Chapter 2

I stared after her and blink. What went wrong? How could she not want to go on a date with me? I am Manfred von Karma! I frowned as I felt some sort of feeling in my stomach. Something I have never felt before. What was it? Disappointment? Dejection? I pondered that for awhile, before shrugging and going on my way. Why should I care about some woman? It was her loss, not mine.

It still bothered me however. I frowned again. "Bah, what's the matter with me?" My mind still wandered back to her rejecting me. What had I done wrong? Perhaps it was the way I asked her. After all, I have had no experience in this sort of thing. I ponder what I should do. I would need to study this whole romance thing. But how to do that?

Later that night, I had returned to my home with an armful of movies from the romance section. I sat on my couch and took notes. Apparently women are absolute idiots. A few nice words and a bouquet of flowers and they were ready to jump in bed with a man. How disgraceful. It would be easy enough to duplicate...

I continued taking notes even though the movies are sickening. Were other people really this... cheesy? Did I really want a woman that would fall for such foolish words? Shrugging, I decide that it's worth a shot.

The next day, it was raining lightly, but I didn't care. Weather didn't affect me. I arrived at the prosecutor's office. People were surprised to see me; it was my day off after all. I nodded towards any greetings thrown my way, but didn't stop for small talk. I wasn't here for work after all. I turned on the computer at my desk and searched through my list of witnesses. Finding Adelina's name, I took down her address.

I arrived on her porch with a bouquet of roses in one arm and a box of chocolates in the other. Ringing the doorbell, I stood back, waiting for her to answer.

She opened the door and frowned. "You must be a foolish fool to come here."

"I have come to apologize," I replied. "I admit, I may have acted... Presumptuous yesterday... Um... These are for you." I gave her the chocolate and the flowers and she stared at me. "Er... May I come in?"

"No," she replied, closing the door in my face. I stood there and stared at the closed door. So much for sitting through all those ridiculous movies. What a waste of my time! I grunted in frustration and turned to leave, but in doing so, I slipped on a puddle of water. I cried out in shock as I hit the ground.

Adelina opened the door again after hearing my shout. "Are you alright?"

"Nothing's broken," I replied, standing up again. I could feel myself flushing. What a fool I have made of myself!

She looked at me nervously. "Why don't you come in?"

I blinked, a bit surprised. Why the change of heart? "Alright..."

I followed her into her home, which was neat and well decorated. She sat me down in the kitchen, and poured me a glass of wine.

"Alright," she replied. "What will it take for you not to sue me?"

I blinked in surprise again.

"Don't look surprised," she replied firmly. "I know all about you lawyer types. You ambulance chasers."

I tipped my head in surprise. Part of me wanted to tell her that I only took cases from the Police Department. The other part of me wanted to take advantage of the situation at hand. The latter part won out. "How about you go on a date with me? There is a Police Ball tonight, a very formal affair." Normally I wouldn't go to such things, but on those movies I had suffered through, balls seemed to be popular events for couples.

She sighed and muttered something about being a fool. "Fine. Pick me up at seven, Mr..." she trailed off.

"Von Karma," I supplied. "My name is Manfred von Karma. And I will be here promptly at seven." Standing up, I gulped down the rest of my wine and bowed to her. I smiled to myself, pleased that she had agreed to be my date.