It had been easy to find Pearl's address. Unlike normal people, she was all over the internet and just using the photos feature on the search engine had revealed her sizable mansion. Using the Map feature after that, plotting a route to it was not hard at all. Megan scowled as she trudged up the big house's driveway, looking all around the huge dwelling. Pearl lives here? After all that pampering and spoiling, she got to be a famous singer and rapper and live in this enormous mansion? The nerve.
Joseph walked beside her, keeping a firm grasp on her hand. She and him had agreed to try and talk to Pearl about the whole thing and get a few more answers. That morning, however, Megan had regained some of her indignant behavior, making Joseph a bit nervous. He knew he could be her voice of reason, but was still wondering what she would say to the musical pair.
The couple reached the front door and Megan jammed her thumb on the doorbell, folded her arms and waited. Good experience told Joseph to not say or do anything. He contented himself to folding his hands in front of him and waiting. A few moments passed by before they heard footsteps. The front door opened and Joseph stifled a gasp. Marina Ida was standing before him, looking even better than he had seen in the pictures or on tv, even in casual clothes, her tentacles tied up with a bandana. Marina stifled a gasp herself.
"Megan."
Megan grimaced. Marina had been there when Pearl had apologized and she must have told her bandmate about her. Megan opened her mouth, but before she could say a word, Marina quickly scurried out of the way.
"Please, come in!" she said loudly.
Without waiting, she tottered away towards the living room, leaving Megan and Joseph no choice but to follow her. After exchanging different looks, hers of apprehension, his of confusion, they entered. The couple stood just inside the living room, where another, unfamiliar Octoling had exited the room, walking up a set of wide, spiraling stairs and disappearing through a doorway. Marina gestured to one of the couches in the center of the large living room.
"Please, sit! I'll be right back!" she said, smiling at them and left the room. The couple nervously sat on the edge of the couch.
It was a beautiful room, large and round. The wall they were facing was mostly glass, with a spectacular view of the ocean. A grand piano stood on a raised plinth here and a set of wrought iron stairs was to their left, leading up to the second floor. Several sets of doors were to their left and to their right, leading to different parts of the house.
The walls were covered in artwork, ranging from paintings of musicians that obviously inspired the duet to charcoal drawings of scenery. In between them, several expensive looking guitars hung on hangers. The center of the room had two enormous curving couches that face each other, with a large, round coffee table in the middle. The coffee table looked very unique indeed, as the top surface was made of glass and was mounted on what appeared to be an engine block.
Marina reentered the room and sat down elegantly on the edge of the couch that faced the front door and the couple seated there. She had quickly changed into a better state of dress, with turquoise jeans and a while button up shirt, plus slippers. She had discarded her bandana.
"Welcome to our home," she said spreading her arms in apparent hospitality. Before either of them could respond, the unfamiliar Octoling entered, carrying a tray which had several teacups and a large tea pot on it. She smiled, setting the tray down on the table and began pouring them all tea.
"Please," said Marina again, gesturing to the tray. "Gina makes some of the best tea I've ever had."
Surprised, Joseph leaned forward first, taking a cup and saucer from the Octoling first. She possessed pink tentacles and bright blue eyes, while her dark skin seemed to have a kind of golden tinge to it. She looked much better than most of the Octolings he had seen in Inkopolis, obviously being much better fed and taken care of when living with celebrities. Most Octolings lived in cheap apartments or houses and were struggling to make money, whereas Gina here was in much better shape.
"Thank you, Gina," he said graciously. "I'm Joseph."
"Pleased to make your acquaintance," replied Gina, shaking his hand and smiling. Megan noted her accent, which, unlike Marina's, had yet to lose the distinct guttural sound that Octolings usually had. Megan accepted her own cup, but, unable to say anything, merely managed a small smile, which Gina returned. She poured her own cups for Marina and herself and sat down next to her.
"Pearl should be up shortly," remarked Marina, looking completely at ease, despite the dark look that crossed Megan's face at the mention of her name. Gina, on the other hand, looked a tad uncomfortable with Megan's expression and looked away as she sipped on her tea, staring in a different direction.
"Gina came to the surface last year," said Marina conversationally. "Pearl and I took her in. She's like family now."
Megan fixed Gina with a beady eye. "You like Pearl then?"
Gina still looked uncomfortable, noting Megan's tone, but faced her and look directly back into her cold eyes.
"Pearl is one of the best Inklings I know," she declared. Her voice was a little shaky, but she was firm. "Pearl can be a loose cannon sometimes, but she has good hearts and she's like a mother to me. That's why I took her name when she became my guardian. I can't imagine not having her in my life."
Marina placed an arm around the younger Octoling and gave her a squeeze. Joseph smiled and leaned more comfortably into the couch, apparently having his feelings confirmed that Pearl was a good person, but Megan continued to look suspicious, wondering if Gina was just saying all of that because Pearl had told her to do so.
A door to their right cracked open and turning to look, Megan stiffened, instinctively grabbing her husband's free hand. Pearl strolled into the room, but she wasn't dressed as elegantly as she would have imagined, only ever seeing her in that insufferable pop-princess getup. She was wearing a pair of old running shorts and a stained black t-shirt, her tentacles again tied into a ponytail, partially covered by the equally stained baseball cap she was wearing. Her face was streaked with bright pink paint, as were her legs and she was carrying a roller tray, brush and paint can.
She was also panting, obviously having been working hard, or perhaps just expending energy navigating this enormous building. Entering the room at large and failing to notice her guests at first, she instead smiling at Marina. Marina smiled back and looked back at Megan and Joseph. Pearl followed her gaze and promptly dropped what she was holding with a loud squeak.
"Megan! Joseph!" she exclaimed, before scrambling to pick up her tools.
"Hello Pearl," replied Megan, not quite managing to hide her glare and noting that she knew her husband's name.
"What are you doing here?" Pearl asked. It wasn't at all an offensive question, but Megan still glowered at her.
"We know you sent that check," she began, the heat rising right up to her ears. "You want to make up with whatever demons are tormenting you-"
"Megan!" exhaled Joseph exasperatedly, looking sideways at his wife in disapproval.
Her hands shaking too much to grasp the cup and saucer, Megan pushed her undrunk tea back on the coffee table and turned to face Pearl fully, who looked determined.
"Yes, I sent you money," she said quickly before Megan could continue. "But you should know my story."
"I know your story," Megan stated scathingly, glaring at her. "You were a selfish little girl who wanted to feel good about herself by putting everyone around her down." Joseph frowned at her, but stayed silent.
"Correct," replied Pearl, looking quite unabashed as she slumped onto the couch next to Marina, not looking anywhere near as graceful, especially in her work clothes. "But, ya'll don't know everything. Not even Marina and Gina do."
Megan opened her mouth and then shut it tight. She glanced at the other two in confusion, who were looking curiously at Pearl. Pearl ignored them and, looking at Megan directly, leaned forward.
"You remember the winter of your senior year, right? When I disappeared for a few months?"
Megan nodded, now rather curious, her outrage starting to fade away. Pearl gave her head a shake and her shoulders seemed to sag. She looked once again at Megan.
"That winter break, I was diagnosed with cancer."
Megan felt her jaw go slack. She glanced at her husband, who was looking just as shocked as she felt. Gina did too, but Marina looked completely devastated. She turned to Pearl, a look of anguish on her face.
"Is this why you've been seeing a doctor lately? Why you've been taking medicine?" Pearl closed her eyes, her lips pursed, unable to look at her musical partner. Megan guessed that she hadn't told Marina about any kind of medicine. Marina looked to be on the verge of tears.
"You never told me," Marina stated in a hushed whisper. Pearl opened her eyes and stared at the ground, a guilty look on her face.
"I don't like talking about it, 'Rina," she mumbled, sighing deeply, looking as though she was deflating. She looked up and her expression was showing clear pain. Megan now felt deeply uncomfortable, but she didn't know if it was because of the small moment Pearl was having with Marina, or if she might now suddenly be feeling sorry for her. Perhaps both? Pearl resumed speaking.
"I had a large tumor on my spine and the sickness was spreading. Even if it wouldn't have killed me, it could have paralyzed me for life. I was admitted to the Major General Randy Harper Hospital and I was there for three months."
Despite the obvious emotion she was feeling, Pearl's voice was both strong and steady. She had recomposed her face and was looking right at Megan.
"I was scared," she continued. "Really scared. But, obviously, my parents had money and that hospital has some of the best doctors in the world. My condition began to improve."
"Three weeks in, I got a roommate, Alexander…" Pearl's voice broke and she succumbed to another pained expression, closing he eyes again. Gina and Marina were looking at her in concern and Megan's breathing was becoming constricted. She didn't want Pearl to stop, but she was afraid of what she was going to hear.
"Alexander was a good kid. A REALLY good kid. He had cancer too. Multiple tumors on two of his hearts." She paused as all individuals gasped in shock. Inkling's and Octoling's could live with two hearts, but only having one would be too dangerous and require constant reliance on medicine that could hinder someone for life, if they managed to live at all.
"He and I grew really close," Pearl said. "When my parents or his parents couldn't be there for whatever reason, he and I would talk for hours. We had a ton in common and really enjoyed each other's company. It made the whole experience a heck of a lot easier. When my parents met him and his family, they began paying for the same kind of treatment that I was getting." Pearl grimaced, obviously trying to keep her emotions at bay.
"B-but it was t-too late…"
Pearls face screwed up and she buried it in her hands, after which Megan saw a tear fall to the ground. Marina moved over and put an arm around her companion, comforting the little Inkling. Megan herself now felt horrible. The dreadful little tyrant she thought she knew had so much more to her than she ever realized and she was beginning to seriously regret her thoughts and actions towards her. Pearl raised her face again.
"Nothing worked," she choked. "He continued fading. The cancer spread all over his body and soon, he was in constant pain and couldn't even talk. I remember that night, when I finally…heard him…flatline…" She collapsed again, trying to control herself.
"That noise just went on and on and I screamed until a nurse came running…" she placed her face in her hands once more, unable to speak. Impulsively it seemed, Megan moved across the space between them. Kneeling next to Pearl, she nervously placed a hand on her knee. Pearl's head jerked upward and she peered at Megan from under the brim of her cap in astonishment. Megan was still undecided on how she felt about Pearl, but this did change things. After working her jaw for a moment, Pearl continued to speak.
"I nearly had a falling out with Gina," she said, gesturing at the pink Octoling, who glanced down at the ground. "I didn't mean too, but I ended up saying some hurtful things about her, nearly destroying her dreams, much like I did yours. I went for a walk the next day and stumbled upon that church group. I helped them out. I decided to change. I decided to grow."
Pearls voice was returning to strength and her tears had stopped. Marina remained at her side and Megan didn't remove her hand from Pearl's knee.
"I thought about you for the first time in forever. And then guess what? I saw you and decided to apologize. Then, I discovered the truth about your son. I felt so damn bad, I wanted to do something, but I knew you wouldn't accept it if you knew it was from me. It was desperate, really."
Megan drew a deep breath and took Pearl's hand in her own, making the inkling flinch in surprise.
"Maybe it was, but I'm sorry," she said softly. "I'm sorry for judging you like I did. You were just trying to help."
Pearl squeaked and the pair just looked at each other for a bit, remaining silent for a while. Finally, Pearl spoke once more.
"May I support your son's treatment?" asked Pearl.
Joseph moved to kneel next to his wife and she shared a look with him. He smiled and nodded encouragingly.
"Of course you can," replied Megan. Managing a small smile, Pearl held out her other hand. Looking at it for a moment, Megan brushed it aside and pulled her into a tight hug. Stunned, Pearl hugged her back. Everyone was welling with emotion, looking at the two women embracing. No matter what, all was forgiven.