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Trucy sat in the usual booth seat by the window at her favorite coffee shop, sipping her chocolate caramel frappuccino and looking expectantly at the door. She glanced at her phone, reading her texts to Kay and Sebastian once more, making sure she didn’t come to the cafe early or that her adult friends hadn’t had to cancel because of work.
I guess this is what you get when you don’t have friends your own age, Trucy mused. Being an adult must be so boring !
Suddenly, two brown leather gloved hands covered her eyes, followed by the sound of a mischievous snicker, causing Trucy to grin.
“Boo!” Kay giggled. “Did I surprise you?”
The private detective snickered and climbed over the back of the seat to join the teenager, ruffling Trucy’s brown hair.
“Kay! It’s been forever! How are you?” Trucy asked, wrapping Kay into a bear hug. “You think you can catch my next show?”
“I’m not gonna miss it for the world!” Kay replied. “Look at you, you grew last time I saw you!”
“That’s ‘cause I always eat my greens!” Trucy grinned, playful and bright.
“Heya, Trucy,” Sebastian said, walking up with two cups of coffee hand in hand. “Kay! You left me to pay for everything!”
“And I took the blame when you covered everything in Miles’ office with Oldbag!” Kay replied, snatching her cup from the prosecutor.
“It was a hilarious April Fool’s prank and you know it!” Sebastian huffed as he sat. “How’s life been, Trucy?”
“Junior high is finally over!” Trucy groaned. “I can finally stop repressing my memories!”
“Trust me, high school is so much better,” Kay said.
“Mental school was the worst !”
“You mean middle school?”
“I know what I said,”
Trucy giggled; it was always refreshing to see adults acting silly like this, they never seemed intimidating like this.
“So, what’s this ‘emergency meeting’ you called?’ Sebastian asked. “Everything okay at home?”
“Oh, well… yeah, everything’s alright, technically,” Trucy sighed. “So you know how Uncle Miles is leaving soon?”
That man was her father’s closest friend, and Trucy had only met him three times: The first time was shortly after she was adopted, when she was eight, the second was for her official debut show as the ‘Fantastic Trucy Wright’ at the Wonder Bar, when she was ten, and most recently at the age of fourteen regarding a project that he and her father kept very quiet about.
“Well, Daddy always gets into this slump for a while when he goes!” Trucy continued. “He’s just kind of a blob, and he’s not like his usual self, and I’ve finally figured it out!
“He misses Uncle Miles, so we have to get them together in the same room again!” Trucy said. “They’re being cowards, and if they won’t do it themselves, we’ll give them a push!”
“You think it’s a good idea to try and force it?” Kay mused.
“Kay… ‘that man’,” Sebastian simply said, sipping his coffee, as if that was supposed to mean anything.
“Oh my god, you’re right…” Kay snickered. “You’re right, they are being cowards!”
I have no idea what they’re talking about, but at least they’re on board! Trucy thought. Adults are so weird… I love it!
“So you guys are gonna help me?” Trucy asked.
“Of course! What did you have in mind?” Kay asked.
“Yeah, we’re in!” Sebastian nodded.
“Well… I’m going to need you guys to distract Daddy tomorrow morning…”
Phoenix groaned and shifted against the lumpy boxspring he was sleeping on, stretching to turn the dull beeping of the alarm clock off, after pressing snooze on it five times. His muscles were tight and sore as he stretched, a jolt of pain shot through his lower back and crept up his spine.
“Ugh… my back…” Phoenix muttered. “I’m getting old…”
Phoenix yawned, reaching over for a clean enough t-shirt, sniffing it to make sure it wasn’t rancid, and put it on. He trudged out of bed and into the adjacent bathroom to brush his teeth.
Phoenix’s reflection stared back at him: his dark tired eyes with thick bags underneath stared back listlessly, dulled black hair that had lost its shine poking in all sorts of different directions, complete with a scraggly and scruffy stubble that barely passed for a beard.
“Ugh, and I thought I looked bad in college…” Phoenix muttered, spitting out his toothpaste and rinsing his mouth.
He returned to his bedroom to get his trusty hoodie and beanie before going to the kitchen to get something resembling breakfast ready. His fingers brushed over Trucy’s report card that was mailed to their apartment the day before, all B’s except for one C minus in geometry and an A in Earth Science.
“It’s a lot better than last year,” Phoenix mumbled, thinking about the year of D minuses and the sole A in geology. “And the year before that… she’s trying her best…”
He fished under the report card to see a set of coupons for a pancake shop, set to expire the day after the next. Phoenix unhooked them from the magnet and looked at the address.
“Well… it’s a little out of our way, but free pancakes are free pancakes,” Phoenix said.
“Aw sweet! Did you say pancakes?” Someone asked, causing Phoenix to jump and grab a spatula.
“What the f--?!” Phoenix sputtered before he saw who had just spoken to him.
Kay was happily lounging on their sofa, legs crossed over the arm and playing around with the tv remote with a wide grin.
“Kay?! What are you doing here?”
“Oh! I just decided to drop on by, you forgot to lock the window, by the way,” Kay said, “Leaves a nasty draft at night,”
“What are you--?!” Phoenix sputtered. “How did you--?!”
Almost immediately, as if it were on cue, there was a knock at the door. Kay immediately jumped off the couch, feeling right at home, and ran to answer it. Sebastian waltzed in and waved.
“What the hell is going on?” Phoenix muttered.
“Morning!” Sebastian said. “Nice place here, how come you’ve never had us over?”
“Yeah! It’s homey and cute!” Kay added. “So this is where the oh-so-mysterious ‘That Man’ lives!”
“How did you find my address?!” Phoenix asked.
Kay grinned and spun dramatically before pulling her scarf over her head like a hood, raising one finger to her mouth.
“Even in the depths of night, when no other bird dares to take flight…” she recited. “One alone soars to shine the light of righteousness on the world’s blight!”
She spun once more, taking off her cowl and holding three keys in her hand, she continued, “And that one is me !” She exclaimed. “For I am the Great Thief, Yatagarasu!”
Sebastian held up a worn maroon colored leather bound booklet, “We borrowed Mr. Edgeworth’s address book!”
“Way to steal my thunder!” Kay pouted, crossing her arms like a teenager despite being an adult in her twenties.
Edgeworth is going to kill me, Phoenix thought, nervously clutching the back of his neck and adjusting his beanie.
“Did Truce invite you two over or something?” Phoenix asked. “I really wish she at least told me but…”
“Oh! Right, yeah!” Kay nodded. “We’re actually here to see you!”
Sebastian nodded, “Yeah! Trucy said you played the harpsichord!”
“Piano, actually…” Phoenix corrected.
And ‘play’ is… debatable… Phoenix added.
“Well, can you play? We’re actually huge music nerds!” Kay continued.
“I like Chopin!” Sebastian said.
“Uh… well, I don’t actually have a piano…” Phoenix admitted.
Okay… this is weird… Phoenix thought. We’re acquaintances at best, and now they suddenly want to hear me play?
There’s something going on… I can feel it… he continued. What would a prosecutor and a private detective want with a disgraced attorney…?
Then, his phone chimed.
Phoenix dug around in his sweatpants until he found the old brick of a Nokia that was somehow still alive after all this time and opened up his messages; it was from the only man who texted him these days.
Phoenix, I called you three times this morning.
Is your phone finally dying? I told you it’s about
time to replace that old thing.
If you are up sometime this morning, I want to
offer you and Trucy a breakfast to celebrate
her summer vacation.
My treat, of course.
Hah… ‘my treat’... at least he’s starting to believe I’m a good-for-nothing bum… Phoenix smirked. But this is new… he rarely extends the invitation to Trucy…
Phoenix hovered his thumb over the number pad, thinking carefully of an appropriate reply, one that wouldn’t set the attorney off.
Hey Kristoph, sorry, late morning lol
Truce n I r out atm, breakfast’s a no go
But I can still meet you at Borscht
Alright, fair enough, I was concerned you
were unwell.
Same time, of course, and I wanted to
talk about my new apprentice.
That Justice kid, right?
I’m surprised you remembered.
Passive-Aggressive as usual, aren’t we? Phoenix thought. I don’t know what you were planning, but you aren’t using her to do it… use me all you want, but not her…
“Hey, did you bloom up or something?” Sebastian asked.
“Er, Seb, it’s ‘zone out’,” Kay corrected. “You doing alright?”
“Oh.. don’t worry, just an old friend,” Phoenix replied, noncommittally. “Just answering a text, wouldn't want him to worry.”
Seems like remembering is all this ol
noggin’s good for these days
“Anyway, I guess you want to see Truce,” Phoenix said. “I’ll see if she’s awake yet, hang tight, okay?”
Phoenix headed to Trucy’s room, just down the hall, despite Kay and Sebastian’s protests and half baked excuses about how they actually wanted to see him, and to let Trucy sleep.
Phoenix pushed Trucy’s door in gently, careful not to make too loud a noise. Her room was still messy, but nothing out of the ordinary; some clothes in little piles, knick knacks that she had taken out and forgotten to put away, her magic supplies being the only possessions she had organized carefully.
It was the Trucy Wright 'foolproof' organization system at play.
“Truce… you up yet, kiddo?” Phoenix asked. “If you wanted to invite friends over, I’d like you to let me know first, okay?”
There was no reply, only an unmoving lump in the middle of Trucy’s bed. He inched closer and placed his hand on the blankets, finding that the mass was way too soft to be a person underneath. He held his breath as he slowly pulled the quilt away to see that there were pillows in Trucy’s place with a sticky note on top of it, with a little caricature of a plane at the bottom.
See you soon, Daddy, don’t freak out, okay?
- Love Trucy!
Phoenix’s jaw dropped, and a choked scream came out, sounding more like a bird that was getting plucked and plucked over and over again.
“Kay! Sebastian! In here!” Phoenix yelled. “ Now !”
The two ran in, both sheepish and guilt painted clear over their faces. Phoenix frowned and crossed his arms, giving them his best ‘scolding glare’. He held out the note and grit his teeth.
“So… is this why you ‘wanted to see me’?” Phoenix asked.
They both stammered and spoke over each other, their story tangling together and becoming more and more incomprehensible as they babbled on.
Phoenix pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, “One at a time…”
“Trucy’s just worried about you…!” Kay said. “She’s worried you’ll get into a funk when Miles leaves again!”
Phoenix was taken aback and gasped. He groaned and placed his head in his hands, pulling his beanie over his eyes as he muttered and cursed under his breath.
Dammit… she’s a perceptive kid, Phoenix thought. There was no way I could hide it without her picking something up…
“She really cares about you…” Sebastian added. “She just wants to see you be happy…”
“It’s not her job to take care of me, you know…” Phoenix sighed. “She’s still a kid…! And you two are the adults here…!”
Kay huffed and crossed her arms, “You’re not the only one we’re trying to help here you know…”
“Yeah! We’ve been seeing this for six years!” Sebastian nodded. “Besides, we all know what we’re doing here!”
“Oh, okay, let’s just see how you handle it when your fourteen year old sneaks out!” Phoenix snapped. “Look… just wait in the living room, I want the whole story when I’m done with this…”
As soon as they shuffled out of the room, Phoenix opened up his contact list and highlighted the name ‘Benjamin Hunter’.
“Come on, come on, please pick up,” Phoenix muttered. “Please pick up…!”
“This is Edgeworth…” Miles replied, exhaustion evident in his voice.
“Edgeworth! Hey, it’s not too late is it?” Phoenix asked.
“It’s around seven in the evening, I just got to my hotel…” He replied. “Wright, what is it?”
Phoenix took a deep breath, but it came out a shudder, he clamped his eyes shut and spoke, “Trucy’s gone…” it sounded like a sob.
“What?!”
“She’s gone, she snuck out!” Phoenix repeated, hating how panicked he sounded.
“Oh my god, that’s… have you contacted Gumshoe?! The authorities?!” Miles asked. “I can make some calls if you need, do you have any idea where she’s going?!”
“I… I don’t think telling Gumshoe is going to help… I think she’s trying to look for you ,” Phoenix said. “Apparently she roped Kay and Sebastian into this little scheme…”
“They helped her?!”
“Yeah, it’s a group effort,” Phoenix groaned. “I’m gonna chew them out later, don’t worry… just… just keep an eye out for her, okay?”
“O-Of course! I’ll make sure to call the airport I landed in, to keep an-- NGOOH!”
“Edgeworth?! Miles, is everything okay?!”
After a few tense moments of shuffling and muffled speaking, Miles spoke up once more, panicked, “Wright, I’m getting a set of returning tickets as soon as possible!” Miles said. “I will call you back… oh my goodness…”
And then the line went dead, the ending tone droning on.
Oh no… she didn’t… Phoenix thought.
By the time Phoenix returned to the living room, Kay and Sebastian shuffled awkwardly and smiled, despite the trouble they were in at the moment.
Phoenix groaned and lied in the lounge chair, sinking into the lumpy plush cushions.
“Well… I know where she is…” Phoenix said, flatly. “Full story… now…”
They each took turns telling the story of the impulsive plan, Trucy was concerned about her father’s well being and took it into her own hands to fix his, according to her own words, “cowardly love life”, and to make him admit that, “Uncle Miles is his special someone!”
“She said you two had been spending a lot of time together before he left,” Sebastian said. “Working on some project?”
“Yeah, she had no idea what you were working on, but it seemed important…!” Kay added. “And that you and Miles would change the subject whenever she walked in the room…!”
Phoenix jerked up straight, his mouth agape and his eyes wide. He looked at Kay and Sebastian from head to toe, trying to gauge their thoughts in the moment, all while keeping a straight face.
Well… what can I expect from Trucy, she’s more perceptive than most people give her credit for… Phoenix thought. But I don’t think these two know a thing about it… or at least I hope Trucy didn’t divulge what she heard…
“Look… we’ve been hearing ‘That Man’ this and ‘That Man’ that for years…” Kay continued. “Just… talk to him about this?”
Phoenix felt his face flush and his heartbeat quicken.
Oh my god… that’s why they’re here… Phoenix realized. I guess I wasn’t as subtle as I thought… I gotta work on that…
Phoenix chuckled and tugged his hat over his eyes with a smirk, “Alright, alright… I’ll talk with him when he gets back, fair?”
“Great!” Sebastian grinned, before twiddling his thumbs. “So…”
“So what?”
“What’s this secret project about?” Sebastian asked. “Obviously it’s not official, otherwise the PIC or the Bar Association would know about it, right?”
And this kid’s smarter than he looks… no wonder he’s training under Edgeworth… Phoenix thought.
“You’re right… it’s not official, it’s more of a personal project…” Phoenix replied lowly. “And if word of this gets out, you also risk Edgeworth’s badge… got it?”
They both nodded and leaned in, listening intently.
“It’s secret… and we can’t exactly let everyone know that the disgraced ‘Turnabout Terror’ is behind this, which is why we’re hush hush about this,” Phoenix said. “The End.”
“What?! That’s it?” Kay gasped.
“Yup,”
“Come on, can’t you tell us anything?” Sebastian asked.
Yep, they investigated with Edgeworth alright… they’re determined… Phoenix thought before glancing to a spare deck of cards on the end table, an idea brewing.
I’m in my thirties, I’m allowed to be jaded, Phoenix continued, taking the cards out of the deck and shuffling them. Old age and treachery and whatnot…
“Alright… know how to play poker?” Phoenix asked, barely hiding his grin. “I’ll tell you everything about this project if you beat me at poker…”
Miles got out of the taxicab and pulled his suitcase from the trunk, straining as he did so.
Either I’m exhausted, or this is heavier than I remember… Miles thought while he paid the driver and started towards the hotel to check in.
His muscles ached, and he was still getting used to the time difference, his head was still lightheaded and spinning, and his stomach was still rolling from the turbulence on the plane.
I suppose there are some things that will never change… Miles thought.
An elevator dinged nearby, a family of three walking out and chattering amongst themselves in Spanish, clearly Castilian by their accents. He could feel his stomach rolling at the thought of getting in the elevator all the way to the thirtieth floor.
Miles tapped his finger against his bicep as he thought over his options.
Fifteen floors… I can stomach fifteen floors… I was able to take six floors back home, Miles reasoned. Fifteen floors and see how you’re doing from there…
He tipped the bellman as he placed his suitcase onto the cart and stepped inside of the elevator. Throughout the whole ride, Miles clamped as tight as he could to the railing and closed his eyes while he practiced his breathing exercises. He could feel his stomach rising and falling the whole ride, a wave of nausea hitting him as his head spun and spun.
In… out… in… out… Miles continued to remind himself. In… out… in… out…
Finally the elevator stopped, and the doors opened. Miles ran out to get a grip on his bearings and catch his breath, grateful to be on stable ground. He counted to five as he breathed in, and ten as he breathed out.
It’s been nearly ten years… you’ve started riding elevators five years ago… Miles reminded himself. You didn’t have a panic attack… you did it…
He glanced at the stairwell on his right, his feet ached at the thought of climbing all those stairs after his flight. He muttered under his breath and pressed the up button on the elevator once more.
“Blast it…! I’m exhausted ,” He said.
After a few tense minutes of intense breathing exercises and gripping for dear life on the handrail, Miles finally made it onto the thirtieth floor. He thanked the bellman and took his suitcase into his suite before rushing to the bathroom.
The sink ran with crisp cool water, which was like paradise as the prosecutor splashed it on his face.
“Well… at least you don’t feel like vomiting…” he muttered, stretching his cramped muscles and wiping his face before putting his glasses back on. “I swear, I’m renting a vehicle next time…”
Miles returned to his suitcase and grunted as he lifted it onto the bed, causing it to bounce and shift.
“I didn’t think my textbooks would add this much weight…” Miles muttered as he moved to start unpacking.
Then, his phone started to ring, causing Miles to curse under his breath.
“I swear to all things holy, can’t a man relax after a transatlantic flight?!” Miles huffed, pressing the answer button. “This is Edgeworth…”
“Edgeworth! Hey, it’s not too late, is it?” Phoenix said, his voice shaking.
“It’s around seven in the evening, I just got to my hotel,” Miles yawned. “Wright, what is it?”
Phoenix didn’t answer for a moment, there was nothing but a shuddering noise.
“Trucy’s gone…”
A cold feeling rushed through Miles, he was wide awake now and he gasped in his shock, pure adrenaline rushing through every fiber of his being.
“What?!”
“She’s gone! She snuck out!” Phoenix choked, his voice wet and pained.
“Oh my god, that’s… have you contacted Gumshoe?! The authorities?!” Miles stammered. “I can make some calls if you need, do you have any idea where she’s going?!”
“I… I don’t think telling Gumshoe is going to help… I think she’s trying to look for you ,” Phoenix replied. “Apparently she roped Kay and Sebastian into this little scheme…”
“They helped her?!”
I can’t believe this! Miles thought, dumbfounded. Of all…! I never thought that they would be irresponsible ! What were they thinking?!
“Yeah, it’s a group effort,” Phoenix groaned. “I’m gonna chew them out later, don’t worry… just… just keep an eye out for her, okay?”
“O-Of course!” Miles stuttered, moving to find his ticket to check the phone number printed on it. “I’ll make sure to call the airport I landed in, to keep an-- NGOOH!”
Suddenly Miles’ suitcase exploded open before his eyes; a flurry of clothes, books, and even confetti flew up in the air with raucous laughter.
Trucy Wright suddenly stood in front of him, proudly sporting a wide grin and posing with her arms out, a black white capped magic wand in hand.
“Ladies and Gentleman!” She announced. “The Fantastic Trucy Wright has done the impossible once again!”
She bowed to an imaginary audience, “She has managed to stuff herself into her Uncle Miles’ suitcase, undetected!” she continued. “And successfully crossed the pond!”
“Oh dear heavens!” Miles gasped.
He clambered across the floor to find the phone he had dropped, his hand shaking and still in shock.
“Wright, I’m getting a set of returning tickets as soon as possible!” Miles said, trying his best not to scream. “I will call you back… oh my goodness…”
He ended the call and simply stared at the teenage magician. He adjusted his glasses and stood, crossing his arms and frowning.
“Young lady, just what do you think you are doing ?!”
Trucy grinned and tipped her blue tophat nonchalantly, as if she didn’t just sneak across international borders in a suitcase.
“Heya, Uncle Miles…!” Trucy said.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered, “I should hope you have a passport at the very least…” Miles stated. “Otherwise this mess up is going to be a new level of tangles…”
Trucy pulled out her prop bloomers from inside of her hat and held her passport out, “You think I’m an amateur…?”
“I should hope you’re not a professional…!” Miles said while he rubbed his temples, waiting for his laptop to log him in. “What on earth were you thinking?! Your father is worried sick!”
“I left a note, besides, Kay and Sebastian can tell him I’m alright!” Trucy reasoned. “And I knew what I was doing, I’m a professional magician after all!”
“No, you are a fourteen year old who should really be at home in Los Angeles instead of here in London…!” Miles replied, pulling up the website for the London City Airport. “This was grossly irresponsible of you three, what if I never ended up opening my suitcase when I did?! What if my luggage ended up being lost…?!”
Trucy crossed her arms and huffed, puffing her cheeks out, “I would have figured something out!” She protested. “I’m not a little kid, you know! I’m starting high school next fall!”
Miles bit his tongue and shook his head, trying to take deep breaths as he looked through the tab to purchase tickets returning to Los Angeles.
She is a child… she is a child acting like a child her age acts… you are a grown adult … Miles reminded himself. You were a child once… not much of a child, but a child nonetheless… you are an adult who needs to be patient with a child…
He looked through the listings of the next available flights, the soonest possible was a flight departing at eleven o’clock the following morning.
“Curses… of course… of course !” Miles muttered as he purchased two tickets. “Unfortunately, because we’re leaving as soon as possible, we’ll be stuck in coach… granted I’m sure it will be much more comfortable than inside of a suitcase…”
“Aw… too bad we can’t sightsee…” Trucy added as she glanced at the clock.
“This was not supposed to be a leisurely holiday, I was here to work,” Miles replied, “I’ll have to make, Lord knows how many, emails to the people I was intending on meeting with in the coming week…”
“Well, you don’t have to see me off on the plane…”
“Oh no… no, no, no, no ,” Miles shook his head. “I am making sure that you stay with your father the next time I leave!
“Now come here, I’m making sure that Wright doesn’t worry the rest of the day,” Miles said, opening up his contact list and turning on the camera. “Hopefully Kay will pick up…”
Soon enough, Kay faced them both on the screen and smiled sheepishly as she waved, “Hey there, Trucy, Miles…”
“Kay, put Wright on this instant,” Miles said.
She nodded and shuffled to hand her phone over to Phoenix.
“Trucy Diana! There you are!” he exclaimed. “I was terrified ! What were you thinking?!”
“Daddy! You can relax, I’m alright!” Trucy replied. “Even Uncle Miles can see I’m okay!”
Miles pinched the bridge of his nose and tutted, “Regardless, that could have been very dangerous!” Miles added. “Wright, I was able to get a set of returning tickets, We’ll be leaving at eleven our time and should be arriving around three in the afternoon your time tomorrow…”
“Alright, thank you so much, Edgeworth,” Phoenix sighed. “Trucy, you are grounded as soon as you land…! Why did you do something so reckless ?! This isn’t like you!”
Trucy frowned, her eyebrows furrowed and her lips drawn tightly as she clenched her jaw. She squinted and replied, “I’m doing what I have to do!” She answered. “Because you’re too afraid to try!”
Phoenix made a choking sound on the other end and started to flush with a cold sweat. He glared at the camera and shook his head.
“Trucy, I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but you’re supposed to be the kid here!” Phoenix said. “ I’m the one who’s supposed to be taking care of you …”
“Most people say ‘thanks’ when someone tries to do something nice for you!” Trucy snapped as she reached the ‘end call’ button, disconnecting the call successfully.
“Trucy!” Miles’ jaw dropped. “You did not just end the call on your father!”
“He’s not listening!” Trucy sniffled. “He doesn’t see what he’s like when everyone leaves! He doesn’t see how lonely he is or… or how sad he looks! Everyone’s gone and he’s just a blob !”
Trucy sniffled more, wiping her sleeve across her eyes and biting her lip to hold the sobs in. Miles couldn’t recall a time that he had ever seen Trucy upset, much less on the verge of sobbing, in the opportunities that he had met her. He could feel his stomach drop as the sight of her cheerful mask fell more and more apart in front of him.
“I-It’s not fair! He just doesn’t see it!” Trucy hiccupped.
Miles pulled out a spare handkerchief he had on hand for emergencies like these and handed it to her. She sniffled and leaned against him, shaking, before she started to sob quietly.
Miles wrapped his arms around her securely, one hand moving to smooth her hair back gently and rhythmically.
“I had no idea you were this worried about his well being…” Miles said, softly. “I’m truly sorry, I should not have been as sharp as I was…”
“‘S okay… I try to be strong too…” Trucy sniffled. “We don’t like it when the other’s sad…”
Miles looked over at the bedside clock, noticing that it was nearly eight o’clock. “I can’t imagine that you’ve had much to eat today… would you like me to call for dinner?”
Trucy nodded, “Yes, please…”
After handing her a menu, and her pointing out what she wanted, Miles picked up the phone to order room service.
In the meanwhile, Trucy had managed to find his chessboard and looked through the pieces, particularly eyeing the blue spiky pawns and the red knights with sharp edges.
Miles could feel himself flushing as she did so, especially as she was one of the most perceptive people he had the opportunity of meeting.
Who knew an impulsive petty revenge buy after my first loss would still garner glances nearly a decade later… Miles mused. I suppose I was rather on the nose when I wanted to surround the pawn metaphorically…
As soon as Miles hung up with the front desk Trucy perked up.
“I’ve never really played chess before, mostly checkers,” she said. “But I’ve never seen red and blue pieces, aren’t they supposed to be black and white?”
“Oh… well, yes, traditionally,” Miles cleared his throat. “But this was a… er… a custom set…”
Trucy smirked and waved one of the blue pawns, “I can see that …”
“E-er, anyway… I like to play from time to time,” Miles stammered. “It keeps the mind sharp…”
“Can you teach me?” Trucy asked. “Might be interesting!”
Miles nodded and taught her the basic rules and how each of the pieces moved. She grinned, rubbing her hands together, as soon as he was done.
“Alright, let’s play!” Trucy said. “And why don’t we make it interesting …?”
“Oh dear, should I be afraid?”
“No way! Life’s full of bets, Daddy knows that because of his side job!” Trucy continued. “If you win, I’ll never ever do that trick again… but if I win…”
“Oh…?”
“If I win, you have to take Daddy out to dinner!” Trucy giggled. “And it has to be a nice dinner, not Eldoon’s or something like that!”
“No worries there, I don’t think I could handle Eldoon’s if I tried ,” Miles chuckled. “And despite the odds, I’m sure the bet is rather enticing…”
“Exactly, what do you have to lose?” Trucy grinned. “So are you up to the challenge?”
“Alright, I accept your challenge,” Miles smirked. “I’ll take red.”
“Good! Blue’s my favorite color anyway!” Trucy grinned, moving a pawn to the e4 position.
Miles followed suit by putting his pawn in the e5 position, in which Trucy retaliated by bringing her knight to the c3 position.
“An interesting opening,” Miles mused, bringing a knight to the f6 position.
“Well, I’m an interesting kid,” Trucy retaliated with her bishop at the c4 position.
“Well… it would be best for you to be careful…” Miles grinned as his knight swooped in to take her pawn.
“Don’t worry, I’m alright,” Trucy smirked. “It might be the first capture, but you haven’t won the war yet.”
They continued to play, formulating their own strategies, and Trucy proving herself to be a formidable opponent.
“Trucy… may I ask why you were so concerned about me leaving?” Miles asked, moving his rook to a6.
“Well… it’s true, you go a lot,” Trucy replied, using her bishop to swipe his rook. “Uncle Larry’s hardly able to call since he went on his study abroad trip to Paris… and Auntie Maya’s getting ready to take her training to a new level, going to some far away kingdom… Pearl says that the master always has to study where it all began.”
Miles jerked up for a moment, “Miss Fey is leaving the country?”
Trucy nodded, “Yeah… I think she has to study for two or three years? I think that’s what Pearl said,” Trucy sighed, wilting forward. “So there goes all of Daddy’s friends… he becomes a blob when you leave, but now that Uncle Larry and Auntie Maya are gone too… I’m worried about him…”
“You’re frightened that he’ll be lonely…?”
“Well, yeah, that, but another thing,” Trucy added while she contemplated her next move. “I guess there’s Mr. Gavin, but I don’t know him very well… Daddy never has me around when they meet up and it’s only at the Borscht Bowl… even from what I’ve seen, I think they’re only friends because they don’t have any other friends…”
Wright’s brought up Gavin a handful of times… mostly by accident, Miles recalled. He refuses to go into more detail about it… I can’t help but agree with Trucy’s instinct…
“I see… Trucy, may I ask you something that might be complex?” Miles asked.
“Go ahead,” She nodded.
“Do you trust Kristoph Gavin?”
Trucy was still for a moment, she clicked her tongue against her teeth and stared intently at the chessboard below her, she tugged on her fringe, right by her ear.
“This might sound mean but… I think he’s kind of weird,” Trucy replied. “I don’t know why… he’s nice enough to me whenever he comes over to drive Daddy to work some days but…”
“But…?”
“He seems fake… his smile is fake and I think that he thinks I’m dumber than I am because I’m a kid, you know…?” Trucy huffed. “I don’t know… it feels like there’s something that he wants to say, but he won’t say it…
“It’s like he’s scared of me?”
“Scared? I can’t think of any reason to be frightened of you,” Miles said. “Unless you jump out of their suitcase unexpectedly…”
“Hah, I know! I’m the least scary person I know!” Trucy giggled. “And checkmate!”
Miles gasped and looked down at the bored, surprised to see that her queen had trapped his king, it was a match, and Trucy had won.
“How on earth?” Miles started.
“I just focused on making a pretty picture!” Trucy shrugged. “So… when you take Daddy out, you can’t talk about work, okay?”
“Alright, alright,” Miles chuckled. “I’ll try to stay in Los Angeles more often outside of a working context, whenever I’m able, deal?”
“Deal!”
Miles got up and started to put the chessboard and pieces away, “Did you bring a toothbrush with you?”
“Yep! I always come prepared!”
Miles laughed and ruffled her hair gently, “Alright, you should get ready for bed soon, we have a long morning ahead,” he said. “You can sleep in here, I’ll be on the sofa if you need me, alright?”
Trucy launched forward, hugging Miles as tight as she could, smiling widely.
“Thanks for this, Uncle Miles, sorry I scared you and Daddy…” Trucy said. “This really helped, thanks for teaching me chess!”
“Of course, I’m glad you enjoyed the game,” Miles said, hugging her back. “Don’t forget to apologize to your father, okay? He truly does want the best for you…”
“Don’t worry, that’s the first thing I’m gonna do when I see him!” Trucy nodded before yawning and falling back onto the plush bed. “Wow, I’m beat… this is a lot more comfortable than a suitcase…”
Miles chuckled and dimmed the lights before he headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed.
“Hey, Uncle Miles?”
“Yes?”
“Sleep tight, and don’t let the bedbugs bite!”
“Sleep well, Trucy,”