Café Balada
A family with a fulfilled dream that had cost too much.
Jan was born on a sunny day in May, while Jan’s father, László, was serving the customers in a café he could proudly call his own.
A couple of years ago, a young, still a childless couple got quickly used to life in Sturovo. A small town on a Slovak side of the borders between Slovakia and Hungary looked like the right place for a small business, and since László’s wife, Hana, couldn’t speak Hungarian, all was set.
Unfortunately, László’s family wasn’t thrilled by the crazy idea of their older son to become a café owner. The well-established family business with wine production in their Hungarian vineyards needed its successor and organized and responsible László seemed like a better option, comparing to his younger brother, leading a bohemian way of life he was never planning to give up.
A collision between the expectations of a young man and his parents made him take a couple of days off and hiking in neighboring Slovakia seemed far enough.
Not surprisingly, finding the love of his life was the last thing László thought about.
One day, as he was walking through the woods, a couple of twigs of coniferous trees cracked in the weed close by, and László, thinking he was being hunted by a bear ran off.
Panting and sweaty, László sat on a small bench in front of a small old-fashioned restaurant in a tiny village that appeared in front of him.
And it was just on time. A young waitress who just finished her shift, curious about a young sportsman from the woods, sat nearby him to listen to the story.
Even though she couldn’t understand Hungarian much, two years later, Hana gave up her Slovak surname. Clouds and forests changed for the sunny days in the middle of a tourist hub that Sturovo always was, and she didn’t regret her choice.
Unfortunately for László, things were not going so smoothly. A family let their older son do whatever he wanted, but they also decided not to support his rebellious idea in any way.
With an empty bank account and the first baby on the way, László was taking any job he could find. Night and day shifts as if they had no end.
Until he met Erika.
One of László’s jobs was working as a lifeguard in a local summer pool and Erika was the owner of a big restaurant nearby. One day when László was finishing his shift, a young owner of the restaurant, who was secretly watching László from a distance already for some time, invited a tanned and smiley lifeguard for a glass of wine.
The good chemicals were pulsating between the two ambitious souls, and by the end of the evening, Erika offered László a full-time job in her restaurant. Even though she was hoping for more, László had no thoughts about breaching the rules of his marriage. Luckily for him, nothing in the original job offer has changed by this fact, and the following week László started his first shift as a waiter.
For one year, László was the best employee a hospitality business owner can hope for.
Hungry to learn how the business works; relentlessly creating relationships with the customers who were happy to come back especially because of László; or doing the jobs that were not required in his position — all of that was very appealing especially to Erika, who decided to use her charm to seduce László once more and this time failing was not an option.
Right after finishing one of the weekend shifts, she threw herself into László’s arms and went after what she intended to get. Confused László quickly put himself together, pushed Erika away, and left without a word to save both of them a very embarrassing moment.
An hour later, he received a text he was fired.
With the second baby on the way, László couldn’t stay without a job for long, and after one year of living in a constant zeal, he knew he didn’t want to take a step back. He knew he learned enough to start his own business, but he didn’t have enough money to start on his own.
Surprisingly, it was László’s younger brother Istvan who provided the capital for László’s dream to become true. Istvan somehow managed to cooperate with one of the popular Hungarian musicians, and the new song has become a hit in the entire country.
László didn’t hesitate anymore. In a year, he organized everything that was needed, and café Balada welcomed its first customers, who could enjoy the best coffee in town, including amazing ice cream and special assorted desserts.
In the next 12 months, café Balada has become one of the ‘musts’ for anyone visiting Sturovo, and with the third child, Jan, on the way, László couldn’t be any happier.
For the next couple of years, everything worked pretty nicely. Family life and business had their ups and downs, but where is a will, there is always a solution.
The break had become when Jan was about 10 years old.
Hana, László’s wife, had enough of her husband and now both older kids spending every spare moment in the café. She tried to make up for her loneliness and her own unfulfilled dreams by giving extra attention to Jan, but nothing could fix the feelings that were growing within her for years.
On one summer night, she went to a party with her neighbors to the restaurant owned by Erika, which was keeping its high quality throughout all those years. On that night, Hana was wearing a beautiful red dress and the highest heels she could find. Once the red wine made her dance, a beautiful woman craving the attention and feeling of being desired once again landed in the arms of a man she met that night for the first time.
Erika made the pictures of László’s wife and the stranger in the moments of passion when they thought no one could see them.
The next day, Erika ran to László’s café with the news. He was surprised by seeing Erika after all those years since she was avoiding his café as a contagious disease, and he never went to her restaurant either.
After hearing, as well as seeing, what has happened, László was totally devastated. He couldn’t believe it was Hana on those pictures that he couldn’t erase from his memory.
In an hour, he got drunk. And Erika, keen to use the situation in her favor, offered László an opportunity for vengeance. However, László kicked her out and told her she is banned from coming into his café for life.
From then on, things started going down the hill. Even though László and Hana stayed together because of kids, László couldn’t get through the fact that Hana spent a night with someone else.
He started drinking more and more until being under the influence of alcohol has become his natural state.
A well-established café with László’s deterioration started losing its magic too. But it was the three children who decided to take the destiny of that beautiful place into their hands.
The oldest son was willing to take care of their father, who didn’t want to go to rehab, but since Hana made László move out, László needed someone to look after him and try to help him survive.
Dominika, a daughter who still wasn’t 18, was very hardworking, but deep inside she knew that hospitality wasn’t her passion and unfortunately, this fact was reflected in the results of her best efforts.
Paradoxically, it was a 14-year-old Jan who inherited the true gift of his father. A tall boy, looking older than he really was, has become a new heart of the café that still could save its old fame.
When Jan turned 15, he told his mother he would not attend a high school, since he was already living his future now. Hana was, understandably, unbelievably angry and when she’d seen Jan would not listen to anything she was saying, she quit talking to his youngest son for good.
Jan wasn’t very pleased by this situation, but he wasn’t willing to change the direction anyways.
An enthusiastic young man was working the entire days and nights, just as László used to in those good old days, and on Jan’s 18 birthday café Balada could once again call itself a living legend.
Jan didn’t regret a thing. He didn’t miss a high school degree. He accepted that his parents were rather living ghosts than real parents. Yet there was one thing that was hunting him in the night.
The thought of love. Summer love or a short-term teenage adventure appeared on his schedule when a girl was able to squeeze into his busy schedule, but deep inside, Jan was craving to experience the relationship, support, and bonding. However, always when feelings like this came up, he’d seen vivid pictures of his parents right in front of his eyes. Hence, when someone started to tease him about the love of his life or marriage, he always replied the same words: “I am sorry, but I am already married to Balada forever.”
