Love Began with the First Meeting

"Richie will give up soon and go look for her himself," Brian said, confident that his father would take care of things.

Eric grinned and went on to ask,"What about Little Molly?"

Brian halted in front of the door and glanced over his shoulder at Eric. His dark eyes rippled and he maintained a casual voice,"She has you, doesn't she?"

"Are you entrusting her to me?" Eric asked as he left the bar counter. "Aren't you afraid that she might really become my wife one day?"

"Please ask me this question again when she agrees to become yours." Brian left with a smug smile on his face.

He thought to himself, 'Molly, don't you want to leave me?

Let's wait and see if you will really be able to leave me even if you have Shirley's help.'

**

Molly and Shirley stayed at the cafe for quite a long while. It was past dinner time and their table was in quite a mess. They had ordered too many different ice creams and they had melted before they could start eating them. The table was now a colorful mess of melted ice creams.

The entrance door to the cafe was pushed open suddenly and Antonio rushed in.

Shirley wasn't surprised at Antonio's arrival, but as she expectantly looked behind Antonio, a dash of disappointment flashed through her eyes because she couldn't see the man whom she was expecting.

has invited you

put in a good word for Richie during dinner. Shirley was aggrieved that Richie hadn't come to get her himself. She was surely acting a little bit wayward this time, but why did he have to be so

"Little

waved at the waiter and paid the bill. Then she took Molly's hand and left the cafe. Molly stayed silent throughout the conversation

them get into a taxi and

streets. Molly's gloominess had been long chased away by Shirley's words at the cafe. She was much happier now, but still, she was

assured that I won't let Brian do anything to punish you today," Shirley held Molly's hand and reassured her. She seemed to have read

still felt quite uneasy. But she nodded with a firm look in her eyes. She realized that it was pointless to worry about the unpredictable things that might or might not occur in life. She wanted to cherish every happy moment and

Shirley quickly came up with a great idea. She smiled wickedly and asked,"I've heard that the Grand Night Casino is an

a casino before?" asked Molly. She was surprised when Shirley shook her

closer to Molly and whispered,"Let's go to Brian's casino and win his

for a moment and

Molly could finish her sentence, Shirley cut in,"We will just go and have a little fun. It's okay." With her carefree attitude, Shirley turned to the driver and said,"Please drive

She hated gambling. She got involved in Brian's life because her father owed gambling loan to the usurers. She had been put into such a miserable situation

she was already aware of the secret rules of the casinos, even though she had only

had been back to work there for only one day. She felt horrible about it. It would be embarrassing to go back to the Grand Night Casino because her workmates would think that it was strange. They would be

But she did not want to upset Aunt Shirley, so Molly covered up her complex emotions and said,"Okay, Aunt Shirley. If that's what you want, then let's go have some fun.

we do there? We are just going to play some games," Shirley said. Then she grinned mischievously and asked in a whisper,"Little Molly,