Pearls

Chapter 6

Throughout the meal it was all quiet. No one made an attempt to speak as we all sat in silence.

I wonder when our food will arrive. I'm starving. The silence isn't helping pass the time either.

I look around the table. Larry had come out of hiding after his menu was taken away and was idly tracing the patterns on his plate. Pearl was still fixated on Phoenix and Edgeworth. She was moving her head back and forth, waiting for anything that might happen between them. 

Meanwhile, Edgeworth was facing the wall, his head resting on his hand, eyes closed in deep thought. Phoenix was staring down at his plate, occasionally looking up to the man opposite him. His face seemed troubled, like he wasn't sure of something. His brow was furrowed and his face grim as he sat there. I grew worried for him.

I wonder what he's thinking. I've rarely seen him like this. Maybe I should ask...

Before I could say anything, our waitress broke the silence and arrived with our meals. She had some difficulty removing the curtain whilst carrying our burgers but she still gave us a smile, calling out whose order was whose. Before she left, she gave a friendly smile towards Edgeworth, one that dazzled and shined. His mouth didn't so much as twitch upwards into a smile as he picked up his knife and fork and cut into the sandwich before him. The waitress simply shook her head and left, her smile still plastered on her face. The curtain was still drawn back. Nobody bothered to fix it as our food was steadily going cold.

What was that all about? Maybe she likes him. Did Edgeworth even notice?

I turn to see him cutting his burger into small pieces. I was about to start on my own burger when I saw Phoenix staring at something behind me. I followed his stare and saw the waitress who served us. Confused, I turned back around to question him but he had begun cutting into his burger too with little enthusiasm.

Strange. Is he jealous of her, maybe?

I decided to ignore the question in my mind and picked up my burger. As I was about to sink my teeth into it, I saw that everyone was using their knives and forks. Even Pearl was using them despite holding them in the wrong hands. I sighed, placing the burger back down and gripped the cutlery in my hands.

It feels wrong having to eat burgers this way but I'll go with it. Where do I even begin cutting this thing?

I inspected my burger closely, deducing where the best place to start and end would be. After a few agonising seconds of staring at my delectable sandwich, I decided to cut around the edges first before heading towards the middle where most of the delicious ingredients lay. With each mouthful I hummed with pleasure. 

This is delicious! They always make the best burgers here.

Bite after bite soon brought us to the end of our meal. We tidied up as best we could and stood up, leaving our seats. We headed towards the front counter and as we drew closer, Larry turned around and faced us, giving a shy smile. "If it's alright with you guys, I'll pay for the lunch. It's the least I can do for putting you through all that." 

Edgeworth, presumably still annoyed with the whole ordeal, curtly replied, "I'm fine with that. What about you, Wright?"

A little in his own world, Phoenix jumped at Edgeworth's mention of his name. He looked at his surroundings before settling his eyes on Larry. "Sorry, I didn't hear what you said."

Edgeworth sighed. Larry smiled. "I was just asking if it was okay for me to pay." 

Phoenix let out a relieved breath. "Oh, okay. Well, I'm okay with you paying, Larry, but I feel bad for not being able to pay you back. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah, it's completely fine. We're friends after all! You've helped me out so many times before I think it's about time I returned the favour." Larry laughed, as did everyone else, and proceeded to pay for our meal.

Now I'm understanding why women like him, although it did take a while to see.

After he payed, we made our way out of the building and stopped just a few paces outside the front doors. Standing in a half circle, we discussed what we should do next. Larry then had to excuse himself because he forgot to tidy up the table and quickly walked back inside. Pearl and I secretly thanked him behind Phoenix and Edgeworth's back and waved goodbye to him.

"I think it's about time I returned back to my office. I've left my desk long enough and I do not wish to leave it any longer. I hope that's alright with everyone?"

We shook our heads to Edgeworth's question and said our goodbyes. He left briskly, making his way to the corner of the street before being met with a car that parked right in front of him. From where we were standing, it looked as though the driver was Detective Gumshoe, his boisterous voice ringing loud and clear in our ears.

"Hey, Mr. Edgeworth! Enjoyed your lunch?" He turned to us and waved with his free hand. "Hey, pals! How're you all doing? If I had known about the lunch, I would've joined."

"If you had known about the lunch, you would have been neglecting your duties as a detective." Edgeworth made his way inside the car and shut the door. Detective Gumshoe flinched at his words but bounced back with a smile to us before leaving the curb. We continued to stand on the side of the road when I remembered what I wanted to ask Phoenix.

"Hey, Nick. Before when we were eating lunch, do you remember that waitress who came by and gave us our orders?"

Phoenix was still looking at the corner where Edgeworth had been standing only a few minutes ago. "Hm? Oh yeah, I remember her. What about it?"

I hope he gives me an answer. His mind seems preoccupied so he might accidentally slip something out.

"Before she left, she may or may not have smiled at Edgeworth. I don't think he noticed but I can never be too sure with him." I watched his face for any change in his expression. It may have been the light or my eyes playing tricks on me, but for a moment I was sure he cringed when I mentioned her smiling at Edgeworth. "After that, you seemed worried or troubled. Why was that?"

Phoenix didn't seem to blink for quite some time. After what felt like an eternity, he shook his head and sighed. "I-it's nothing really. I just thought how nice it was to have someone like her admire such a person like Edgeworth." He put on a small smile, one filled with sadness and acceptance of what might never be his and began walking down the street towards the office.

I watched as he moved ahead at a slow pace and felt a pang of sorrow in me. I faced Pearl who appeared to be on the verge of tears and knelt down, pulling her into a hug. She cried silently into my shoulder. We stayed like that for a little while when Phoenix called back to us asking if we were alright. We separated and stood up, taking each other's hand. We started walking towards Phoenix when Pearl tugged on my hand. 

She said in a low, determined voice, "We have to bring them together. We just have to."

I smiled solemnly at her and nodded. In my heart, I made a silent promise that no matter what, we will bring them together.