Trnava

By Griffith Pound

“Why not stop in Trnava?” suggests Juraj.

“Where the hell is Tranava?” asks Kyle.

“Trnava,” corrects Juraj. “It’s where my aunt and uncle live. You can stay with them for as long as you like, yes?”

Kyle holds the socks he was about to place in his suitcase and looks at Juraj directly. “As nice as I’m sure your aunt and uncle are, I don’t think spending a few weeks of the summer with your roommates’ relatives in….”

“Trnava,” assists Juraj.

“…there, will help me much,” completes Kyle.

Juraj hops off the top bunk to stand next to Kyle. “Look, you are not understanding. After a breakup, the best thing to do, is to get back out there.”

Kyle stops packing. Juraj looks down. Kyle shakes his head and mumbles, “Two years, and it’s declared over, over text?”

“She was not a good girl for you. You need to get back out there.”

“I am getting back out there,” retorts Kyle. He shows Juraj the travel guide for Austria. Juraj pushes the book aside.

“You don’t need to see monuments. You need to see women.”

“Austria, I’m pretty sure, has women.”

“Not like in Slovakia.” Juraj grabs Kyle’s arm to get his full attention. “In Austria, you’ll be just another American tourist. A nobody. In Slovakia, in a town like Trnava, you will see the most beautiful women, they will find you interesting, and you will never want to leave.”

“I already have plane tickets to Vienna,” Kyle says, as he places the guidebook into his suitcase.

“Great, Slovakia is literally next door. 45-minute train ride to the capital. And…”

Kyle turns to face Juraj again. “And…” continues Juraj, “Trnava is known as ‘Little Rome’ due to it having the highest number of churches and cathedrals per capita in the world.”

Kyle smirks. “Per capita huh?”

Juraj shrugs. “Hey, Slovakia is a small country. Any chance to be number one must be per capita.”

***

Vladimir and Jan sit together at one of three available tables in the café. Maria, wearing her barista apron, is sitting on the counter holding a letter. “Thank you for your interest in our NGO,” reads Maria in English. “I was not ‘interested’. I wanted a job.”

Jan, holding a cigarette near his round face, asks in Slovak, “Is ‘interest’ like hobbies?”

“Nie,” answers Maria. “It is how you say you like something or want something. It’s like,” switching back to English, “I am interested in this sweater, or this is in my interest to do this.” Jan nods. Vladimir takes a sip of his espresso.

“What good is it to get a degree if no one will interview you for a job afterwards?” she asks.

Jan suggests, “Well you have a job now.”

Maria stands up from the counter and walks behind the cash register. Her face is a tinge red. “I went to Komenius University. I earned high marks. I want to be something more than a coffee waitress.”

Vladimir sets his espresso down. “Maybe you need to network more.”

Jan nods in agreement and recites the adage, ““Nie je doležíte čo vieš, doležíte je koho poznáš.”

“Oh, I tried. While in Bratislava I think I met every NGO and every government official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs I could. And you’re right, it is more important to know people than to know things.” Maria picks up a rag to wipe the counter. “Trouble is, I don’t know the right people to land a job that I want.”

Jan glances at Vladimir, who quietly nods and sets two euros on the table. As Jan gets up, he says, “Something will turn up.”

***

Kyle steps off the train in Trnava and makes his way to Kapitulska Street. He’s pulling his suitcase but in the pedestrian zone he decides to lift and carry so he does not make as much noise on the cobblestone streets. The scene is so appealing, he does not want to detract from it by being the obnoxious tourist making a racket. 

Within the city walls, the stone streets and the narrow alleys match what Kyle’s imagination had created beforehand as a typical, mid-sized town in the Old World. The brick and stone buildings lining the street somehow all tastefully match. Ahead at the end of the street, Kyle sees a square and spires of one of the many towering cathedrals. Cafes with outdoor seating are filled with clients. The scene is a postcard. Slovaks are sipping their espressos in tiny shot-sized, white porcelain cups and pulling drags off their cigarettes. The conversations are lively and flowing. He hears the confused sounds of z’s and v’s strung together without pauses along with the occasional, guttural sound of a “ch” which, to his foreign ear, sounds like running a zipper up and down a jacket while hawking a loogie. He tries to make any sense of the words on signs above the shops and restaurants, using letters like “ž” and “č“. 

“This is beautiful,” Kyle says to himself, “and quite different.”

***

The café is empty, and Maria is re-reading her rejection letter. She hears a customer ask her in English, “Excuse me?”

She is startled. She forces herself to ask, “Pardon?”

“Oh good,” Kyle starts, “You speak English. Do I sit, or order here?”

“You can order here,” she replies. She pauses, but finally says, “What would you like?”

Her eyes are focused on his mouth but he points to ‘Kapučino’ listed on the menu. “Is this a cappuccino?”

“Yes.”

“Ok then. I’ll have that.”

She turns to grab a large porcelain cup. While she’s turned, she asks, “Are you British?”

“No, American.”

“What brings an American to Trnava?”

She turns to face him while the machine warms up. He is staring at her but catches himself. “The churches,” he manages.

“Ah, ‘Little Rome’ they call it.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that.”

He is caught staring too long at her blue eyes. She turns to start the machine to break the pause and Kyle pulls his suitcase to a table to sit down. Once the drink is ready, she moves around the counter to bring him his cup and asks, “So are you interested in churches?”

“Yes,” he starts. “I mean, in a general way.” He looks around the café. “It’s pretty.”

Maria looks around the café as well. “No, I mean,” Kyle continues, “just I mean this town is pretty.”

“I guess so,” and she turns to walk back to the counter. Kyle sips his cappuccino and cannot take his eyes off her slender figure and the way the light coming through the window passes through her blond hair. 

Once behind the counter again, Maria suggests “The Basilica of Saint Nicholas is nice.” 

“Oh ok. I’ll make sure to check it out,” he replies in an as-casual-as-possible manner.

“I sound like a hotel receptionist.”

“No really, thank you. I appreciate it. You must be very proud of your town.”

Maria shrugs. “I just moved back.”

“Where were you before?”

Without answering, Maria picks up the rag and starts wiping the counter again. “There are also many nice restaurants with terraces. It’s a nice way to spend the evening,” she states casually.

Kyle barely catches what she says, as he tries to remain focused, to not allow his eyes to drift down her elegant neck, or to look at the tips of her ears peeking through her hair.

“Like where?” he asks.

She decides he has an honest face. He is harmless and sincere. “I’ll be meeting some friends at the Piváreň Sessler tonight if you want to join.”

“Sounds wonderful,” he blurts out, a little too quickly. 

“If you’re visiting Slovakia, you should also try bryndzové halušky,” she suggests. “They have nice halušky at Sessler.”

“Okay, what’s that?”

“It’s the Slovak dish. Sheep cheese dumplings with bacon on top.”

“Sounds great.” Honestly, she could have suggested eating manure and Kyle would have been interested. 

“I’m Kyle by the way.”

“My name is Maria,” she smiles.

***

It is the late afternoon, and Kyle arrives at Juraj’s aunt and uncle’s. An elderly man and woman answer the door. Kyle states he is Juraj’s friend from college, and the woman’s face lights up as she says, “Kyle, Kyle, ano, priatel Juraja!” Kyle nods.

“Volam sa Verona.” She says her name again, “Verona.”

Kyle nods, and says back to her, “Verona”.

The man nods and states, with his hand on his chest, “Peter”.

Kyle nods back, and states, “Peter”.

Verona waves with her hands for Kyle to enter. Kyle watches Peter’s gestures as he explains something in Slovak and realizes that Peter is pointing at the stairwell. Kyle understands and carries his bag behind Peter as Peter leads him upstairs. Once in his room, Kyle sets down his bag, and Peter stands in the doorway, saying something while motioning with his hand toward his mouth. Kyle is hungry, and gratefully leaves his bag in the room and follows Peter downstairs.

Once downstairs, Peter motions for Kyle to take a seat on the couch and disappears into a cabinet in the entrance hallway. Kyle hears Verona shuffling and clanking in the kitchen when Peter reappears with two glasses of clear liquid. Peter extends one glass for Kyle and states, “Vitajte.” After Peter hands over Kyle’s glass, Peter indicates with his finger, pointing at his own glass, “Hruškavica.” 

Kyle can only repeat back to Peter, “vee-tite-yay-hrooshka-veetsa” and makes a toast gesture before downing his drink. Kyle coughs and his face flushes red. Peter downs his without issue. Kyle and Peter then look at each other for a few moments when Kyle decides to busy himself by looking at the pictures on the wall. A few are black and white, and Kyle tries to show interest in them, but it is difficult to ask anything beyond, “Is this you?” with gestures and facial expressions. Peter raises his eyebrows a few times in acknowledgement, before motioning with his hand to ask if Kyle wants another vee-tite-yay-hrooshka-veetsa, but Kyle declines. Verona enters and says something to Peter, who smiles, and together Verona and Peter wave Kyle into the dining room.

As Kyle sits down, he looks at a plate piled high with dumplings, white cheese, and bacon. Kyle points at the dish and announces, “bryndzové halušky!” Verona and Peter both raise their eyebrows and nod in agreement. The dinner having been correctly identified; Kyle has run out of conversation topics. Kyle wants to hurry through dinner so he can find Maria that evening and finishes his plate before looking up at the other two who are halfway through theirs. Verona stands up and takes Kyle’s plate, but Kyle is unable to explain that he really does not need more. When Verona returns, she offers an even larger portion. Kyle smiles. Verona nods and winks her eyes for emphasis.  

Kyle slows down at round two, as he figures he needs to finish this portion to be polite, but he must not finish too quickly, or Verona will reload. He gauges his intake with Peter’s, measuring scoop for scoop, so that he ensures he does not finish before Peter does. This slows down the meal considerably, and after 20 minutes of the sound of nothing but spoons touching the bottom of their plates accompanied by head nods and winks, the meal concludes. Peter stands up and motions with his hand for Kyle to return to the sitting room, and after a few seconds in the cabinet, Peter returns with two glasses filled with more clear liquid. This time as he raises his glass, he toasts “na zdravie”, which Kyle repeats back to Peter before downing a different burning liquor. Kyle again coughs but figures a liquid like that will at least break up the pile of dumplings congealing in his stomach. Peter turns around and heads to the cabinet for more, when Kyle stretches out his arms and yawns, feigning the need to retire. Peter obliges with a wink and a nod, and Kyle heads upstairs.

Kyle finds the restroom at the end of the hallway and sits down on the commode. Maria’s two dots of blue jewels in the middle of her soft, delicate face are all he can think about. It wasn’t just that she was so lovely, it was that she appeared interested in him. No single feature in a woman, Kyle thought, is more attractive than her interest in him. It was the way she turned her head, listened intently as he talked, and focused on his every word. Kyle of course knew she was focusing on understanding what he was saying, but she appeared to enjoy talking to him, which was good enough. 

Kyle was not sure how many more silent exchanges with Peter and Verona he can handle, or how much more of that toxic liquor he could ingest. His throat is still on fire. The liquor did help move all that solid ooze through his system, and Kyle feels much more relieved when he stands up.  

As he turns around, Kyle observes this lavatory is an older model, with a tank located above the user’s head with a handle to pull on the end of a string. Kyle has never seen one like this in person. Kyle gives it a pull, but nothing happens. He tried again, again nothing. Unsure if he perhaps misunderstands Slovak toilet technology, Kyle looks on either side of the seat, around the small sink, and behind the toilet for another handle, but there is none. The only obvious lever for a human to initiate action is the handle on the end of the string. Kyle gives it another pull. Still nothing. Kyle washes his hands, and as he opens the door, he thinks about what Juraj’s relatives will think of the American visitor not flushing if he does not say something. He braces himself for another awkward exchange and heads downstairs. He avoids Peter as he may try to offer another drink and instead collects Verona. Kyle gestures with his hands to follow him and leads her to the upstairs hallway bathroom. Once at the threshold, he points at the bowl and ensures he has Verona’s attention focused on the toilet. 

She is watching the bowl as Kyle pulls the handle. Kyle hears the flush, and startled, looks down to see the bowl swirling with water until everything sucks through the bottom with a slurping sound. He looks at Verona, who returns his puzzled expression. Kyle runs through his mind how to explain past actions and past conditional actions with hand signals and facial expressions but comes up with nothing in the face of Verona’s blank stare. She nods, smiles politely, mumbles something in Slovak, and turns around to walk back down the hallway. 

Kyle stands there, still holding the handle, startled and embarrassed. He looks at his watch, and decides it is time to walk back into town and find Sessler. 

***

The late afternoon summer sun provides a dim but sufficient light as he walks past a series of weeping willows moving toward Námestie Svätého Mikuláša. Any impartial observer could appreciate the gentle breeze, and the smell of warm air cooling as evening approaches. For Kyle, the sounds as he walks are happy, summer sounds, brought forward to his ears since the lack of motor vehicles in the pedestrian zone permits the natural din of chatter and nightlife to emanate from the restaurants, bars, and cafes. In the gaps between restaurants, the soft sound of leaves gently rubbing against each other keeps him company. At the end of his pleasant evening stroll, he spots Maria sitting with two men, one tall and thin, the other stout with a round face, each smoking a cigarette and nursing a beer. Maria has a glass of white wine. All three stand as Kyle approaches the table and Maria leads the introductions. 

Once seated, tall, thin Vladimir, starts the interrogation first. “You are here on vacation, yes?”

“Yes, traveling through Europe. Just finished my studies.”

Jan asks, as he blows smoke up and away from the table, “In which topic did you study?”

“Philosophy.” There is a pause.

Vladimir follows up with, “and you decided to vacation in Slovakia? Why come here?”

Kyle counters with the only fact he knows about Trnava. “I heard the downtown was nice, and there are many pretty churches.”

Jan and Vladimir look at each other, nodding in agreement, but Vladimir pursues with some skepticism. “You have an interest in churches then?”

“Not really,” Kyle confesses. Vladimir and Jan maintain their steady gazes at Kyle. Vladimir taps his cigarette and takes a long drag. There is another long pause.

Jan continues, “For how many days will you be in Trnava?”

Kyle replies truthfully, “I don’t have an itinerary. I plan on staying the summer, maybe a few days, maybe a few weeks.”

Vladimir appears confused and asks, “So where are you staying?”

Kyle looks to Maria to see if she could end the inquisition, yet she sips her wine and looks upward, so Kyle offers, “My best friend from college is from here. He offered for me to stay with his aunt and uncle.”

Jan leans forward and crushes his cigarette in the ash tray. “Your friend from university is Slovak?”

When Kyle nods Vladimir asks, as if not quite believing this new revelation, “What’s your friend’s name?” 

“Juraj Pondelka.”

Jan’s face lights up. “You went to university with Juraj, yes?”

Kyle nods. Vladimir and Jan have an animated Slovak exchange, while Maria’s smile widens on her face as she looks at Kyle. 

The tone of the conversation changes considerably once Jan and Vladimir are satisfied that Kyle had made a Slovak friend in the States. The gate is now open, and Vladimir and Jan shift stances from protectors of the Virgin Maria, to welcoming Kyle as a friend of Slovakia and encouraging him to partake in what every good Slovak knows to do on these occasions. Unfortunately for Kyle, that means more hruškovica and borovička, and several other drinks ending in ‘vica’ that burn Kyle’s untrained throat. Shots after shots ensue, chased by beer after beer. As the evening moves through the umpteenth round of beers, each round accompanied by several shots of burning liquid, Kyle becomes less certain if it had been a good thing to get within Vladimir and Jan’s good graces. This is both a fortunate occurrence for Kyle, as well as a potential catastrophe, because it is well known that just about every Slovak can outdrink just about every American. 

“And that last round is made from almonds,” explains Jan.

“Kyle, will you have another round?” asks Vladimir.

Kyle, eyes having trouble focusing, looks to Maria. Maria says, “Yes, another round.”

Jan’s face expresses surprise. “What? I can’t have another round too?” she asks.

“No, of course! It’s just normally you stay with wine,” Jan explains.

“Ok, another round then,” suggests Kyle.

Maria says something across the table to Kyle. “Maria, you’re speaking Slovak,” interjects Vladimir.

Maria’s eyes widen and she covers her mouth. Jan asks her, “Are you sure you want another round?”

She nods her head, and Kyle puts his hand in the air to call the waiter over. As the evening wears on, Vladimir and Jan keep ordering rounds of shots until the conversation becomes so muddled that Kyle isn’t sure if he is impressing Maria, Maria is uncertain if she is speaking English or Slovak, and Vladimir and Jan are not clear if they are supposed to be hazing Kyle or welcoming him. 

Finally, Maria stands up, slowly. “I am to go must bed now,” she announces. As she moves around the table, she leans on Kyle’s shoulder to steady herself. Kyle also attempts to stand, and soon discovers that all Trnava has tilted 45 degrees to the right, but since he is leaning into Maria, the two support each other’s weight. Jan and Vladimir stand to walk out of the café with Kyle and Maria.

“You did well,” Maria proclaims to Kyle.

Kyle, forehead now sweating, can only form the words, “Well then.”

It is dark, and Kyle recognizes the willow trees he had enjoyed passing earlier are silent. The air is now still, no rustling leaves. The unsteady foursome stumble forward in an approximate line. Maria is leading the way to her apartment leaning on Kyle, or perhaps Kyle is leaning on Maria. He likes that he can feel her torso against his, and her shoulder fits nicely into the gap under his armpit. Her hair smells pleasant.

Once near one of the willows, Maria suddenly pushes away. Kyle is unsure what to do, as he needs her mutual support to keep himself from falling, so he reaches for her before realizing that she is bent over leaning against a tree with one hand while holding her hair with the other. While Vladimir and Jan initially object because they do not understand what was happening, Vladimir eventually holds Jan back as Kyle steadies Maria with one hand and pulls her hair back behind her head. Maria releases the evening’s revelry into the base of the tree with a loud hurl. Kyle does not know where he found the strength, or the balance, but he grips her tightly and holds her in place as her stomach convulses and the vein in her neck bulges. Kyle can feel the skin in her torso become hot and the thin film of perspiration on her head under his hand as he holds back her hair.

When she finished, she straightens herself upright and only then becomes aware that Kyle had been holding her steady. She leans forward and wraps both arms around him. Kyle feels her breath against his neck as her nose nestles in the space just above his shoulder. He feels her soft breathing through her nose on his neck. His arms hold her lower back and shoulder blades in place. Maria can feel Kyle’s chest swell and deflate, and she can hear his pulse. Kyle’s head is pounding, but he is struggling to make sure he is conscious enough to enjoy this moment. Vladimir and Jan look at each other and hold a silent conversation, not sure if they are supposed to protect Maria or leave the two alone. Kyle keeps himself quiet, knowing better than to spoil a perfect moment.

Finally, Kyle mutters, “I need to get you home.” Maria leans back, looks at Kyle’s face, and nods.

“Maria,” continues Kyle, “you are very pretty.”

“Kyle,” answers Maria, “I am interested.”

Jan and Vladimir wish Kyle and Maria good night. Maria and Kyle proceed together, leaning on each other for support, for what was the beginning of a wonderful summer.

The author Griffith Pound is a new and enthusiastic writer, with recent credits in Ariel Chart and Mobius Blvd. The inspiration for the work was based on his many trips to Trnava while living and working in Slovakia. Trnava really is a beautiful corner of the world, and a lovely setting for romance. When not writing, he is the father of three relentlessly sarcastic but wonderful teenagers, the owner of an energetic border collie, and a slave to a cat.