Part 18

"What do you think?" Frodo asked as Pippin and Merry stood and surveyed the room.

"I think you’ve emptied Pippin’s room completely," Merry said slowly. He and Pippin had left the smial just after first breakfast without telling anyone about their conversation of the night before. They had decided to discuss it in the light of day and then make up their minds what to tell Frodo. Neither cousin wanted to say anything that would upset Frodo and they both were very sure that Berilac’s story about the bed in Pippin’s room would be very upsetting indeed. They had returned in time for tea only to find that Frodo had been rather busy during their absence.

"What did you do with it all?" Pippin asked cautiously. He looked around the empty room with its bare walls and bare floors. Not even so much as a speck of dust remained.

"Well, I decided that we would start fresh with this room," Frodo said. "Sam and Jolly Cotton and Tom Cotton helped me get things moved out while the two of you were away."

"Why did you move it all out?" Merry asked.

"Sometimes I get in the mood to change things around a bit, Merry," Frodo said. "I’ve never been completely happy with this room. The furniture was a bit too large and I thought it might be nicer if there were smaller pieces in here. I have some things in mind but since Pippin is staying in the room I thought that I would wait until the two of you returned before I made the final selections."

"It’s still my room then?" Pippin asked taking a couple of steps into the empty room and looking back at Frodo.

"Unless you’d like a different room," Frodo said. "I thought this one would work well for you because it is right across the hall from Merry and not too far from my room but if you would rather pick another room since I am refurnishing this one then I don’t mind."

Merry looked at Frodo out of the corner of his eye. He found it rather a strange coincidence that Frodo had chosen to do this today of all days. He also found it odd that neither he nor Pippin had been asked to help empty the room. Frodo was up to something.

"If you want to give it some thought and let me know later that is quite alright, but you’ll have to sleep in with Merry again tonight unless we work quickly," Frodo said. "I would like to redecorate a bit this afternoon and so if you have any suggestions as to what might look good in this room, then I am willing to hear them unless they involve making the room look like the inside of the barn." He winked at Pippin and waited for a response.

Pippin bit his lower lip slightly embarrassed and then asked, "What did you do with the little bed that was in my old room?"

"I put that bed in Bilbo’s mathom room to store it," Frodo said.

"Well, I know it isn’t a very large bed and that it really isn’t the sort of bed that most guests might like, but it would certainly fit in here, wouldn’t it?" Pippin asked.

"It certainly would," Frodo agreed. "It will also be very easy to move. I think that the three of us could have that small bed in here and set up in no time at all, don’t you, Merry?"

"I believe that we could," Merry said. He looked at Frodo to see if he might be able to tell if his older cousin knew about his and Pippin’s conversation of last night but he saw no signs of this. Maybe it was a coincidence.

"You’ll need something to keep your clothing in so after we move the bed then I suspect that we should have a look about the smial for something suitable," Frodo said. "If we are careful then there might be room for a writing desk."

Pippin wrinkled up his nose at this suggestion and said, "I think that a nice, comfortable chair might be better."

Frodo laughed. "Well, I suppose that there is a chair in the smial somewhere that might fit in here." He rubbed his hands together and said, "Come on, lads. Let’s go and get that bed and move it in here. The quicker we get started the sooner we’ll be finished."

Frodo walked out of the room first and behind his back Merry and Pippin exchanged curious looks, a shrug or two and then followed him. Whatever the reason might be, Frodo had decided to refurnish this room and that certainly solved a great many problems. With any luck at all they wouldn’t have to tell him what had happened.

Merry and Frodo soon learned that Pippin’s decorating taste was quite interesting. After setting up the little half bed with the maple head board that had been Pippin’s in the old room the three of them had gone in search of a wardrobe. There was one in Bilbo’s mathom room that actually matched the little bed perfectly but Pippin walked right by it and selected the worst eye-sore in the room."Can I have this one?" Pippin asked looking up at a large wardrobe near the back of the room. It was painted with milk paint and was an odd-looking shade of blue-green. Its paint was scratched and scared and only one of the doors would close. The other door popped open and seemed to be slightly warped with age. The clothing rod inside of the wardrobe was still sturdy and so it was functional in that way at least. Merry expected Frodo to say no to this request.

Frodo looked horrified for about three seconds and then said, "You really want this one?"

Pippin smiled at it and nodded. "I used to hide in this one every time we played hide and seek when I was small, remember, Merry?"

"I do," Merry smiled. "I found you every time because you were always in this old wardrobe."

"It was a grand hiding place," Pippin said. Merry suppressed a chuckle because the wardrobe was anything but. The old thing creaked when someone was inside of it and since the door popped open it was easy to find whoever might hide in it. Everyone was aware of that and so the only one who ever hid in it was Pippin. Pippin continued. "It has lots of room in it and I have good memories of it." He stopped for a minute and asked suddenly, "Where did it come from?"

"Bilbo’s mother made it a long time ago," Frodo said with a smile. "I imagine that she used some of those tools that you and Sam used to build the wheelbarrow when she was building this. Bilbo told me that it was quite pretty at that time and that Belladonna used it to keep her blankets and linen inside of it.  You can still see the tiny flowers that Bilbo painted on the doors of it.  He told me that he used to decorate the things that his mother built."

Pippin smiled. "I want this one.  I didn't know that Bilbo painted those flowers on there.  That makes it more special."

Merry looked at Frodo and crossed his eyes but Frodo just smiled and said, "Then let’s move it into your room."

Soon the little maple bed and the blue-green wardrobe were joined by a comfortable, well-worn brown arm chair with tiny little gold squares running all through the upholstery, an old footstool that had a picture of a duck cross-stitched into its top, a small oak night stand which Merry had once carved his full name across the top of when he'd been about ten, and a small battered old kitchen table which was white with yellow trim. Pippin said that the table would be perfect to put his wash basin and water pitcher on or it could just be used to stack things on. Pippin finished this ghastly collection off by adding a big brown rug made of something that resembled bear fur in front of the fireplace, a large assortment of mismatched pillows and blankets for the bed and a painting for his wall of a large apple tree with a pony underneath it.

Having finished decorating, the three cousins stood back and surveyed their work. Pippin was grinning from ear to ear and pronounced it the finest room in the entire smial. Merry said that it made him slightly dizzy to look at it for too long and Frodo said that it was certainly the most original room in the smial.

"Finish putting your things back into the wardrobe and then wash up, Pippin," Frodo said. "Merry and I will wash up and start supper." He put his arm around Merry’s shoulders and led him from Pippin’s room. They left their young relative standing in front of the wardrobe deciding where to hang his things.

Once they were out of Pippin hearing, Merry said, "I can’t believe you allowed him to do that to one of your guest rooms, Frodo."

Frodo laughed. "I should have allowed him to that very thing sooner. I suspect that he will feel more comfortable in that room now and quit sleeping in my barn don’t you?"

Merry smiled nervously. He wanted to ask Frodo if he somehow knew about the story that Berilac had told Pippin but he couldn’t bring himself to do that and so he said, "I think he’ll sleep in there now."

"Then I am quite happy with the room as it is," Frodo said.

"Frodo?"

"Yes, Merry?"

"Not that it matters terribly much or anything, but what did you do with the other furniture?" Merry asked trying to sound casual.

"Oh, well I have loaned it to the Gaffer," Frodo said. "When Daisy got married he let her take a bed and wardrobe with her and since then they’ve had one empty room. I couldn’t see putting such nice furniture in the mathom room when someone could make use of it and I was sure that your parents wouldn’t mind if the Gaffer used it. He said that bed was larger than any that he had and that he was going to sleep in it himself."

Merry was glad that the Gaffer wasn’t related to Berilac. He also found that he was uncommonly glad that the furniture was no longer in Bag End. He felt silly about that but he was glad all the same.

"Now, lets see what we can have for supper without too much effort," Frodo said. "I’m starving but I am too tired to make anything that will require much work.  I can't believe that we worked through tea time without stopping for a bite.  I need to fill up more than a few corners tonight."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Frodo?" Pippin asked, looking up from his writing for the millionth time that evening.

Frodo frowned. "You’ll never finish that if you don’t keep at it and quit trying to distract me, Peregrin."

"I hate it when you call me Peregrin," Pippin complained. "It’s always said as if I’ve done something wrong."

Frodo smiled and arched his eyebrows. "You mean something like trying to avoid your lessons?"

Pippin sighed dramatically. "I just wanted to ask you a question."

"Then ask it and get back to your assignment if you please," Frodo said. It was easier to allow Pippin to ask about what was on his mind than to ignore the lad and have him lose all concentration. If Pippin had something other than his lessons on his mind then he would not be likely to finish properly any time tonight.

"Did you really want to move the furniture in my room?" Pippin asked.

"Pippin, since you have come here this summer, I have wanted you to be comfortable at Bag End just as Merry is," Frodo said. "Now, you can deny it all you want but I know that you have not felt comfortable in that room. I thought that if I allowed you to chose what sort of furniture was in the room that it just might help you to feel at home during you visit here."

"You allowed me to chose the furniture just so I’d feel comfortable?" Pippin asked, laying the quill down on the parchment on the desk.

Frodo ignored the growing ink blot on the parchment and said, "I want you to feel welcome here, Pippin. Sometimes I think that you believe that I only invite you because you’re so close to Merry, but that isn’t true at all." He smiled. "You are quite a bit younger than I, but you are very dear to me and I want you to know that."

Pippin’s eyes filled with tears and he leaned over against Frodo who was seated in a chair beside of him with a book in his hands and gave him a hug. "How did you know that I sometimes think that?" Pippin asked.

"Because I know you better than you think I do," Frodo said. "Merry Brandybuck is not the only older cousin who understands you." He returned Pippin’s hug.

"Thank you for my guest room, Frodo," Pippin said sitting back up straight at the desk. "And for letting me borrow Sam and for not making a fuss over my table manners and for being patient with me and for loving me."

"The table manners have been a bit hard to adjust to," Frodo teased. "But the rest has been my pleasure." Frodo reached over and removed the quill from the parchment and looked at Pippin. "Now, get another piece of parchment and write down your thoughts about the fair. You seem to have blotted this one."

Pippin wiped his eyes with a handkerchief that Frodo handed to him and sighed. "Why isn’t writing as much fun as carpentry?" he complained.

"It is for some hobbits," Frodo said. "Some hobbits prefer writing to carpentry." He settled back in his chair and looked at his book. "Do your lessons now, Peregrin Took so that you can go to bed in your newly decorated room. You will need to be well-rested for the fair tomorrow."

Pippin gave his dear older cousin a small smile and turned his attention to his parchment reluctantly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pippin was in his bed in his newly decorated room feeling warm and comfortable when he heard the door open. He raised up to see Merry slipping into the room. His cousin moved soundlessly to the bed and sat down. "Did Frodo say anything at all while you were having your lessons tonight? He certainly didn’t give us anything to go on during supper," Merry whispered.

Pippin smiled at the memory of what Frodo had said but he knew that this was not what Merry was asking about and so he shook his head. "Nothing and I asked him, sort of," Pippin whispered back.

"You did?" Merry looked worried even in the dark room. Pippin could be rather blunt at times and Merry did hope that Pippin had not come right out and said something like, ‘Say you didn’t hear Merry and me discussing some rubbish that Berilac told me about your parents, did you?’

"I just asked him why he let me decorate the room," Pippin hissed.

"Oh, and what did he say?" Merry asked.

Pippin smiled. "That he wants me to feel welcome and that he didn’t think that I was comfortable here." Pippin snuggled down into his blankets and said, "I think it’s all right now, Merry. I don’t think we will have to tell Frodo what Berilac said." He yawned.

Merry heaved a sigh of relief. "Good. Then let’s promise never to mention it to him."

"I promise," Pippin mumbled and he yawned again.

"Me too," Merry whispered. "Night, Pip. Get some sleep. You have a wheelbarrow to display at the fair tomorrow." He stood to leave his younger cousin’s room. He took a quick look around and discovered that Pippin’s room didn’t make him the least bit dizzy in the dark. In the dark, everything seemed to match perfectly. He crept silently from the room and into his own room. As he lay down on his own bed he realized that he was about to get a good night’s sleep for a change. Maybe Frodo had been right. Maybe he had simply been worried about Pip. Now that Pip was fine again, he would be fine too. Younger cousins were such trouble. They caused a hobbit so much worry. On the other hand, younger cousins, especially Pippin, were rather endearing at times. With that thought, Merry drifted off into a dreamless sleep and began to snore softly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Won’t do for you to spend the whole night pacin’," Hamfast Gamgee said as he came into the small kitchen and found Sam awake.

Sam stopped in his tracks and looked over at his father. "I’m just a bit worried about tomorrow," Sam admitted.

"What about it?" Hamfast asked as he walked over to the cupboard and removed a bottle of ale. He pulled out a second one and sat both of them on the table.

"Well, I ain’t too sure about this contest," Sam said, sitting down at the table across from his father.

Hamfast pushed one of the bottles of ale toward Sam and said, "Why are you worryin’ about a thing like that for?’

Sam took a long drink of the ale. "What if Master Pippin don’t win nothin’?"

"What if he don’t?" Hamfast asked squinting at Sam. "No disgrace in losin’ if you done your best."

"I just hope he don’t get too down hearted if his wheelbarrow doesn’t win," Sam frowned. "He worked real hard on it and he’s just startin’ to like carpentry. I don’t want him to get discouraged."

"I think Master Pippin will be just fine however it all comes out," Hamfast smiled. "Are you maybe just a bit worried about puttin’ your teachin’ skills up against old Tobias’s?"

Sam winced. "It might have crossed my mind that if Master Pippin didn’t do so well that it might be because I’m not a carpenter. I mean, I’m a fine gardener thanks to you, but I’m not a carpenter like Mister Tunnely. What if Master Pippin’s wheelbarrow winds up lookin’ shabby next to what Mister Tunnely’s students have entered?"

"Sammy, you worry too much and you forget to take credit for what’s owed you," Hamfast grinned. "I had a peek at that first wheelbarrow that the Took lad built." He made a face. "From what I seen, you done worked a miracle by teachin’ him to build a proper one. That one he’s built this time is first rate. You helped that lad and that’s what counts when you’re teachin’ someone."

"I suppose," Sam said a bit uncertainly.

"Course it is," Hamfast laughed. "Take Mister Frodo for instance. Now, when Mister Bilbo first left us, Mister Frodo might have starved to death if it weren’t for you and Marigold cookin’ for him and bringin’ him things. Now, he’s a right good hand in a kitchen and that’s thanks to you and your sister givin’ him a few pointers along the way. Mister Frodo might not ever take a prize in a cookin’ contest, but he’s improved more than seemed likely at first."

Sam grinned at the memory of some of Frodo’s less than successful efforts at cooking. "So you’re sayin’ that even if Master Pippin don’t win, he’s still learned a lot?"

"That is exactly what I’m sayin’, lad," Hamfast said, finishing the last of his ale and standing to leave. "And from all I hear, you’ve learned a thing or two about standin’ on freshly shellacked wood."

Sam blushed.

"Always good if the student can help out the teacher from time to time," Hamfast laughed. "But then everyone always tells me you got your feet firmly planted. This time, they’d have been right." He winked at Sam and as he left the kitchen he called out. "Put out the lantern and go on to bed, Sammy. No tellin’ what tomorrow will bring, but you don’t want to sleep through it all."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Frodo quietly opened the door to Pippin’s room and looked in. It took his eyes a minute to adjust to the darkness. The light from the fireplace danced over the walls. Frodo’s eyes rested on Pippin’s sleeping form stretched out on the bed on his stomach with one arm draped over the side of the bed and the other underneath his head. He could hear Pippin’s even breathing and he smiled. Another problem solved. He backed out of the room and went to check on Merry. The snores from Merry’s room brought another smile to his face. Both lads were sleeping peacefully.

He closed Merry’s door and headed down the hall to his own room. Tonight would be a restful one for the hobbits of Bag End. Maybe he’d read a bit before he settled in for the night. There was nothing like a good story to help him drift off to sleep.

TBC