He is there almost every week. He is there to watch her through the window. And we all stand outside, him, the mother, the new girlfriend and me. We are there in the crowded hallway peering through the glass with the other mothers and occasional grandmother. And I know he works hard, I can tell by the dirt on his work clothes and boots- and the expression on his simultaneously youthful and worn face. By the logo on his regularly adorned hooded sweatshirt, I know he must be in the excavating business. This week the mother wasn’t there. The dad and girlfriend brought the little girl to class. They had arrived early and so had we. I heard the girlfriend ask the little girl about the sick mother while the dad spent at least five minutes in the bathroom washing the day’s work off of his hands. After he came out, he showed his hands to the girlfriend with an expression of satisfaction, and asked if they looked better. Meanwhile, the little girl sat on the floor clumsily removing her clunky snow boots to put on her delicate ballet shoes. And he warned her while she wrestled with her big boots, not to let her leg touch his pants; that they would definitely get dirty. But she did knick the knee of her pale pink tights on on the dusty shin of his work pants. As foretold, it left a mark which the girlfriend quickly and attentively tried to pat away. “Those are going to have to take a bath,” he said making light of the situation. And his daughter reassured him that she has two more pair at home. Often his speech is course in the hallway, not vulgar- but as to reflect a life hard earned. Yet, he is gentle with her. It is clear she is his treasure. When our daughters enter the classroom, he doesn’t leave the window. The conversation behind the glass with the girlfriend is peppered with the facts of daily life; like, he is going to have to drive to Flat Rock next week. And I don’t say anything- that I know that area well because I grew up near there and have a lot of family downriver Detroit. But I understand that it means he is going to have to drive over an hour each way to work. I can hear the disappointment in the girlfriend’s short response, to which he matter of factly replies that “It’s work,” and he encourages her that the ground is thawing. “They are saying it could be thawed by April 15th.” And I know he needs the work by the way he talks. I have no idea of his hardships or even lack thereof. I assume, on top of the cost of living, he must help pay for ballet lessons and probably child support. She understands and says that she only has two days of work this week, but next week was going to have overtime. Yet, he never loses focus on the reason he is here, and remarks that his daughter is improving. He notices that she is more coordinated and shares that information with the girlfriend in a coinciding understated and proud way. And they discuss where they will eat afterwards, because neither them has eaten dinner yet- clearly this is their priority. He excuses himself briefly to the vending machine and they share a couple Starbursts to tide them over. The girlfriend states that she wants the pink one. But he tells her “No, it’s her favorite,” and pockets it until the little girl comes out of class. While she sits on the floor replacing her dance shoes again with the oversized boots, he asks her if she would like the candy. She raises her arms toward him with excitement at the little surprise. “What do you say?”, he naturally prompts her.
“Please!” she says loudly. The father gives it to her, his love and the candy. It’s beautiful to watch as he smiles at her assuringly. And I believe it is all going to be okay, as he confidently takes the lead.
essay
A Tale of Three Dishes Part I
Owen was pretty low on the corporate ladder back then. Isaiah, almost a year old, and I were tagging along on his business trip to the Czech Republic. For the first portion of our stay we were just going to make due with whatever arrangements the company had made for Owen in the town of Jihlava. During the second part of the trip we had extended the stay on our own dime to tour Prague. Being the dutiful man that he is, Owen had made this known to his company. After all it really changed nothing as I was willing to do all of the child care and touring my heart desired while he was fulfilling his commitments. Somewhere along the way however, word got out that Owen was bringing his family, and to accommodate our situation we were moved into an executive suite normally reserved as an apartment for executives with long term stays. The room was like a studio with a kitchenette, a large bed and an extremely large bathroom with a spacious walk-in shower unlike any European bath I had seen before. Thoughtfully management had even furnished the room with a crib for our son.
Executive Suite
The first night of our stay was a difficult adjustment for the baby. He was still on our time schedule, which was about a six hour difference. Owen has a practice of trying to get on the schedule of where he is traveling right away, so he went to bed in the evening to be able to get up early in the morning to head off to the plant. To Isaiah it felt like lunch time, and he wasn’t sleepy at all. Since he and I could make our own schedule, I set up a play area away from the bed and tried to keep him as quiet as possible. When we had arrived the very nice woman behind the desk informed us that a complementary breakfast would be offered between the hours of like 6-9 am. Since the baby and I had finally gone to sleep around 2 am Czech time I had decided to sleep through breakfast, besides European cafes with fun pastries are one of my favorite things about Europe- so whenever we woke up I was confident we would be able to find something to eat.
Touring Jilhava with Owen
Some time around 10 o’clock, the baby and I were still asleep when there was a knock on the door. I knew it wasn’t Owen, he had left a few hours ago, and he had a key. I got up and asked who was there. I recognized the voice of the nice woman who had checked us in the day before and opened the door. Much to my surprise she had three large trays full of food! She had noticed that we missed breakfast and wanted to make sure we had something to eat. There was a tray of sliced meats and cheeses, a tray of breads and pastries, and a tray of fresh fruit and two different yogurts. She had also brought orange juice, water and coffee. I felt like a queen! I didn’t have to wake the baby or go anywhere! Plus Isaiah had options when he did wake since he could easily eat a banana and yogurt.
A view from town square in Jilhava, Czech Republic
It was a lovely start to the day to say the least. And I actually felt guilty that I couldn’t eat it all! (And I made it a point not to miss breakfast again). After we got dressed, we did a little exploration of the city. There were cute little boutiques hidden behind painted doors. There was hustling and bustling down narrow streets full of working people and little cars. Because the area we were in was very business like and everything looked the same (and because I instinctively have no sense of direction), I didn’t want to stray too far because we had gotten a late start and I knew Owen would be back from work soon. Not too long after we returned to the room and I had put Isaiah down for a nap, Owen walked through the door and informed me of where we were going to dinner.
Apparently the place we were staying also had a restaurant downstairs. I hadn’t even been able to see or hear it from the lobby, but all we had to do after we went down the three flights of stairs from the floor of our room, was take a different turn which landed us right in a unique type of dining hall. The walls were made of stones and the tables and chairs were dark wood. There was a fire burning in a fireplace that seemed to be in the middle of the room and a cooking fire in the corner. You could see pots hanging from an area that must have lead to the kitchen and the whole place was packed full of locals and business men and women that already knew about this hidden treasure. To say it was charming would be an understatement and I was completely delighted. The weather outside was chilly, somewhere between fall and winter, inside was warm and picturesque.
This picture does not do it justice! I took it during a breakfast with Isaiah. At night it is full of people. The fireplace in the corner is for cooking.
We were seated at a long table filled with executives; sellers and buyers. I was a part of the only family there and they had insisted that we come. Everyone greeted us warmly and commented on Owen as an appreciated employee and respected colleague. I felt their sincerity and I was proud of him. I think it was a nice change for everyone to have something a little more personal rather than all business as usual. After spending all day together at a plant resolving issues and talking numbers, I’m sure it was a nice diversion.
The restaurant was accustomed to international patrons and equipped with menus in English. As a starter I selected a soup I had never seen before or again. It was simply called Garlic Soup, and considering the weather outside, the warmth inside and my love of garlic it just seemed right. When they brought it to the table I didn’t really know what to expect. It was broth-y and mostly clear. It had a few little drops of oil that had collected at the top. I don’t remember seeing any pieces of garlic per say, only a couple of thinly sliced scallion rings. It was light and fulfilling at the same time. It was warm, satisfying and delicious. After that I really can’t recall any more of the soup or anything else I ate that evening, but I do know that I ordered it two more times before we left the city. I have researched recipes for Garlic Soup since, some were creamy and some were chunky; none were ever close to what I had at that quaint restaurant on the bottom floor of the of the executive apartments where I was treated like a queen.
Isaiah and I felt like royalty!
Featured image taken in Prague, Czech Republic