Title: Keeping Up
Author: Melilot Hill      
Beta: Lllinos
Summary: During a visit from his family nine year old Merry learns an important lesson that even grownups have trouble coming to terms with.
Features: Merry, Pimmie, Esmeralda, Paladin and (a very messy) one year old Pippin.
Rate: G
Disclaimer: The characters and settings belong to J.R.R. Tolkien.
Note: This story was written for Marigold’s challenge  #6. Assignment: write a story with the title “Keeping Up”.

I want to thank Llinos for her wonderful help.

Keeping Up

Merry was lying on his stomach on the grass, kicking his feet and watching a snail move slowly by. He felt more than a little betrayed.

His Uncle Pad and Aunt Eg were visiting, together with their four children. Merry had been looking forward to their visit, mainly because he loved to play with his cousin Pimmie. She was always great fun, even though she was a lass.

But today Merry had found out Pimmie was no longer great fun. When he suggested going on an expedition, she said she didn’t want to ruin her new dress. To Merry’s horror Pimmie had become more ‘lady-like’ as he heard his Aunt proudly tell his Mum.

So now he was outside in the garden all by himself, watching a snail. He didn’t want to play with Pearl, because she was too old. Vinca only wanted to play with dolls and that was just boring. Pippin was a funny little lad, but he was still a baby and everybody knows you can’t take a baby out on an adventure.

Merry sighed and stood up, brushing grass from his clothes. He should go back inside as it was probably time for some tea and, more importantly, tarts! He wasn’t particularly interested in having tea with his family right now, but he was hungry. He heard his stomach rumble in agreement.

“Ah, there you are!” his Mum said cheerfully when he entered the room. “We were wondering where you went off to all of a sudden. You’re back just in time for tea. Did you wash your hands?”

“No, not yet,” Merry muttered.

“Well, hurry up then,” his mother said, swatting his rear playfully. “Or we won’t wait for you.”

“Yes, Mum,” Merry said, walking out of the room with slumped shoulders.

“What’s wrong with him?” Saradoc asked no-one in particular. “He has been excited about your visit this whole week and now he looks quite miserable.”

Merry wasn’t really enjoying tea. Normally he loved to chatter and joke with his cousins, but today he really didn’t feel like it. As soon as they were finished he left the room, closing the door behind him a bit harder than was necessary.

Merry went to his room and let himself fall on his bed. He buried his face in his pillow. Why am I so upset, he thought, hitting his pillow with his fist. Pimmie only told me she didn’t want to go on an expedition.

  *~*~*~*

After he had been sulking for quite some time, Merry heard the door of his room open and close and felt somebody sit down on his bed.

“Merry?” he heard his Mum ask. “What is the matter with you? I don’t like the way you’re behaving today at all. Your family is here, and you’ve been avoiding them.”

“Nothing,” Merry muttered in his pillow.

“Look at me when you’re talking to me,” Esmeralda scolded. “Where are your manners?”

Merry turned his head and looked at his mother.

“Nothing is wrong, Mum,” he tried again.

“I don’t think it is nothing,’ Esmeralda said softly. “You’re upset because Pimmie has changed, aren’t you?”

“Maybe,” Merry answered evasively.

“Things won’t stay the same forever, you know,” Esmeralda told her son. “And you will become very miserable if you’re not willing to keep up with the changes around you.”

Merry gave his mother a questioning look.

“Just think about what I said, you can work out what it means,” she said. “Now I want you to apologise to your Aunt and Uncle for your impolite behaviour today.”

“I haven’t been very nice today, have I?” Merry admitted, sounding quite miserable. “I’m really sorry and I’m not just saying that because I don’t want to be in trouble.”

“I know, Merry,” Esmeralda said, patting her son’s leg. “Everybody has their bad days. I’m sure they’ll understand. Now let us go and have some dinner.”

“Um, I want to say something,” Merry said when he entered the dining room. He was playing with one of his braces and staring at his toes. “I am really sorry for my behaviour today. It wasn’t nice of me to leave while you are here.”

“Well, shall we forgive him?” his Uncle Pad asked.

Merry was afraid his Uncle would be cross with him. Slowly he looked up. He saw his Uncle’s eyes shine with laughter and he was grabbed by the wrist and pulled onto his Uncle Pad’s lap.

“Of course we forgive you,” he laughed. “You were just a little grumpy. Even I get grumpy sometimes.”

“You don’t say,” Eglantine muttered, making everybody laugh.

Dinner was a lot more fun than tea. Merry found out that Pimmie hadn’t changed as much as he had thought. Her sense of humour, for one thing, hadn’t changed and was probably not as ‘lady-like’ as his Aunt Eg might want it to be.

Merry looked around the table and his eye fell on his youngest cousin. Pippin was eating all by himself. Or at least, he tried. He had a spoon in his right hand, but either he had forgotten it was there or how to use it, and was using his left hand to stuff fistfuls of spinach into his mouth. But most of the vegetable didn’t end up there. He had spinach all over his face, on his bib, in his hair and even in his ear.

Merry was watching his cousin’s progress with amusement, trying not to laugh. He was doing a pretty good job too, until he made the mistake of looking at Pimmie. The moment they made eye contact, there was no stopping them.

At the sound of laughter Pippin looked up from his plate. He looked from his sister to his cousin and back before a huge grin split his face.

“Pippin eat,” he told them, before he stuffed another fistful of food in his mouth and a second one down his shirt.

“I think he needs a bath, again!” Eglantine sighed. “His whole face is covered in food.”

“It’s also in his hair,” Pimmie supplemented.

“And in his ears!” Merry laughed. “How can a hobbit be so messy with his food? It’s such a waste.”

“Well, I seem to remember another very messy eater,” Eglantine said while ruffling Merry’s hair.

She picked up a very dirty Pippin and went to the bathroom, followed by Pimmie and Merry, who wanted to help.  

*~*~*~*

Do you want to go outside with me?” Merry asked Pimmie the next day. “We could have a picnic or something.”

“That would be wonderful!” his cousin replied. “Does that mean you’re no longer cross with me?”

“I wasn’t really cross with you,” Merry replied shyly. “I was just a little upset you didn’t want to play with me anymore.”

“Just a little?” Pimmie laughed.

“All right, a lot,” Merry grinned, tugging his cousin’s hair playfully.

“And I do still want to play with you,” said Pimmie. “But Mum would be very cross if I ruined my new dress and those expeditions of yours always end in a mess.”

“Or in a tree,” Merry joked.

“That’s another thing I don’t want to do anymore,” Pimmie said. “It’s not decent for a girl to climb a tree. But we could try to catch frogs later today.”

And catching frogs is ‘lady-like’ Merry thought. But he decided not to say anything. He didn’t want to ruin the possibility to go on a frog-hunt with Pimmie.

“Shall I ask my Mum if we can take Pippin on our picnic?” Pimmie broke Merry’s thoughts. “He can walk a bit, you know. It’s really funny to watch.”

“Of course, you ask your Mum that and I’ll ask my Mum for food.” Merry said.

They both went looking for their mothers and came back shortly after. Merry was carrying a basket and a blanket and Pimmie had a scarf in her hand.

“What’s that scarf for?” Merry asked, puzzled. “Is it sort of a lead so you don’t lose Pippin?”

“That would be an interesting idea,” Paladin laughed, walking towards the cousins with his son in his arms. “But no, it’s to teach Pippin how to walk.”

That answer puzzled Merry even more.

“Teaching a baby to walk with a scarf?” he asked. “That’s really strange.”

“You just wait and see, Merry,” his Uncle said. “Shall we go, then?”

“Are you coming too?” Merry asked.

“I heard you took all the cherry tarts with you, lad,” Paladin grinned. “So, yes, I’m coming too.”

Once outside Paladin sat Pippin down and Pimmie put the scarf under his arms. Pippin’s whole face lit up.

“Pippin go walkie,” he said.

Pimmie was holding the ends of the scarf as Pippin took some wobbly steps.

“Walkie, walkie, walkie,” he said happily with each step he took.

“Do you want to help Pippin walk?” Pimmie asked Merry, who was looking at his cousins in a slightly jealous way.

“Yes, please!” Merry grinned. “I’d love to! But I still don’t understand why I have to use a scarf. Can’t I just hold his hands?”

“With the scarf Pippin can use his arms to find his balance,” Paladin explained. “It is more difficult to walk with your arms above your head, especially when you can hardly walk.”

Merry walked a little with Pippin, smiling at the ‘walkie’ Pippin kept saying with every step he took, until Pippin decided he had quite enough and sat down. Or better, he tried to sit down. Merry was still holding the ends of the scarf. Paladin rescued his son from his awkward position and carried him the rest of the way.

“Shall we have our picnic under that oak tree?” Paladin suggested. “It’s nice and shady there.”

  *~*~*~*

After their picnic, Merry and Pimmie were discussing what to do next.

“We can’t go looking for frogs when Dad’s here,” Pimmie whispered. “I’m sure he wouldn’t approve.”

“No,” agreed Merry. “We have to think of something else. What about hide and seek? Or we could play with Pippin for a bit, like Uncle Pad’s doing now.”

Paladin was reciting a nursery rhyme which included tickling. It made Pippin squeal with laughter.

“Can I do that, Uncle?” Merry asked.

“Of course,” Paladin said, “But be gentle.”

Merry took his little cousin on his lap and recited the same rhyme his uncle just used.

“One little cheek
The other little cheek
Widdle, widdle, widdle
What’s in the middle?
A little turned up nose
A little red lip
Another little red lip
And a tickly tickly chin!”

After a few times Pippin got bored and started to wriggle from Merry’s lap. He stood up, using Merry’s leg to hold on to. Pippin then let go of Merry’s leg and took a few uncertain steps in the direction of his sister, before he fell on his bottom.

“Did you see that, Dad!” Pimmie said excitedly. “Pippin is walking without the scarf!”

“Yes I did see it,” said Paladin, sounding a bit melancholic. “I can’t believe it. My little lad is growing up.”

“You know, Uncle Pad,” Merry said solemnly, patting his uncle’s leg. “You have to keep up with changes, or else you’ll get very sad.”

The End

Note: I've translated the nursery rhyme from Dutch. I didn't write it myself.