please?’
‘Dve piva prosím,’ said Michaela.
Leo dutifully repeated it and Michaela corrected his pronunciation. Anna, who had a good ear, was able to repeat it perfectly, much to the other woman’s delight.
When the beer arrived, Jan lifted his glass and grinned at Michaela. ‘To thechata.’
‘To thechata,’ she replied and then turned to Leo and Anna. ‘Jan’s uncle has gifted us hischata.’
‘To the thingy,’ said Leo, lifting his glass and taking a sip.
‘What’s achata?’ asked Anna.
‘No idea,’ said Leo with one of his quick wide smiles, ‘but it sounds like it’s worth drinking to.’
She tried to give him a repressive look but it was impossible when he was grinning like a monkey.
‘It’s a small, country home,’ explained Jan. ‘But not like a house. Ours has water and solar power. But some are huts with nothing. There we have a little plot of land?—’
‘We’re going to grow vegetables,’ Michaela interrupted. ‘And strawberries and raspberries.’
‘It’s near the lake, so we can swim,’ added Jan, beaming.
‘And there’s no internet or computers or mobile signal.’
‘And we have a big fireplace and a firepit.’ Jan nudged her, obvious excitement on his face.
‘And you can have an axe to chop wood,’ said Michaela teasing him.
‘Yes,’ said Jan in a gruff voice showing off his muscles in what Anna imagined must be a lumberjack imitation.
‘And we’re going to renovate the inside and make it ours.’ Michaela clapped her hands. ‘I can’t wait.’
It was lovely to see their bubbling enthusiasm and Anna exchanged a quick look of amusement with Leo.
Michaela caught them and laughed. ‘Sorry. We sound crazy. It’s just that we’ve been wanting achataof our own for a long time. My family has one but it belongs to my grandparents, it is full of their old, old things – I mean, I love mybabickabut –’ she wrinkled her nose ‘– not her taste. There are so many of us and not much space. It will be nice for me and Jan to have our own with space for our friends.’ She paused suddenly and said, ‘You must come. It is very typical Czech. Different from living in the city.’
‘Sounds cool, I’d love to,’ said Leo.
It did sound wonderful. Anna had a sudden longing for the countryside. Although Prague seemed to be very green, she’d lived in the country for so long, she missed being outdoors, going on hikes and walking much more.
‘You have to work for your supper,’ said Jan with one of his dry smiles. ‘There will be lots to do. The garden is very overgrown and like Michaela said, inside the house, we have plenty of work to make it more comfortable.’
A touch of envy nudged Anna. How wonderful to put your own stamp on your own home.
As an Instagram home-makeovers addict, she constantly pored over reels, finding new ideas and learning about DIY. She’d done as much as she could in her rented flat but the landlord wasn’t keen on any permanent changes, although she’d managed to put up some shelves, decorate the lounge and, herpièce de résistance, build a window seat in the bay of her bedroom, which the landlord had yet to find out about. Somehow, her attempts to create a cosy home made her feel more connected with her mum, who’d always been painting and renovating furniture, sewing cushions and curtains, reusing old china and filling it with wax and wicks to make candles and picking flowers from the garden to fill vases in the kitchen. Anna felt a touch of sadness as she recalled how happy it made her mother to take time and care to put together their home. According to her aunt, she’d been ‘quite the homemaker,’ although the disparaging way it was said never made it sound like a compliment.
‘What about you, Anna?’ asked Michaela. ‘Would you like to come to thechata?’
‘Erm … that would be nice but I’m not going to be around for much longer.’
Across the table Leo raised one eyebrow, his face suddenly impassive. He didn’t say anything.
