Adding a non-linked character to the “Edit” link on a post?

So I’m attempting to move the “Edit” link on a post so that it’s on the same line as the date. I want to input a character that separates the date and the edit link, like this:

February 26, 2007 | Edit

I could either add that character like this:

<?php edit_post_link(' | Edit'); ?>

But that makes the character part of the link, and I don’t want that.

I could try and add it to the HTML like this:

<?php the_time('F jS, Y') ?> | <?php edit_post_link('Edit'); ?>

But then I have a random | character showing up for people who are logged out and don’t see and Edit link. How can I get that character to appear as part of that PHP snippet but not part of the link? Thanks!