The boardwalk still smelled of gunpowder from the fireworks show. Wispy black clouds soared across a waning moon, carried by the ocean breeze and the laughter of vagrants. Summer turned Asbury Park into a different kind of dark city, a place haunted by drifting souls.

Between the storefronts, Nathan and Tom went unnoticed by the young people smoking on their fire escapes. They found their way by the light of cast iron street lanterns and stopped into Calaveras Lounge where Lacey was working the bar.

A band played spooky surfer rock on the oval stage. Light bulbs encased in fishbowls hung over the bar. Above the shelves of booze, blue crystals were back lit by Christmas lights that came around and sloped up to the center of the ceiling like a circus tent.

Lacey chatted with a patron. She stole his bowler hat, placed it aslant on her head and walked away. Nathan and Tom sat down at a bistro table depicting skeletal fish. It didn't take very long for Lacey to notice them, and when she did, she came scurrying around the side of the bar, jumping into Tom's lap.

"Mi amor," she sighed. Nathan could smell rum and ginger beer on her from across the table.

"You been drinking on the job?" Tom asked.

"You have to drink with the customers every now and then."

"Just remember who you're going home with." Tom took the bowler hat off her head and set it down on the table. Lacey nuzzled Tom's neck.

"How did you guys meet?" Nathan asked.

"It's a long story," Tom said. "But a good one."

"Then tell it."

Tom grinned. "I was running lines at the park with my scene partner when this old guy dropped a piece of paper. I picked it up, looked it over. It was a ticket to a white tie event in Brooklyn, with an instruction at the bottom to wear a plague mask. I had no idea what white tie meant or what the hell a plague mask was, so I went home and Googled it. Apparently it's what doctors wore in the Middle Ages. So I bought the mask and rented a ridiculous tux to wear to this place. It was at an old, spooky mansion way out in the middle of nowhere in Brooklyn and I was pretending to be some tool called Dr. Emmet Ryans.

"The house was sick. It had a smoking lounge, vaulted ceilings, a buffet overflowing with red meat and bizarre fruit I'd never seen before. The event was held in the ballroom and their bar that was pouring top shelf liquor free of charge. Just about everyone there was a dude, except a few girls in china doll masks. I didn't care, I was just there to experience it, but then the quartet finished up, the lights dimmed and the entire room held its breath."

Tom looked at Lacey. He smiled at her, as if he were seeing her again for the first time.

"A swing lowered, and I saw this goddess in red: red corset, red flowers, red butterflies in her hair. She sang a slowed down version of 'I want to be evil.' Her eyes locked with mine and as much as that terrified me, I couldn't look away. At midnight, everyone took off their masks and Lacey came out from the backstage to join the party. All the old dogs swarmed her, but she walked right past them. She came up to me at the bar, towering over me in her six-inch stilettos, and ordered a kir royale. Then she looked at me and said, 'You're pretty.'"

Nathan laughed out loud.

Lacey chimed in, "What? He is pretty!"

"As you know, man, I would normally mouth off to anyone who called me pretty, but she was cute so I let her off the hook. I tried to convince her that I was a plastic surgeon, but she saw right through me, called me phony. Finally I told her my real name and asked her if she wanted to get out of there."

"No, Tommy!" she interrupted. "That's not what happened! You asked if I believed in love at first sight."

"Yeah, yeah," he groaned. "We don't have to tell Nathan the corny parts."

"Yes, you do."

"All right, all right. So I asked if she believed in love at first sight. She said no, but I didn't give up. I said, 'You know Romeo and Juliet? Teachers always teach it like Romeo was just a stupid teenager who fell in love every time he saw a pretty girl. Play opens with him being all about Rosalind. Then he sees Juliet and he forgets Rosalind ever existed. But they've got it all wrong. Truth is, Romeo got burned by Rosalind. He's one jaded motherfucker at the start of the play. But when he meets Juliet, he doesn't let his past hold him back. He knows he should be afraid to love again, but he can't help himself. Love is like lightning. When it wants you, you can't escape it. It will come in through your window in the middle of the night. Or it'll start a fire and burn you alive. Oh she doth teach the torches to burn bright. Forswear it sight, I ne'er saw true beauty 'til this night.'"

"Has he always been such a theater geek?" Lacey asked.

"Pretty much," Nathan said. Tom came back down to Earth and shrugged. Lacey and Nathan shared a knowing look across the table as if they were speaking telepathically.

"Whatever, my dears. She went home with me in the end."

"I did. And here we are now." She kissed Tom on the nose. "You boys want some drinks? On the house."

"Can't," said Nathan. "We're heading over to the bookstore to talk to that guy about the Seal of Solomon."

"Right. Good luck to you," said Lacey.

"Let's get to it." Tom kissed her and motioned for her to get up off his lap. "I'll see ya later, doll."

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Music: Plato Zorba

This was the band that was playing when I went to research the Langosta Lounge in Asbury Park on which the Calaveras bar is based. Thanks to the magic of Youtube, I can share them with you now.