Czech Garden Party 1 Part 1 — Hot

“Next time, we’ll grill.” This was just the first movement of the symphony. The hot part. In Part 2, the dew will fall, and the party will enter its second phase: the chill. The Slivovice will flow colder, the špekáčky (sausages) will be roasted over a dying ember, and the guitars will come out. Someone will sing “Modlitba pro Martu” off-key, and someone else will cry.

One of the uncles hangs a wet dish towel over his head like a turban. He refuses to explain why. He simply sits in the shrinking shadow of the apple tree, looking like a Buddhist monk who has given up on enlightenment in favor of not passing out. The end of a hot garden party is not a climax; it is a gradual evaporation. People do not announce they are leaving. They simply... vanish. Between 6:30 and 7:00 PM, as the sun finally begins to consider setting, the cars start to disappear one by one. czech garden party 1 part 1 hot

But that is a story for a cooler hour.

He looks at the mess. He looks at Irena, who is too tired to be angry. And he says the famous last words of every Czech garden party host: “Next time, we’ll grill

The guests drink it anyway because they are Czechs. But the joy is gone. They drink not for pleasure, but for survival. The children have given up entirely, attacking the garden hose with the ferocity of feral cats. By 5:00 PM, a strange delirium sets in. This is what Part 1 of a Czech Garden Party in extreme heat does to the psyche. The conversation slows. Words become heavy. Sentences trail off like melting ice. The Slivovice will flow colder, the špekáčky (sausages)