The hotel looked grander than I remembered.

Chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Red carpets muffled our footsteps. Even the restroom urinals were motion-activated waterfalls.

Outside, snow whipped across the inky Baltic.

Near the restaurant entrance, a framed menu advertised the seasonal West Bothnia buffet.

Five years earlier, a waiter had told us it was his favorite meal of the year. 

We had talked about coming back ever since.

Then I saw the price.

625 kronor.

I pulled out my phone and started working through conversion rates.

Dani, meanwhile, pushed through the heavy glass doors.

I looked at the exchange rate one more time.

Then I followed her inside.

~

The dining room was smaller than I remembered.

Tables lined the windows overlooking the water, while the rest of the room had been squeezed around the kitchen and walls. We were seated near the back, nowhere near the windows.

I looked toward the buffet.

I couldn’t see one.

“I’m going.”

Dani stood and disappeared around a corner.