Double Bubble

Heavy rain pelted loudly against the windows, but the two young hobbits hunched over the kitchen table paid little attention to the storm outside.

Pippin leaned halfway across the table, his face near the old, chipped mixing bowl in the center, watching curiously as his cousin carefully tipped the contents of a small, still-steaming pot inside. “Will it really work, Merry?”

"It should," Merry replied, vigorously stirring the melted soap so that it fully blended with the water, creating a frothy, bubbly mixture. "Of course I've never made it myself. Frodo used to make it for us to play with when I was even younger than you are. I wrote to him about it before your visit. I thought it would be something fun to do with you."

Pippin narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his cousin's words. He remembered all too well what had happened the last time he had tried one of Frodo's 'experiments.' "Are you sure it isn't some sort of trick, Merry?" he asked anxiously.

Merry fought back a laugh. He had forgotten how sensitive both cousins remained about that incident, even several months later – Pippin because he had been tricked so thoroughly, and Frodo because his hair had smelled of rotten potatoes for days afterward.*

"Don't worry, Pip," he replied. "I don't think our cousin would try something like that again. Hand me the sugar, please."

“Sugar?” Pippin echoed skeptically. It still sounded like some sort of a prank to him, but nonetheless Pippin slid the sugar bowl to his cousin, watching intently as Merry spooned in a small amount. Only time, and an end to the stormy weather over Buckland, would reveal if Frodo had succeeded in another prank.

An opportunity arose two days later. The dark storm clouds finally drifted away, leaving a warm, sunny summer day in their wake. By the early evening the grounds were mostly dry, though some muddy puddles remained, and Merry and Pippin, surrounded by a strange assortment of objects, had settled themselves beneath a tree.

Between them were a large jar and a flat, empty basin. Two lengths of wire, twisted into crooked circles with handles, lay half-hidden in the grass.

"Well," Merry said, grinning as he reached for the jar. "Let's see if Frodo has tricked us again." Carefully he poured the soapy liquid into the basin, miniature bubbles forming almost immediately.

His initial doubt forgotten by now, Pippin was nearly twitching with anticipation. "Can we try it now, Merry? Please?" he asked eagerly.

"All right, all right," Merry laughed, setting the empty jar aside and handing one of the wires to Pippin, keeping the other for himself. "You first, Pip."

Pippin grinned up at his cousin before dipping the wire into the basin. "Oooh," he said, wide-eyed as he lifted it to the sky. Suspended within the wiry circle was the soapy liquid, looking like some sort of magical glass: thin and fragile and reflecting every color of the rainbow as the sun shined through it.

Merry glanced up, smiling, as he dipped his own wire in the basin. "Hurry, before it drips away," he urged, nodding toward the small trail of soap sliding down Pippin's wrist.

Taking a deep breath, Pippin blew on the wire. A small, wobbly bubble emerged, floating a short distance away before popping. Wriggling happily, Pippin immediately dipped his wire into the basin again, though he spared a few moments to watch in unchecked awe as Merry skillfully blew out a long string of bubbles, each one a perfect, clear circle that soared lightly away.

"How do you do that?" Pippin asked when his next attempt yielded another wobbly, though somewhat larger, bubble.

"I don’t know," Merry replied, shrugging a little. "It’s just practice, I suppose. Remember, I’ve done this before. Keep trying, Pippin. You'll get it eventually."

But Pippin sighed heavily. "Everything always needs practice," he said with a frown. "Writing, drawing, running fast..." He trailed off, heaving another sigh before sending a large gust of air toward the wire. To his surprise, three bubbles appeared.

"Look, Merry," he cried, pointing as his trio of bubbles floated higher and higher, drifting to the tallest branches of the tree.

"Great work, Pip!" Merry exclaimed, ruffling his cousin's curls before he sent another stream of bubbles to the sky. Together they blew more and more bubbles, laughingly pointing out the small and lopsided ones, and exclaiming in delight at the better ones. Soon it became a lighthearted contest, with each cousin competing to create the largest bubble ever.

“I’m glad that you asked Frodo how to make this bubble mix. And that he didn’t trick us,” Pippin said later, when the last rays of the summer sun were disappearing from the sky. He peered inside the basin, where only a bit of the soapy liquid remained. “Can we do this again tomorrow?” he asked hopefully.

Merry grinned down at his cousin. “Of course.”

*A reference to my story "Just a Bit of Fun"

A few additional notes:
1. I looked up homemade bubble recipes online, which often called for glycerin or regular sugar in addition to soap and water.
2. I’ve taken the liberty to assume that hobbits would have some sort of metal wire that could be twisted to create a suitable wand for blowing bubbles. Hopefully I'm not too far off base :)