She was famished; still, she could barely force herself to eat. The heat in the room was stifling. Elderly Germans fought each other for more meat at the buffet, children laid siege to the cakes, screaming at one another, their mothers sipping wine and chatting about nothing at all.

Alexandra showed up at their table and introduced them to Vajk, a tall, blond man who could have passed for a German. She didn’t reveal their relationship. Husband? Friend? Partner? Robi insisted they join their table, and they agreed gladly. They sat close to each other, like they were feeding off each other’s body heat. They held hands, which made Luca feel she should touch Robi more often.

Vajk and Alexandra laughed and held onto their anchor of wine glasses. Robi was telling them the story of room 303, and now Luca started laughing as well because it was a funny story indeed. So funny.

Still laughing, Vajk told them that the same thing happened when they arrived; they received the same room three days earlier, and it had already been as trashed as it was now. Everyone roared with laughter but Luca. She found the thought of that unattended room disturbing; it became the rotten core of that place in her thoughts.

After the second bottle of red wine Luca had the idea of reporting the fox sighting to the front desk. Her head was buzzing. She needed to get out of the room; she couldn’t sit there enjoying herself when a fox might be running through the corridors all over the building, forever chasing something it would never catch. She wanted certainty that the predator was no longer on the premises.

The reception desk stood empty. Luca leaned on the counter, determined to wait until Balázs or Viktor returned, no matter how long that might take.

The automatic door opened and she looked up. She thought it must be the receptionist returning to the building.

There was no one in the doorway, only the night. Luca stared down the darkness for half a minute, then she could take it no longer. She ran back to the restaurant.

The automatic door stood open the entire night.

They drank too much, because when people feel good, they drink. Luca was the only one craving her bed, the tranquility of the blanket and pillows, her head dizzy from the wine. The German tourists guzzled down pint after pint, howling with laughter after each sip as if they were drinking jokes.