[Orual]

"Rose! We're late!"

Sam raced to the coat closet and began passing out coats to his children with hasty orders to put them on quickly, they were going to miss the party! "Rose, are you ready? It's time to go!"

"I heard you the first time, Sam," Rose called, sounding irritable. She came into the room, pulling a coat on little Hamfast, who was struggling violently against his mother's efforts, with the occasional piercing scream to accentuate his dislike of the situation. Rose looked like her nerves had been worn ragged, and she gave her husband a dark glare to make sure he knew that she wasn't pleased, and she put one hand on her swollen belly to make sure he remembered that she was, indeed, pregnant.

Sam smiled and went over to Hamfast, giving him a conspiratorial "don't cross your mother right now" look, and pulled on his coat the rest of the way. "Is everybody ready?" he asked, and was met with affirmative cheers. The eldest three of his children looked particularly excited, but his entire brood were anxious to get to the Inn. He picked up Hamfast, stood up, put a hand on Rose's shoulder, and squeezed it gently. He met her eyes and mouthed thank you. His wife smiled reluctantly and tugged on Goldilocks' jacket. The girl looked up quizically, then shrugged. Sam directed them out the door.

The ride to the Green Dragon wasn't long, and filled with the excited chatter of children. Sam, however, looked preoccupied, and of course Rose noticed. "What's on your mind, Sam?" she asked.

Sam looked over at her, a hint of apology in his glance. "Just thinking about things," he hedged.

Rose looked at him with an amused smile. "What kinds of things?" she pressed.

Sam sighed. He was really in no mood for these kinds of games, so he caved in much earlier than he usually did; their banter would last for half an hour or more, sometimes, before they got to the core of an issue. "It's Frodo," he confessed. Rose shifted in her seat and looked at him intently, paying real attention now. "I'm just worried...it's been so long, Rose. It's been twelve years. I don't know if I'll know him anymore."

Rose said nothing.

"All I have is memories of him...but they're all good memories, mainly. I'm afraid that over the past twelve years I've created this person who never existed, who isn't really Frodo." He sighed again. "I'm afraid I've forgotten, and that's exactly what I wasn't supposed to do."

Rose put a hand on his arm. "I didn't know Frodo all that well, Sam, but I do know that everything you've told the children about him is true. He was all that you think he was--or else the truth was too deep for you to be expected to see it."

Sam smiled at her. "We'll see soon enough. There's the Inn."

He unloaded his clan from the back of the cart, and gave them a short lecture on how to behave at the party. He wasn't worried; they were good children. The lecture was mainly to distract himself from his worries. But there would be no distraction soon. He took a deep breath and his wife by the arm, and entered the Inn.

********************************************


ArwenBaggins post:

Elanor followed her parents into the Inn, holding little Goldilocks’ hand. Her sister tried to wriggle free, but Elanor tightened her grip as a wave of people came over them.

Shouts were heard from the crowd, like: ‘Here comes Samwise Gamgee!’ and ‘Make way for the Gamgees!’

Elanor was amazed. People were everywhere. Elanor brushed her golden hair from her eyes, looking at the hobbits and the Elf. Her breath became scarce, and a smile overtook her rosy face.

"Goldilocks! Look! An Elf! It's Piosenniel." Her little sister ignored her, trying to waddle off toward her mother. Her father had started ahead, toward a table in a corner where Frodo and his old friends were supposedly sitting.

[ February 28, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]