14: Reminiscing Under the Party Tree

Merry locked the door as Frodo had requested, and then checked on Pippin, as Pervinca had asked him to. Pippin threw a pillow at him the moment he opened the door.

“Go away!” the Took cried in an exasperated voice. “There isn’t any treasure in here. Just a very tired and annoyed Took!”

“It’s just me, Pip,” said Merry, holding his hands in front of him to deflect any more projectiles.

Pippin pulled the covers away from his head and peeped at his cousin. “Oh, Merry! Thank goodness! I was afraid more treasure hunters had come to search my room. Folco’s brothers, Faramond and Jago, were here a little while ago, with Fredegar’s cousin, Hamilcar. They were awfully rude when I asked them to leave.”

Merry nodded. The same three hobbits had given he and Frodo trouble when they had been shown to the door.

“And then I heard the S.-Bs screeching! Can’t a lad get a bit of quiet around here?”

“I think Frodo’s been asking the same question.”

Pippin sat up. “Where’s Pervinca?”

“Not sure. She went out a little while ago.” Merry slapped himself on the forehead. “And I’ve gone and locked the door. I hope she didn’t want to come back.”

“I’m sure she would have gone to The Green Dragon.” Pippin’s stomach growled. “Oh, I am so hungry.”

“Well, get out of bed! It’s already past noon. Why don’t we pack a picnic and look for Pervinca.”

“Must we?” Pippin whined, for he had been looking forward to a much belated breakfast in bed.

“Yes! A bit of fresh air will do you good.”

Pippin grumbled some more, but did get out of bed. He dressed while Merry prepared a picnic afternoon tea for them both. They locked the door behind them, and Merry pocketed the spare set of keys.

It was not difficult for them to find Pervinca. She was sitting under the Party tree with Sam and Rose Cotton, and they were having a picnic too, graciously supplied by Mrs. Cotton. Pervinca called to them. “Pippin! Merry! Over here!”

“Good afternoon, sirs,” Sam greeted, as they climbed the hedge. “How are you feeling Master Pippin?”

Merry laughed. “Pervinca told you about Pip’s unfortunate accident, I assume.”

“Indeed, she did.”

“Well, let’s just tell everyone, shall we?” Pippin grumbled.

“I think it would be best not to tell Frodo,” Merry suggested. “He has enough weighing on his mind.”

“One of those things walked passed a little while ago,” Pervinca giggled. “What ever did he say to Lobelia? She was in a rotten temper!”

Merry laughed. “Well, dear Uncle Bilbo left her a lovely set of silver spoons, as a gift. I think we all know what was meant by that! She certainly wasn’t too happy when she found them. Then, of course, a couple of trinkets just happened to fall into her umbrella, and she was even angrier when we were forced to take them back. Oh, and you know what? She called Frodo a Brandybuck! Fancy trying to use my family as an insult like that.”

“I don’t even know them that well and I dislike them,” said Rosie, meaning the Sackville-Bagginses. “Lotho asked me for a dance at the party.”

Pippin snorted. “I certainly hope that you said no in the nastiest way possible.”

“Actually, I told him that I was looking for someone and quickly ran off. He must have seen me dancing with Sam not too long after.”

“Good afternoon, my young friends!” Gandalf called from the hedge. “Recovering from too much partying, I see.”

“More or less,” Merry replied. “Some of us more than others.” He grinned as Peregrin scowled at him.

“Is Frodo in?”

“He is, though he has had a rather tiring day. Last I saw him, he was very much in need of a cup of tea.”

“As am I,” Gandalf stated. “And I need to speak to him.” The wizard started to walk towards the front door, but stopped and turned back to face the hobbits. “I have a favour to ask of you lads – and the lasses, too, of course. Keep an eye on Frodo when I am not about. He needs his friends now more than he ever has before.”

“You can count on us, Mister Gandalf,” Sam said, solemnly. With a nod, Gandalf continued on his way.

“It’s so strange to think that Mister Bilbo won’t be around anymore,” sighed Rosie. “No more, ‘My goodness, Rosie, haven’t you grown’ or ‘You know, you remind me of some of the elf-maidens I met on my journey’. He’s really gone.”

“Aye, but at least we still have Mister Frodo,” said Sam. “Just imagine – if they had both gone, it may have been Lobelia sitting up there in Bag-End!”

Merry nodded. “I can’t dent that it saddened me when Frodo left Brandy Hall, but it was the best thing for him. Bilbo always looked after him.”

“You know the first thing Mister Frodo did when he moved here?” Sam patted the Party tree behind him. “He climbed this tree. Frightened the life outta me, he did! Not to mention poor Mister Bilbo.”

“Why ever did he do that?” Merry laughed.

“Beggin’ your pardon, Mister Merry, but I thought it might have been some odd Brandybuck thing.” Sam blushed, obviously uncomfortable as he thought he was slandering Merry’s family.

But Merry just laughed again. “No, Sam, though we may take responsibility for the love of boating, Brandybucks fear heights as much as any hobbit. Sometimes more.”

“It’s the Tooks that have no problems with heights,” Pervinca admitted.

“That’s right!” piped Pippin. “I’ve climbed this tree a few times. Frodo and I used to climb it a lot, while Merry and Bilbo yelled at us to come down. But didn’t you climb it once too, Merry?”

“Yes, once,” Merry answered. “And only once. You and Frodo bullied me into it, and I ended up falling out and breaking my wrist.”

“Of course!” laughed Pervinca. “I was here too, and I had to help Frodo hold you down while Healer Bunce set your wrist. I’ve never heard anyone scream so loud!”

Merry grinned. “Poor Healer Bunce was always at Bag-End when we came to visit. Pip, Sam, do you remember when we had the snow fight with Frodo, Bilbo and Gandalf?”

Sam chuckled. “How could I forget? I believe it was Mister Frodo who started it all.”

“When did this happen?” Pervinca asked, giggling. Rose was having trouble containing her own laughter. The image of Bilbo and Gandalf tossing snowballs like a couple of hobbit lads was almost too much to imagine.

“Yule, a few years back,” Merry explained. “Pippin and I were sent to Bag-End so that the rest of the family could have a peaceful Yule, for once.”

“Ah, the year you both came back with the most dreadful chills! Can I assume your snow fight may have had something to do with that?”

“You can indeed, Miss Pervinca,” replied Sam. “I was sick in bed for three whole days after.”

They probably would have gone on swapping fond memories of Bilbo Baggins for hours, but Rosie looked up at the sky. “It’s getting later. I’d best be getting home.”

“I’ll take you home, Rosie,” Sam offered. “Are you three staying with Mister Frodo again tonight?”

Merry nodded. “My mother came this morning and told me that we could, as long as Frodo didn’t mind. We aren’t leaving for Buckland until tomorrow, and I think Pippin and Pervinca’s family is coming with us.”

“How splendid!” Pippin cried. “I had forgotten that. It’s been a while since we last visited Buckland.”

Merry smirked at Pervinca. “My cousin, Berilac, has been asking me about you, quite a lot recently. He told me he was going to ask you for a dance yesterday, though I don’t suppose he did.”

“No,” said Pervinca, “though he might have, had I not spent most of the party caring for Pippin.” She wrinkled her nose. “I do not think that Berry is really my type.”

“Why? Because he’s a Brandybuck?” Merry pretended to be deeply insulted.

“I think we should leave before Mister Merry and Miss Pervinca break into a fist fight,” Sam suggested, with a grin. He took hold of Rosie’s arm. “Good evening to you all.”

“Good bye, Sam, Rosie!” Pippin called.

“Good bye!” Rosie called back. “Come and visit soon, Pervinca. You’ll always be welcome.”

Pippin shook his head at his cousin and sister. “Come on, you two, let’s get back inside.”

“I did not mean anything against your family, Merry,” Pervinca argued, as they walked towards the front door of Bag-End. “I merely meant that Berry is not the sort of lad I would wish to marry.”

“Well, who is?”

Pippin held his tongue. He had seen that Sam and Pervinca seemed quite comfortable around each other, but nothing more than that. In fact, he thought Rosie had been sitting closer to Sam than Pervinca had been, and Rosie’s parting comment had not been missed. Pippin knew that if anything had happened between Sam and Pervinca, Rose would not have been so pleasant.

“Well, Merry, if you must know,” Pervinca continued, “I thought Master Everard Took looked very handsome yesterday. And he certainly knows how to dance. I’ve never seen anyone do the Springle-ring so well!”

Merry laughed. “I should have known you would choose a Took.” Still laughing, he walked on ahead of his cousins.

Keeping his voice low so that Merry would not hear, Pippin asked his sister: “Everard? What happened between you and Sam?”

Pervinca smiled. “We decided that we would be friends.”

“Well, that’s good to hear. Rosie too?”

“Yes, Rosie and I are going to be friends too.”

Pippin grinned. “It’s about time you made some lass friends. You can’t always be with me and Merry. We don’t want to hear about how much you like Ev!”

Pervinca playfully swung at her brother, but he ducked and hugged her around the waist. Locked in a hug, they ran to catch up with Merry.