Chapter 3

Straight flush

Maisie ran her fingers carefully over a framed picture. It was her favorite, a picture of her, mommy and Daddy J in an amusement park. It had been taken on her 6th birthday. There hadn't been anyone else in the amusement park, just the people who worked there. They had all smiled widely (while nervously glancing at mommy and Daddy J) and they had been very kind to Maisie; they had given her popcorn, cotton candy, ice cream, plush toys, balloons, everything she had wanted.

Mommy had ridden the carousel with her at least 20 times and Daddy J had let her sit on his lap as they had ridden the rollercoaster. All three of them had ridden the Ferris wheel, the pirate ship, the caterpillar train, bumper cars and teacups together. It had been one of the happiest days of Maisie's life.

She looked at the picture and gently touched mommy's face. A tear rolled down her cheek. She missed her mommy so much. Daddy J was taking care of some things, he hadn't been sure if he would be home tonight. Three of Maisie's newish uncles, Uncle Dom, Uncle Nicky and Uncle Rob were keeping her company. She didn't really want to be alone in her room, so she dried her eyes and went to see what her uncles were doing. They were in the living room, playing cards.

"So then I went and wasted…" Uncle Nicky was just saying, but he paused when he noticed Maisie standing in the doorway. "… I mean hugged that guy."

Uncle Dom and Uncle Rob frowned.

"What?"

Uncle Nicky cocked his head towards the door.

"Oh, hi there, cutie pie," Uncle Rob said and gave Maisie a charming smile. He was the youngest one of them; the others called him the Pretty-Boy-Rob. He really was pretty; he had dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. Uncle Nicky wasn't so pretty; he was a tall man who had short black hair, dark eyes and a big burn mark on his face. He was called Nicky the Butcher. Maisie really couldn't understand why, he didn't work in a butcher shop. Uncle Dom was bald, he had big muscles and many tattoos. Maisie smiled at them.

"Hi. What are you playing?"

"Poker," Uncle Nicky replied.

"Uh huh. Can I play too?"

They all hesitated for a moment before Uncle Rob spoke.

"Well, sweetie, this is kind of a grownups game," he said smiling. "I'm afraid it might be too complicated for you."

"I can play it," Maisie assured.

She really could, one of her uncles, Uncle Sweet-Joe, had taught her. For some reason none of her other uncles wanted to play with him.

Uncle Nicky, Uncle Dom and Uncle Rob hesitated again before nodding.

"Okay then…"

Maisie was delighted, her smile grew even wider.

"I'll be right back," she said and hurried to her room. She needed bets. Thankfully she had some bubblegum, stickers and cookies in her drawer. Just in case she also took her pink pirate piggy bank with her, she had stored some chocolate coins in there. Her uncles had made room for her at the table; she smiled at them as she placed her bets on the table. They all stared at her piggy bank; the corners of their mouths were twitching.

"Well…" Uncle Rob said after clearing his throat. "That's a nice piggy bank you got there."

"Thank you," Maisie replied. She noticed that their bets were money. With Uncle Joe she had always used candy or cookies as bets. "I'm sorry; I don't have any money…"

"Oh, don't worry about that, sweetie," Uncle Rob said. "Your bets are just fine. Aren't they, boys?"

"Yeah," Uncle Nicky confirmed. "I've always wanted a piggy bank like that."

"There's chocolate inside," Maisie said proudly.

"Oh yeah?" Uncle Dom said. "That chocolate is mine."

"Let's play," Uncle Nicky announced. "Okay, cupcake, these here are cards…"

"I know how to play poker," Maisie cut in. She had already told them that.

"Okay then."

Uncle Nicky was the dealer; Maisie picked up her cards and observed them intently. All her uncles seemed amused.

"Do you need some help, sweetie?" Uncle Rob asked.

"No, thank you."

She concentrated on the cards, just like Uncle Joe had taught.

"I'll raise."

Her uncles burst into laughter as she pushed the cookies next to the piggy bank.

"Aren't you cute," Uncle Dom chuckled.

Again Maisie concentrated on the cards. She raised again as she received more cards. And again. Her uncles seemed to be having a good time, they kept laughing. Everyone was still in when it was time to show what they got.

"One pair," Uncle Nicky said.

Uncle Dom grinned at him.

"Two pairs."

"Oh, look at this and weep," Uncle Rob said. "Full house."

They all looked at Maisie.

"Okay, sweetie, what kind of numbers or pictures do you have in your cards?" Uncle Rob asked.

Maisie smiled and placed her cards on the table.

"Straight flush."

They weren't laughing anymore as they stared at her cards.

"That means I won, right?"

"Yeah…" Uncle Rob murmured and pushed all the bets towards her.

"No, no," Maisie protested. "I don't want to take your money, I just wanted to play."

"Take the money, cupcake," Uncle Nicky said. "We want you to take it. But maybe you could do a small favor for us?"

"Sure. What do you need?"

Uncle Nicky cleared his throat.

"Do you think we could keep this whole thing as our secret?"

Maisie was confused, but she nodded.

"Sure."

"Great. Here are your winnings."

Maisie looked at the money in wonder. This was really her money. She could buy so much candy… But what she really wanted was to buy something for mommy. And for Daddy J. Something special that would make him happy. The idea made her smile. She wanted to go to a store right now.

"Could you take me to a store?" she asked.

"It's kind of late, sweetie," Uncle Rob replied. "Isn't it your bedtime already?"

Maisie shook her head.

"I don't have a bedtime. Please can we go? I'll buy you ice cream."

Uncle Rob smiled.

"Alright, cutie pie, we'll go."

"Thank you!" Maisie cheered and quickly picked up her winnings. "I'll go and get a sweater."

"If anyone hears that we lost to a 6-years-old…" Uncle Dom murmured as Maisie ran to the door. She noticed that it was already dark outside. Many people considered Gotham City a dangerous place after dark, but Maisie was too excited to even think about that. She wanted to buy something special for mommy and Daddy J. She was sure that mommy would be home soon, Daddy J had promised that she would be. Everything would be back to normal.