In the Garden

25 Halimath, 1418 SR

“You hear all sorts of things as you shouldn’t while you’re in the garden, specially if you keep real quiet like and don’t draw attention to yourself. Then folk just rather forget that you’re even there and you become no more’n part of the scenery, just another shrub so to speak. When that happens, they’ll go on and on with their talking and their playing and whatnot, and you can hear all sorts of things and learn things that you’d best not know at all for they ain’t none of your business, but they come in handy sometimes too.

“Take for instance that summer when I was thirteen. It were real hot that summer it was, and before the sun even rose over the hills come morning, it was already balmy and musty and so warm you could walk about in your smallclothes and still feel too covered up. We started early in the summers, my Gaffer and me, and usually took our first breakfast with us to eat standing as we gathered our tools and things as we’d need for that day’s work. We were busy working even before you all were awake and stirring, even on that day when you and Mr. Bilbo’d had guests from your Took and Brandybuck relations and young ones in the smial who were always into something, especially Master Pippin. Just three years old at the time and already he was a force to be reckoned with. Knew well enough what ‘yes’ meant but ‘no’ seemed to faze him to no end and he never paid it any mind.

“Mr. Merry was there also, though he were Master Merry back then, and he was the first one to wake up that day, and he came out to greet us good morning and chitchat a bit while we worked and he waited for the others to drag themselves out of bed. He’d just turned eleven a coupl of months afore and he said that morning as he couldn’t wait to be my age and how grand it would be to be a Teen. I told him as so far it weren’t no different than being twelve, but he insisted that it was a grand event in a young hobbit’s life to become a teen, and that only becoming a tween and later coming of age could beat it, but he didn’t reckon on coming of age very much because then he’d be old and too tired to do aught as was fun. He was certain that teens got to do all sorts of things that younger hobbits couldn’t do and I did have to admit that when I turned thirteen just that past Astron that Gaffer said as I could stay up an hour later at nights and he left me alone more often in the garden than he did afore, though he still checked on my work come time to head for home and asked me why I did this or didn’t do that, just to hear my answers more’n aught else.

“Then you came out after a time and stood listening as Mr. Merry rattled on about all the things he thought he’d be doing once he was a teen and now that I think on it, it was you as gave me the idea that if I could keep myself still and go unnoticed, I’d hear things as I normally wouldn’t, for as soon as you lost the battle and laughed aloud and Mr. Merry knew as you was standing there, he turned beet red and wouldn’t say another word on the matter. You taught me somewhat valuable in that small instant, Mr. Frodo, and so with that lesson fresh in my mind, I did something as I never did afore that day.

“It was just after luncheon when it happened and instead of getting up and stepping away or clearing my throat real loud like or clacking the clippers a bit harder than normal, I tucked myself away behind the hedge I was trimming and pretended as I was concentrating too hard to notice that Mr. Saradoc, Mr. Paladin and Mr. Bilbo had come around the bend and were sitting under the elm talking about you and how you were getting on in Hobbiton. Seems that even though you’d been there a few years now and that everyone could see how Hobbiton agreed with you and all, Mr. Saradoc still worried about you while he was living away in Brandy Hall and couldn’t see you every day to reassure himself that all was well.

“Now, I knew afore this that you had lived with your cousins Mr. Saradoc and Mistress Esmeralda and Mr. Merry afore you moved out to Hobbiton to be with Mr. Bilbo and become his heir and all. And I knew as you came to live there acause everyone figured as you’d do better with some one-on-one attention as you could get from Mr. Bilbo that your guardians simply hadn’t the time for. What I didn’t know was that you’d been a right scoundrel when you’d been living in Bucklebury. Now, I know as you had hinted at it afore, telling me about some of your less harmless pranks and all, but the things I overhead that day were a right shock and I couldn’t help but think they were over-exaggerating quite a bit, and it would be years later that I finally accepted it as the truth. It did make me take a closer look at you the next few times I saw you, just to make sure you weren’t going to go off a gallivanting or raising a storm or somewhat like that, but as you remained as innocent and polite as could be hoped for, I let it slip from my mind and didn’t think no more on it until you told me and Mr. Pippin about them dogs as the Farmer Maggot sent after you for stealing all his ‘shrooms.

“Mr. Saradoc, now, he stood there next to the reading bench as Mr. Bilbo and Mr. Paladin were sitting on and he gazed at the back of Bag End and looked like as he was musing on something, then he said, ‘Frodo’s absolutely glowing, Bilbo.’ And he sighed real sad-like and went on. ‘Esme and I should have sent him to you sooner, I think. It would have saved everyone a lot of trouble.’

“‘He wasn’t ready to come any sooner than he did,’ Mr. Bilbo said. ‘He needed you, Esme and Merry as much as anything else, and he wouldn’t have been any happier here if he had come before he wanted to. It needed to be his choice.’

“Then Mr. Saradoc said, ‘I know, but I still can’t help but think sometimes that if he’d been with you from the start, it would have been easier for him. He certainly never would have gone farm raiding to the extent that he did, taking so much it had to be paid for. He never would have disappeared for days at a time, and Esme and I never would have been reduced to shouting matches just to get him to listen to us.’

“‘And he’d never have learned to face the Brandywine again, and he would never be able to look at or think of Buckland without thinking of his parents,’ Mr. Bilbo said next. ‘He never would have known Merry so well, and that whole side of his family would be a mystery to him, a mystery shrouded in dark memories and grief. And it wasn’t always bad. There are many happy memories, if what Frodo tells me is true.’

“‘There are indeed. I’m glad that he remembers them. He’s still a bit formal with us; I thought maybe all he could remember were the fights and the punishments,’ Mr. Saradoc said and he looked off all sad again. Then he cleared his throat a bit and seemed to pull himself together a little and he said, ‘He’s still making friends here?’

“‘Oh yes, without a doubt,’ Mr. Bilbo answered straight away. ‘All the young hobbit children just adore him, and young Folco Boffin simply can’t get enough of Frodo. He’s here nearly every week while his aunt visits with Dora, and he and Frodo go fishing, exploring, racing, anything that comes to their minds. It can be a bit dangerous; Folco isn’t the most coordinated lad, but Frodo manages well enough and they never get more than a few scratches or bruises on them.’

“Mr. Paladin laughed then. ‘He still has a healthy appetite for mischief though I wager. Not all that he got up to in Buckland ended in disaster, Sara, though that is unfortunately all that he’s remembered for. Some of his pranks were just that and I believe I’ve seen evidence of that scamp’s dirty work more than a couple of times since he moved to these parts, though he makes sure nothing can be traced back to him.’

“Mr. Bilbo laughed then. ‘Oh indeed! That lad can be quite the rascal still, let me assure you, but not a bad one by any means. He’s learned his lesson about that at any rate and never does anything that will raise any ire most times, and he’s quick to realize his error and apologize when he does. He uses little Samwise the same way he did Merry, getting the lad to do all sorts of things that wouldn’t normally pop into his mind, but he’s such a darling that no one can really scold him, whereas they wouldn’t think twice about strapping Frodo across the bum had he done the same thing.’

“Now, I don’t have to tell you that at this point, I felt my ears burning right up at that. I hadn’t reckoned on overhearing naught about myself and I was starting to wonder if this eavesdropping business was such a good idea after all, but at this point I was past curious and was wondering what all they could be talking about, as you never got me into any trouble that I could be remembering. I didn’t have to wait long to find out what Mr. Bilbo was talking about as both Mr. Saradoc and Mr. Paladin wanted an example of just what kind of mischief you were causing.

“Mr. Bilbo laughed right hard then and it was some time afore he could get enough control of himself to talk and all the while he was talking, his voice was tight and high and he would still chuckle from time to time and when I peeked through the branches of the bushes I could see him wiping tears from his eyes. ‘Well, it was just a couple of months ago at the Spring Festival. All the tween lads and lasses were getting ready for the maypole dance and trying to figure out how to time their dancing so they would end at the same time as their would-be partners. The lasses are always better at that sort of thing and more than a few of the lasses had their eyes on Frodo and were getting ready to slip their flowers into his collar or behind his ear or wherever else they could reach. Quite a few of them were most determined in their endeavors and some of them were beginning to fight amongst themselves over who would be dancing with Frodo at the bonfires that night. Frodo overhead all this of course, and so he went about the lads and found out which ones were interested in which lass and then sent little Sam running up to the lasses with the flowers from the lads, and sure enough, as soon as the lasses got those, they forgot all about Frodo. But there were two lasses left and they were getting ready to start a brawl, so Frodo picks some flowers from a basket and sends Sam up to them to tell them that the flowers were from secret admirers and they were to meet with said admirers behind the elm tree after dinner. Then Frodo found two lads who were arguing over a lass, and had Sam go up and tell them the same thing! Luckily, once the four of them got together, they decided that they liked each other well enough to finish out the day together and so none of them thought to track down Sam and demand why he had done what he did.’

“Well, you can imagine that Mr. Saradoc and Mr. Paladin quite enjoyed that tale and they laughed at it all for a bit and then Mr. Paladin said, ‘And so Frodo got away without having to dance with anyone!’

“‘Well, no,’ Mr. Bilbo said then and he gets to chuckling again. ‘He found that lass the two lads had been arguing over and danced with her the whole night. He was a bit fond of her, turns out.’

“Now they were all laughing themselves to tears, and Mr. Saradoc even had to bend over and put his hands on his legs to keep himself from toppling over. I didn’t understand then what was so funny about it all, as it seemed to me that everything worked out for everyone in the end and no one was left wanting for a dance partner, but now I understand how sneaky you had been to do what you, or rather I, did.

“‘Lucky indeed, that they didn’t think to question Sam,’ Mr. Paladin said when he got his breath about him again. ‘Frodo could have found himself on the glaring end of two very angry lads, not to mention all those lasses.’

“‘I doubt very much Sam would have given Frodo up if he thought it would bring harm to him,” Mr. Bilbo said and I had nodded stoutly to that for it were the right truth sir. Even then, I was looking out for you. Now, most times when you would have me do things for you, folk found it funny or amusing and then I had no trouble telling them that it was you as suggested I do it, like that time I took Missus Rumble’s spare bits of lace trimming and fashioned a bow from it and tied it ‘round a bit of fur atop her cat’s head. She rather liked that she did, and she even started making little bows especial for her Misty after that. Every once in a while though, someone would be upset with what I’d done, like that joke I’d told once to Miss Dora about the cows and steers that I didn’t rightly understand at the time, and she went stark white and drew her lips together real tight when she heard it, and when she asked where I heard that joke from and why was I telling it to her, I just shrugged and gave her my best innocent-as-can-be look and said that I’d heard as she liked cows a whole lot and thought mayhap she might enjoy the joke. Then she patted my head and gave me a candy piece and told me to scamper off and to not go ‘bout repeating everything the older lads say. And when I told you what Miss Dora had done, you just snickered to yourself and congratulated me on a job well done but you wouldn’t tell me why she got so upset, so I figured as it was just because she didn’t have a sense of humor and hadn’t wanted to admit to it. I’ve figured out what that joke meant since then of course, and I was so embarrassed about it that I couldn’t rightly look at her those last few years she was living.

“Anyhow, that was the first time I ever eavesdropped a purpose but it weren’t hardly the last by a long shot, especially once you’d figured out as I’d learned that trick from you. Once you knew that I could eavesdrop, you added that to the things you’d ask me to do and they always seemed real harmless to me and for the most part they were. ‘Sam, go on down to market and stroll through the weavers’ booths. Missus Tuttle should be there, you know how she’s been trying to set me up with her daughter.’ ‘Sam, you’re working in the Tunnelly’s gardens today? I think that Lark lad was the one who busted Jay’s nose, but I don’t have any proof.’ ‘Sam, Folco and Fatty are planning to prank me back for that apple pie. When you go up to visit your cousin Hal, could you maybe try to find out what their plans are?’

“Lor’ but Gaffer did always say as you were a bad influence on me, teaching me things as I shouldn’t be knowing, but he liked you so much that he couldn’t begrudge me spending time with you, until I got older that is, but by then my education was near complete and you’d taught just about everything you knew there was to eavesdropping just by doing for you and all. I knew as it was wrong but as it was for you, then I figured as the good and the bad of it rather balanced itself out and came to naught in the end. And as I said, it did come in useful sir.

“Now, to be completely honest, every servant spies on his master, though to be polite and proper and all, we call it observing. ‘Tis part of our job, in a manner of speaking. Any good and average servant will tell you that you got to know what your master’s likes and dislikes are if you’re to serve him well, and a great servant will tell you that you got to be able to anticipate what your master might be wanting next, even afore he himself knows, and you can’t do that by keeping your eyes and ears closed, specially as most masters aren’t in the habit of telling their servants naught. So we got to observe, if you take my meaning.

“And being as I’m coming clean, I might as well tell you that this weren’t the first time as I spied on you. That’ve been just after Mr. Bilbo left and I found you sitting all by yourself atop Bag End, tears streaming down your face and you figuring as you’d always end up alone one way or another. Why, it near tore my heart out, it did, seeing you like that and I was that worrit as you’d go after Mr. Bilbo after all and leave us all behind. So I watched you, kept a real close eye on you for months after the Party, following you down to market, getting word from folks at the inns when you’d been there, even… even sneaking peeks at your journal – but only when you’d left it sitting open and I never turned the page! Anyhow, I kept on a watching you ‘til I saw as you were settling into your new role as Master of Bag End and head of the Baggins clan and all, which didn’t take near as long as I’d worrit it would. I can’t tell you enough how it eased my heart to see you settling in so quick and easy, like it fit you just right. Once I was sure you weren’t going to go traipsing off, I stopped my snooping quick as lightning.

“Mr. Merry though… Even if we weren’t all that close during most of those years, I could tell he were that worrit about you. He and Master Pippin came so often to visit, and more than a few of those visits being unannounced, like they were just checking in to make sure you hadn’t made off in the middle of the night and them not knowing about it. They were real careful not to crowd you too much, but there were times as they got into your hair, they did, like this one time as I was weeding the beds under the kitchen window and Mr. Merry and Master Pippin were visiting again, and even Mr. Fatty and Mr. Folco were there and getting in your hairs, and Mr. Merry and Master Pippin were pestering you near night and day about how there was no one to keep a proper eye on you and mayhap they should visit more often. You remember that surely? You went and clear lost your temper with them, though you kept a tight lid on it even then, and you said as why didn’t they just have me spy on you for them and save them the trouble. Well, seems as Mr. Merry remembered that and he thought it was a right good idea, he did, and—”

“Sam,” Mr. Frodo says, interrupting me in his quiet way. His lips are drawn real tight like and that’s never a good sign. He’s got his arms crossed in front of him even and he looks so small and out of place, or mayhap it’s Mr. Bilbo’s desk as he’s sitting in front of that looks small and out of place in this bedchamber here at Crickhollow.

“Yes, Mr. Frodo?” I say.

“Are you honestly trying to tell me that your spying on me was my doing?” Mr. Frodo asks.

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly put it that way, sir.”

“What way would you put it then, Sam?” he asks.

“Well, I know right enough as you probably reckoned as you were safe making that offer, seeing as Mr. Merry and I weren’t exactly on friendly terms at the time, and for myself I had no intention of taking it heart or naught but Mr. Merry now, he remembered that offer, he did, and so did I…

“Even if you did just say it as a joke, you did say it. Still, as I said, I weren’t going to do naught with it. But then this past Solmath came around and one day when I walked into the study to bring you your tea, I saw you sitting there with all them foreign maps spread out all over the place and you were tracing out paths on them with your finger and looking all wistful and far away, just like Mr. Bilbo afore he left. I tried to ignore it sir, I really did, but I kept seeing that look over the next couple of weeks and it sent a cold dread right through me, near to froze my blood. So I wrote to Mr. Merry, figuring as he’d drop by for one of his unannounced visits but he responded back saying as he was that busy and could I keep an eye on you until Mr. Pippin’s birthday, and I told him as I would because it was for you and so it couldn’t be bad, and you had said as I could.” And I try smirking at him a bit then but he’s still got that cold look about him, so I lower my eyes right quick to my toes and keep them there.

If it’s possible, I think I can hear Mr. Frodo’s wheels a turning in his head and after what seems as near to forever as I ever want to get, he lets out a big sigh and says, “What would your Gaffer say to this then, Sam? What goes around comes around? But you’re right. I suppose I can’t really act too surprised after encouraging you all those times. I just never thought you’d turn it against me.”

“Against you?” I look up real quick at that and shake my head. “Not at all sir. It was for you.”

“I know,” Mr. Frodo says. He’s a looking at the curtained window with that far off look in his eyes now, and with the wistfulness is mixed in worry and fear. “Just answer me one more question. Why do you want to come? In ten words or less.”

That last bit stumps me somewhat awful and I start to fidget as I try to think of ways to say all as I want to say in just ten words or less and it’s near impossible to be doing. I start counting out on my fingers the number of words I’m thinking on and I constantly have to start over and never getting anywhere near to just ten. I’m right flustered by the time I peek up and see that tiny little smile of his that he gets sometimes, where just the corners of his mouth go up and the rest of it is seen in his eyes, and they are that full of mischief. Oh, but he hasn’t changed for naught!

“Mr. Frodo! That weren’t fair!”

“Ten words, Sam.”

“Because… Because I can’t imagine the Shire without you and this way, I won’t have to.”

“That was a bit more than ten words,” Mr. Frodo says. He stands up from his desk stool and comes to stand just in front of me. He smiles at me in that soft way of his that just fills you up with warmth and knowing that you’re important to him. “Thank you, Sam. Merry was right. I can trust you to stick by me.”

“To the very end, sir,” I say.

His smile turns sad and he looks about ready to cry but he holds it back real stoic-like and it passes in a blink, so I don’t say naught about it. “To the very end, wherever that may be,” he says and after that there’s naught left to say.
 
 
 
 

GF 3/30/06