She laughed and ducked out of his range. ‘Use them on the legs,’ she said pointing to the table.
‘Always happy to use them on the legs,’ said Jan, his wink making both women laugh even more.
With a bit of twisting and lifting, once Jan removed the last of the table legs, he and Leo were able to get it up the stairs.
‘Would you like a drink?’ asked Anna. ‘We can sit on the roof terrace while the men sort the table out.’
‘I deserve one,’ said Jan, a cheeky grin lighting up his face, ‘but Michaela doesn’t, she hasn’t done any work.’
Michaela gave an outraged gasp.
‘I think you’re dicing with danger there, mate,’ said Leo.
‘I would love a drink. Do you have any wine?’ asked Michaela
Anna pulled a face which made Leo want to reassure her. He could have predicted that she’d apologise. ‘Sorry, no. I haven’t bought any because I don’t know anything about the local wine.’
‘Then I shall go and get a bottle of Moravian wine for you to try and some of Jan’s favourite beer and we shall educate you.’
‘I’m always happy to be educated,’ chipped in Leo, relieved that he’d had help to carry the table up the last flight of stairs. It wasn’t heavy but it was awkward.
‘No beer until the legs are back on,’ said Michaela, with a teasing tap on Jan’s nose. ‘I’ll go down and get some wine and beer. I’ll be back in a minute.’
‘Why don’t you stay for dinner? I’ve made my mama’s Amatriciana sauce, it’s a special recipe. It’s very good,’ said Leo.
‘Modest much?’ said Anna.
Leo raised an eyebrow and she wrinkled her nose. ‘Okay, okay. It’s delicious.’ She turned to Michaela. ‘He’s a really good cook.’
Jan and Michaela exchanged one of those couples looks – the sort where they manage to have a discussion without words – before Michaela said, ‘That would be great. I don’t have to cook tonight. We take it in turns.’
‘Why don’t I go and put the pasta on,’ said Anna, squeezing past them and going on ahead, before Leo could answer.
‘You two been together long?’ asked Leo as he grasped the flat, table top and went up the stairs backwards.
‘Four years. We met at Masaryk University in Brno and we knew each other when we were there but then we met again at a friend’s birthday. We moved in here two years ago. It’s very expensive to rent in Prague but we both work here and we both earn a good salary. Michaela works in publishing and I work for an engineering company.’
‘Ah, hence the golden hands.’
Jan gave a modest shrug. They managed to get the table around the corner and into the living room where the rest of the rescued furniture was gathered in a sorry little circle.
‘None!’ exclaimed Jan.
‘I know,’ said Leo, assuming that Jan was as appalled by the junk as he was. ‘Bloody hideous, isn’t it. But when Anna gets the bit between her teeth, there’s no stopping her. She’s a stubborn as a donkey.’
‘Donkey?’
Leo did a quick heehaw which didn’t remove Jan’s puzzled expression. He dug out his phone and quickly used the translate app. ‘Osel.’
‘We say a fluffy lamb can grow up to be a big fat ram. But, no, Michaela will be very envious. This is original TON furniture.’ His eyes widened. ‘Table, chairs and armchairs. You did well. This is vintage. A real find.’
‘Really?’ Now that he looked more closely, beyond the battered and badly painted wood, Leo could see the craftsmanship in the slender bending of the wood used on the chair backs and the gentle curves of the table. It appeared Anna had a good eye, but the pieces needed some serious work and he didn’t have a clue where one would start.
‘Yes. This is iconic Czech design and it’s still made today.’ Jan ran a hand over the bentwood curve of one of the armchairs. ‘With some love these will be beautiful. I’m so happy that you are making them good again. The TON factory for bentwood furniture,Továrna ohýbaného nábytku, that’s the direct translation, was started in Bystríce pod Hostýnem in the nineteenth century and it’s still there today. One of the oldest original factories in the world. Michael Thonet, the founder, was a great designer and his family ran the company until the Fifties, when it was nationalised and became TON. Their stuff has always been really well made.’
Anna came in as he was talking and beamed. ‘See, told you. I could see the potential as soon as I saw it.’
Leo raised a sceptical eye. ‘I thought you said it was free furniture.’
