“No. It’s on your lap. Just stop using the cremation island one.”
“You are unbelievable.” She exhaled a loud, frustrated sigh. “Okay, you’re going to follow the signs to get out of the garage and then take a right at the light.”
“Got it,” I said.
I turned right on the street and noticed snow flurries swirling in the wind. Even though the weather was shitty and it was late, there were still a fair number of people out. We passed some bars and restaurants that appeared to be open before parking in the hotel garage.
“Okay, let’s go,” I said.
We got out of the SUV, and I pulled our luggage out of the back. Both of us glanced around for the elevator or escalator down to the street level.
“This way,” Taylor said while she pointed to a wall that had oversized arrows pointing down.
I stepped onto the escalator ahead of Taylor and leaned against the side. I could feel a pang of hunger hit me as we rode down.
We stepped off the escalator right in front of some sliding glass doors that led into the hotel.
“Ah, this is convenient,” Taylor said as we stepped into the quiet hotel lobby. “I wasn’t looking forward to walking outside in the wind again.”
“Yeah, that short walk in New York did me in for being able to tolerate icy-cold wind.” As we approached the check-in desk, I held out my hand for her passport. “Hand me your passport, Evelyn.” Might as well start using her pseudonym. “Remember, don’t overcomplicate anything,” I reminded her.
“Don’t worry, Tim,” she replied.
With both of our fake passports in my hand, I stepped up to the counter where the hotel employee was waiting for us.
“Hi, welcome. Do you have a reservation with us?”
“Hello. Yes, the reservation is under Tim Chambers.” I set the passports on the counter and then smiled at Taylor.
“Thank you,” the man behind the counter said as he picked the passports up. “When I saw you come inside, I had hoped you had reservations. We’re completely booked for the next couple of days.”
“I never would have guessed that the dead of winter would have been such a popular time to visit Stockholm,” I said.
“There is a hockey tournament among the Scandinavian clubs going on in the city this week. It is difficult to find lodging anywhere in the city.”
“Ah, I love hockey,” I said and looked at Taylor while the man looked for the reservation. “My wife isn’t into hockey as much as me, though. Isn’t that right, Evelyn?”
Taylor’s cheeks reddened as she raised an eyebrow. She smiled and said, “It doesn’t capture my attention.”
“She doesn’t like hockey but loves all those reality TV shows. All those shows seem the same, and every night I come home from work she’s got one on. I can tell she hasn’t done anything all day but sit and watch TV.” Unsure of what to say, the man politely smiled at me.
“I’m sorry, Mr. & Mrs. Chambers, for the delay in getting you checked in. It would appear that the room you had booked was given to another customer this afternoon. I’m checking to see if we have another one available.”
“I hope you do,” I said abruptly and with a bit of annoyance in my tone. The man typed rapidly. I was sure he was desperate to locate our room.
“Honey, relax. I’m sure it was just a mistake,” Taylor said.
“I’m relaxed, sweetheart. It would be terrible, though, if the start of our Scandinavian tour gets off to a rocky start.” I wrapped my arm around Taylor’s back and squeezed her arm. Despite feeling her tense up, I pulled her against me. “It’ll be okay,” I said.
“You’re on a Scandinavian vacation?” the man asked.
“Yes, we’ll be here in the Stockholm for a few days, and then we’re off to Norway.” I paused and looked at Taylor. She looked a bit surprised and unsure of the direction I was going in. I looked at the hotel clerk again. “She gets a bit tense when she hasn’t eaten in a while. We flew in today from London, but our trip started in New York. So we’ve been in a few airports and are looking forward to some food soon.”
The man smiled and reached for something under the counter. He looked less stressed suddenly. He picked up two plastic key cards and inserted them into a machine on the desk.
“Right next door there’s a fabulous restaurant and pub. They’re open until two in the morning.”
“That sounds good, but first I need to know if we have a room.”
