When I first started with the casa in Cuba I had no idea how time consuming even the simplest repairs would be. Little by little nearly all the things in Casa Nini carry a story to remember. Take the chairs on the terrace for example. A while back we bought an antique table and 6 chairs. The table was in good condition, but four of the chairs were falling apart. They needed repair.

Four men, four chairs. The odds should be good

Week 1: We try to contact a carpintero who once made a bed for us. Every day we call, but the phone seems to be permanently turned off. Ricardo goes to the workshop. Nobody. After 3 attempts finally el carpintero is there. He will come next day to take a look at the chairs.  

Week 2: No carpintero arrives. Not the next day and not the rest of the week.

Week 3:  We do not give up that easily. Ricardo returns to the workshop four more time before he is lucky. This time el carpintero is marched directly to the casa. No more mañana. The whole thing turns into quite the entourage when el carpintero decides to bring both of his assistants as well. For almost two hours four men, drink coffee, smoke and study four chairs. One man per chair, the odds should be good, no?  I am feeling optimistic. Price agreed, hands shaken and el carpintero just need a day to find materials.

Week 4: No Carpintero.  Phonecalls. Still nothing.

Week 5: still nothing. Ricardo’s repeat visits to the workshop is to no avail. In the end Ricardo says de pinga and the search for carpintero no 2 is on.

Week 6:  Our plumber tips us off about carpintero no 2. A man who learned the craft from his grandfather. Somebody who knows what he is doing.  We congratulate ourselves.

Week 7: Let’s take the chairs directly to Carpintero no 2, I say. No more time to lose! But of course, this is not the way it is done in Cuba.As I am frequently told. Carpintero no 2 needs to come to inspect the chairs first.

Week 8: I hold my tongue all week. With difficulty.

Week 9: Me: Mi amooorrrr, the chairs? Ricardo calls Carpintero no 2. It turns out that he lives far away and transport is difficult. So he will not come and look at the chairs after all. We have waited 2 weeks for nothing. Ricardo spends a day finding transport, bringing the chairs to Carpintero no 2, drinking coffee and talking to him. But at least the chairs are with a specialist.  I feel happy for my chairs. They are promised within the week.

Week 10-11: Of course I do NOT take that stuff about a week literally. I allow myself to feel a little smug. I am not the completely stupid foreigner anymore.  So I concentrate on other things. Like walking the streets trying to find toilet paper (let us not get distracted, this is a different story)

Week 12: Me: Mi amooooorrrr, the chairs? It turns out Ricardo has already been calling for several days already. What could be happening? Is Carpintero no 2 making off with our chairs? Ricardo calls the plumber.  Do not worry, says he. Tranquilo.  This is the father of my girlfriend. Nothing bad will happen, I think he has a broken mobile. Let me call to find out. He does not call back.   

Week 13: Still no chairs. We call the plumber again and now his phone too is turned off. De pinga, says Ricardo, with dark looks. Let’s just go and get the bloody chairs I suggest. But it is one hour away and we are both thinking that the chairs anyway are sold and that this is a lost case.   

Week 14: Surprise! Carpintero no 2 calls Ricardo. He says he wants to come by our casa and have a chat. A Chat? About what? Considering that Casa Nini is full of clients and we are busy, we are in no mood for visinting carpenters.  Just tell me on the phone says Ricardo darkly. What has happened to the chairs?  If  I was the carpenter, I would be afraid. Well, says carpintero no 2, these chairs are such delicate work, muy complicado. I had to buy some glue also, so the price needs to be adjusted. We impatiently agree to the new price and beg him to return the chairs within the week.

Week 15: We are sick of the chairs and cannot bear to think about them. Even less talk about them.

Week 16: Mi amoooorrr, do you remember those chairs we once had? Was it not something about a carpenter repairing them? I wonder who he sold them to.

 Week 17: A miracle! Carpintero no 2 calls us. The chairs are finished. Wow! And believe it or not, finally we have the four chairs around the table on the terrace.

Week 18: None of us want to be the first one to say anything, so all week we say nothing.

Week 19: Me: Mi amooooorrrr, the chairs, they are very wobbly, aren’t day? Ricardo: Yes, I know, carpintero no 2 is de pinga., he only glued the chairs.  I will repair them myself.  

Week 20: Ricardo, armed with drill and long screws, makes the repairs. So finally, after 20 weeks, the work is done, not in the delicate restorative way of antique furniture, but with blocks of wood and big screws. The chairs are at last strong and stable, just in time for the arrival of two really solid American guests.

Thank God I have my very own Carpintero no 3.