Red Hot Omelets
William Terry Louis Andrew Carrick Jonathan Dredge Hams Reading Roger Southwark Alwick Plymouth Junior Regison III is a wealthy man visiting Waffle Island in the hopes of finding reliable business partners. Gill just can't be bothered.
Will may not have his mother around to guide him, but Will had his manly pride, and no feigning ignorance would deter him from his goal! Tomorrow, he would gather up his courage and confess properly! It's what he should have done from the beginning—boy or girl, the other party deserve to know what you're feeling.
At least, that's what he swore the night before. All the vigor and excitement seemed to dissipate as the morning sun rose higher and by eleven or so his courage meter read a mere '45%'. Arthur whined a bit when his master seemed to have spaced out, deciding on its own the path they would take while Will gathered his thoughts.
Gill didn't like to make a habit of taking home personal mail to work, but lately he hadn't had time to snoop through the mail at his leisure. Not with the more recent events, anyway. He tucked the three letters under his desk as Elli brought a fresh batch of paperwork.
One letter in particularly caught his eye, as it wasn't addressed to him nor to his father; rather it was addressed to their very own Regison the third. He'd picked it up by accident, but that could wait. Whatever it was, it couldn't be urgent; it was a pink envelope with lace and hearts for goodness sake.
"You'd think its tax season or something," the man mumbled as he began flipping through the documents. They were constantly renewing leases or approving ventures and the like, but the town hardly reflected that at face-value. Not only that, but any problems they had with the environment itself had to be reported to them, and they would seek the appropriate measures to take care of things.
Most startlingly was a marriage license. Gill perked up, scanning the paper for names. Luke and Sheila…? Are you kidding me? He gaped. Not like he hung out with them all the time, but…
"Oh, isn't that wonderful?" exclaimed Elli looking over his shoulder. She gushed with both hands cupping her cheeks, "I wonder if I'll ever…"
Gill resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Don't worry about such trivial things and do your job."
She huffed, knowing he was half-joking, and went back to whatever it was she did. Usually she acted as the primary receptionist but people normally didn't come to handle business face-to-face these days. The hours passed, but he didn't seem to be getting anywhere, and the cutesy pink envelope kept catching drawing him in. Sighing, he decided it was time for a break and opened up the two letters addressed to him.
Embarrassingly enough, the first was Angela's from about three days ago… They really didn't get personal mail often… At least that was one thing he didn't have to worry about, he thought with a shrug, chucking the note into the recycling bin. The next letter was for Hamilton, and he figured his father wouldn't be too happy with him opening his mail, so setting that aside Gill came upon the final letter.
Would it really be right?
The envelope would lead one to believe it was a female sender—but who knows, there are strange men out there as well. Take Julius, for example.
It's none of my business.
Besides, he was supposed to have lunch with the prince later, so he could just deliver it then.
But despite the obvious logic behind those words Gill's fingers were burning to tear open the letter. Who was it from? It didn't say. Oddly enough, there was no return address. Is that even allowed? Postal services these days, he sighed, placing the envelope atop his father's. But no sooner did he put it down than did his eyes wander.
Would he really mind? If there's no sender…it could be dangerous. Like a threat letter or something, right? And Will is the type of person who would keep such things to himself… I'd better take a look, just to make sure… Blue eyes shifted about the room for any sign of Elli. Thankfully she was busy nursing a fresh cup of coffee—spaced out, even—meaning there'd be no solid witness to the crime.
Gill gently peeled back the lip of the envelope, careful not to rip or tear anywhere, until it was free and reached in, only to feel his fingers brush against something…sticky? Heart pounding as he slowly pulled out the contents, what appeared to be a single piece of plastic with the name 'Emily' scrawled on one edge. Carefully turning it in his hand, the front of the piece was a photo of a staggeringly beautiful girl from the waist up. She was dressed in a white dining gown with a simple pearl necklace and earrings and long, curly blond hair; obviously a 'pure-bred' or something of the like.
His brows twisted in something of discouragement, Tsk tsk, so he has a fiancée. Even so, he's fooling around with anything with a pair of legs?
He wasn't sure if it was guilt from opening someone else's mail or the thought of such a pretty girl being wasted on that Casanova but something was turning knots in his stomach. He quietly slipped the photo back into the envelope and slid it over the rest, returning to his work.
"Are you sure you don't want any cookies?" asked Angela holding up a whole tray as she stood in her open doorway.
Will fastened the lunch packs in the shoulder bag he graciously borrowed from Angela. "You helping me to make lunch is more than enough. You even take good care of Arthur. Thank you so much."
The woman flushed with pride, scratching the back of her neck and glancing down at her dirty shoes. "No biggie… Good luck today, too." He smiled, waving good bye as he mounted the horse and made their way to Waffle Town. Lately he'd been getting a lot of emotional support from Angela. He almost felt bad for being jealous of her now.
Courage meter is now at 65%, he smiled inwardly as the familiar building came into view. They agreed to meet by the pier and sure enough he met the silver haired man there; hands crossed and looking peeved as usual.
"Good afternoon," greeted Will, not deterred in the least by the show of annoyance.
Gill looked up and frowned deeply, memories of the photo flashing back to him, but he bit back any smart retort, "Good afternoon." They walked on the beach, leaving Arthur by the pier. Eating next to a fish shop didn't appeal to either of their sense, but the lighthouse did just fine. Gill mumbled a low 'thank you' as Will handed him his lunch box and opened it tentatively. Tomato risotto. "Did Angela make this?" he asked right off the bat, irritation evident in his tone.
Will nodded, still unfazed, "She taught me how to make it, but I suggested it. Is it not to your liking?"
"I'll eat it," Gill spoke sharply, stabbing at the food with his fork. He knew he planned on handing Will the envelope, but now that it had obviously been opened, he found it difficult to come up with a viable excuse, and a small part of him just didn't want to hand it over. Even as he sat in the plush sand he could feel it poking into his thigh under the cloth of his pants pocket.
"I'm glad for that," Will laughed.
Gill chewed slowly, contemplating whether or not he should just come right out and ask. If he didn't ask now, it'd only bother him the rest of the day, and he didn't need any more distractions from work. Swallowing, he took in a deep breath and exhaled, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, "So, have you known Emily for a long time?"
Will paused, placing his fork back in his tray as he seemed to honestly mull over the question. Finally he shook his head, "I don't believe I've ever met an Emily."
"I'm sure you don't," Gill snapped before he could really assess the response, twisting his fork about not caring for the presentation of his risotto. "With so many lady friends, who can keep track of an Emily or two."
Will rested a heavy hand on his shoulder, startling him somewhat, "I don't know who you are talking about, but… it's alright to believe in me every once in a while, isn't it?"
"Um," the words in his head didn't seem to want to come out now, but he felt an overwhelming sense of relief, like he'd realized for the first time his premonitions may be once again based on nothing. Gill poked at his food, somewhat pleased with the response, before pulling the envelope from his pocket. "I think this is for you…I'm sorry I opened it before checking who it was addressed to."
Will seemed to immediately recognize the decorative envelope, taking it hesitantly as though he were afraid it'd burn his fingers. "There's… no need to apologize." Glancing over the photo, Will's eyes seemed to wander now; where he'd normally stare at Gill to the point of creeping him out, Will now looked everywhere but.
"Don't tell me you do know her," Gill's voice darkened.
"No, but…" Will hesitated again before putting away the letter. He offered a weak smile. "Anyway, how do you like my cooking?"
Gill narrowed his eyes, taking another bite. He chewed slowly.