~Part Two~

30 ~ Lessons

I watch carefully as Ellis scratches the letters to his name out on the small slate I had given him. We’ve already gone over the letters of the alphabet, and now I am showing him which ones make up his name. I am glad we’ve progressed so far in our first lesson. Ellis is an eager and quick learner.

As we continue, I can’t help but glance out the window at the road. Before I came home I got a letter from Sam saying that one of Rosie’s great-aunts had died and that they’d be gone till the day after I got home. The house seemed so lonely yesterday with just me and Wanderer. I am glad I changed my mind and had Ellis over for a lesson today instead of starting in a few months when we had planned.

“Here you are, Mr. Frodo, E-L-L-I-S. Ellis!” the boy exclaims, showing me the roughly shaped letters on his slate.

“Perfect!” I say. “Now which letter is the ‘e’?”

“The first one,” he replies.

“And what kind of letter is an ‘e’?” I ask. We had just gone over this.

“A vow-el,” he says, stumbling over the unfamiliar word.

“Exactly. Do you remember the vowels I taught you?”

As he lists the five vowels, Wanderer comes up and curls himself in my lap, purring.

“That cat is right attached to you, Mr. Frodo,” Ellis states, watching us intently. “I ain’t seen an animal that attached to no one, unless it were a dog.”

I smile down at Wanderer, then look back at Ellis. “I found him left in a basket here at Bag End when the place was in ruins. He rarely ever leaves my side unless he’s off exploring.”

“He mist know you’re somethin’ special,” Ellis says matter-of-factly.

I gaze at him moment, then look away, unsure how to respond to his words. I’m really not anything special.

“Can we learn how to spell your name now, Mr. Frodo?” he asks, as if not noticing my look.

“Of course!” I say, and I’m in the middle of explaining how you add titles to names when a cart rolls up the lane, and Sam and Rosie come up the walk, waving goodbye to the driver, a distant cousin of Sam’s.

I try to remain calm, and focus on the lesson, but Ellis stops me, saying, “Mr. Frodo,” and nodding his head towards the door, smiling.

I grin at him, then leap to my feet. I have the door opened and am in Sam’s arms almost before Rosie knows I’m there. She jumps a little, started at the sudden movement, but chuckles a moment later when Sam lets me go.

“Well, somebody missed you, Sam dear,” Rosie says with a laugh.

Sam blushes and looks at me. “How are you? Did Mr. Merry and Mr. Pippin take good care of you?”

I nod. “They did. Tried to fatten me up on Pippin’s cooking,” I say with a laugh, then step back so he can look at me. “As you can see, they weren’t very successful. Experiments are not often the pleasantest thing to eat.”

There’s a giggle from the doorway, and I suddenly remember Ellis and the lesson. I wave for the lad to come out and introduce him to Rose.

“At your service,” he says, bowing politely.

“We were in the middle of a lesson,” I say.

“Well, then, go have your lesson, and Rosie an’ me’ll just unpack our bags, and get settled,” Sam says, but I insist on helping him carry their bags in before returning to Ellis’ lesson.

“Was Sam your servant, Mr. Frodo?” Ellis questions when we sit back down to our lesson.

“Yes, he was.”

“But he isn’t now,” Ellis asks. “You treat him like a brother.”

“Yes. He’s far more than a brother,” I reply quietly. “He’s my heart.”

Ellis looks at me a moment, then says, “My sister was mine.”

I look at from the slate and stare at the boy for a moment. I hadn’t expected him to understand what I meant.

“When she died, a part of me died with her,” he says gazing at me. “My friends find it strange. They don’t understand.”

“Not many do,” I reply, smiling at this boy, wondering at how perceptive he is.

“I’m glad you do, Mr. Frodo,” he says with a smile.