Nothing was on television, so Anton didn’t even bother turning the device on. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. These days, there was<i>always </i>something on the boob tube. It was just a question of what, if anything, was worthy of his time. Plus, his attention span wasn’t quite the same. He decided to see if a book could hold his interest.<br/><br/>Discovery was always a good thing, and the local library was teeming with golden nuggets to unearth. He found his latest treasure purely by accident. While randomly browsing the shelves, the name<i>Dracula </i>immediately ceased any further perusing. The novel he pulled off the shelf, however, turned out to be the fourth volume in a series. After taking note of the author being Kim Newman, Anton had gone in search of the first novel.<br/><br/>Since the publishing date was 2011, he found it easily. In fact, he even got his hands on the second volume. Shrugging, he saw it as a two-for-one opportunity. If the first tome,<i>Anno Dracula</i>, turned out to be dreadful, he would return both at the same time. Relaxing on his couch, he was now eight chapters deep into the second novel,<i>Anno Dracula 1918 The Bloody Red Baron. </i>As he was about to commence with Chapter Eleven, it began. Music from upstairs.<br/><br/>This time, vocals accompanied the musical notes. “We now know something about our mystery musician, Lics,” he said, as his feline friend had wandered near the couch. “It’s a she.” The cat seemed unimpressed, as she just stared back at him. He could tell it wasn’t coming from a stereo either. The woman was actually playing and singing while in her living room, right above him. Listening, Anton realized he couldn’t concentrate on the novel with the melodies in the background. What to do? Should he walk upstairs, politely knock on her door, and . . . and what? Ask her to “turn it down?” He had to chuckle at the absurdity of the thought. A bookmark was duly placed at Chapter Eleven, and the further exploits of the Dark Prince would have to wait until tomorrow.<br/><br/>Turning all the lights off, he laid out on the couch, gradually moving into a comfortable position. With a light blanket covering him, Licorice soon joined him, claiming her usual spot on his chest. Sadly, the woman upstairs seemed to be done with her singing and playing. Was his free concert over? Five or six minutes had just passed in silence. Sighing, he was about to move to the bedroom, when the unmistakable sounds of a Beethoven piece began. Smiling, his left thumb instinctively fiddled with his wedding band. Licorice softly purred. Eventually, the pair dozed off, while the notes from a concerto of the great composer graced their ears.