The success of the Halloween Party gave Tom, Charles, Jay and Ed a whole new lease on life. It gave them something to think about – day and night – making even their jobs seem less boring and their friendship closer. They felt revitalized, more energetic and bubbling over with enthusiasm. Now they had something to work for, something to do; instead of sitting in the dingy corner bar drinking beer and talking about what they should be doing – they were doing it.

All their spare time was spent in the store. They cleaned it, rearranged the furniture and continued to bring things that would make it more attractive or more effective. Tom filled the refrigerator with beer, so he could devote his time to the premises without constantly running out to quench his thirst – he didn't even mind when the others helped themselves to a bottle. When there was nothing to do they just sat around reminiscing about the party and throwing out ideas for future parties.

"Why can't we have a few meetings a week?" Jay asked. "This waiting till Saturday night is driving me bananas."

"We don't want to ruin a good thing," Tom answered. "We'll just take it slow for a while. See how it develops. Then maybe we'll add a meeting for Wednesday nights. Let's see how it goes first."

"Your girlfriend was the only one disappointed Saturday night," said Ed Cramer. "Says you ignored her and she didn't get any of the fun."

"She's not my fuckin' girlfriend," Tom snapped back. "I used to take her out once in a while. That's all. And shit… who wants to fuck that skinny beast anyway?"

"Nobody else complained," Jay said, throwing out his chest with a bit of arrogance. "Not with 'The Kid' there to service them. They don't call me 'The German Oak' for nothing."

They all laughed at that, accepting the statement as part of the privilege of being a member.

"Don't you guys go shooting off your mouths about our parties," Tom Dunn got serious. "We'll have the fuckin' cops raiding us, or some jerks trying to crash in. Just keep it quiet."