The Journey Alone: Chapter 4 After the Wedding
October 29, 3001 (T.A.) 1401 (S.R.)
Frodo's POV
When I kissed Pearl, I had never been so happy in my entire life. Everyone started cheering, and the younger hobbits threw flower petals in the air, no doubt provided by Sam. We walked back slowly between the guests, where I swept Pear of her feet and kissed her heartily, since the crowd had begun to chant "kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!" She was laughing so much that she could barely kiss me back. We held hands and walked over the Hill on top of Bag End to wait for the cooks and servants Pearl's family had hired to help at the party to set up.
Once there, I began my new favorite pastime: kissing Pearl.
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Once we finally broke away from kissing and giggling, we had no idea what time it was or how long we had been away.
"We'd better go to the tent. We wouldn't want to miss our own party!" Pearl said. We walked to the party tent holding hands and slipped in as quietly as we could. Pearl's father gave us a knowing look and we both blushed.
The party had started without us, so I called over a hobbit who was serving drinks. I grabbed two for Pearl and I and quietly began to observe everyone around us.
All the hobbits were nibbling on something, and many were drinking ale. They tended to sit together in family groups, but were mingling with everyone when not sitting down and eating. I noticed Merry and Pippin, who were whispering to each other, probably planning some joke. I hoped that whatever they planned on doing that it wouldn't be played on us. A band of hobbits began to play songs traditionally played at weddings and regular parties. Pippin, of course, began to show off his dancing to some young lady hobbits around his age. He nearly crashed into several hobbits, however, so I thought I ought to show off my dancing. I turned to Pearl, who was rolling her eyes at Pippin's antics.
"Shall we dance?" I asked her.
"Let's," she said. I led her to the dance floor and began one of the traditional dances done at weddings. More couples joined us gradually, dancing vigorously and trying to keep up with the pace Pearl and I set. Pippin settled down somewhat and asked a Chubb lass to dance.
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Later on during, the party, after a large meal, as large as only hobbits can eat, a rather fast paced dance began. First, the gentlehobbits dance alone to start the dance. Then they stand off to the side while the lady hobbits dance alone. Finally, they form couples and dance, before a circle is formed and the hobbits dance in a circle with different partners for each rotation. Pippin, who was quite obviously drunk, began the dance alright, although he was certainly not dancing his best. Actually, he was quite clumsy and almost tripped over his own feet. Once the third part of the dance with the couples began, he began dancing more erratically. He spun far too quickly for the tempo of the song, all the while laughing hysterically. His partner was trying to get him to slow down to no avail. Finally, he lost his balance and fell directly into the wedding cake.
The band stopped playing immediately and everyone stopped dancing and stared at Pippin, who had cake covering his entire body. At first, everyone was shocked into silence, but Pippin started laughing at his own stupidity. That started everyone laughing.
"Only Pippin could succeed in making a spectacle of himself, drawing all attention to him at his own sister's wedding," I said.
"Just imagine my mother's face right now," Pearl said. That sent us into more peals of laughter.
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After a new, albeit smaller, cake had been bought over from somewhere, the dancing began again. Eating was being done almost constantly, as the party lasted all afternoon and into the late evening. Everyone had a splendid time, and the party was still going strong when Pearl and I decided to leave. We bid our farewells to Pearl's parents and siblings among many tears. We slipped off quietly as possible, not wishing to have a big to-do over our departure.
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Pearl's POV
After we left the party around nine o'clock, Frodo and I hurried into Bag End, trying to avoid annoying relatives. I won't retell everything that happened that night, as it is quite private, but I will say that we found out what Merry and Pippin were planning for their joke. They jumped out of our closet and gave me quite a scare. Thankfully, they did it before they saw anything embarrassing. Frodo shooed them out of the house quite angrily. But I wasn't too mad at them. In fact, it was actually pretty funny.
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December 20, 3001 (T.A.) 1401 (S.R.)
A few days before Yule, we had some friends over for supper, since we would be going to my parents' house for the actual holiday. Sam and Gaffer Gamgee were there, as well as Rosie and Tolman Cotton and Merry and Pippin. Rosie and I were putting the last few touches on the meal while waiting for the duck to be done roasting over the fire. The men had retreated to the parlor after trying to help and making a gigantic mess of the kitchen. They were smoking their pipes and discussing the probability of snow that winter.
"Pearl?" Rosie asked.
"Yes?" I said, not looking up from the cake I was frosting. The amount of frosting was actually making me nauseous, but Frodo loves extra frosting on his cake, so I continued to put it on. I was also trying to subtly make Frodo put on weight.
"Do you think that Sam will propose soon?" she asked me.
"I'm sure he will eventually. It's obvious he loves you. He just has to get the courage to ask, which he doesn't have quite yet," I said.
"Really? He actually loves me?" Rosie asked, astonished.
"He's never even told you?" I asked. Rosie shook her head. "Well. Perhaps I will drop a hint to him myself," I said. Suddenly, the scent of the duck became overpowering to me, and combined with the enormous amount of frosting right in front of me, I nearly threw up. I gripped the table in front of me to steady myself.
"Pearl?" Rosie asked, concerned. I held up my hand, for her to stop, as bile rose up in my throat. I nearly threw up again, but I thankfully did not. I took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry Rose. It's just all that frosting nearly made me sick," I explained apologetically.
"Are you sure you're all right?" Pearl asked, unsure of what she should do. I nodded.
"I think that that is enough frosting for one cake, no matter what Frodo may say," I said, laughing nervously. Rosie shrugged. She picked up a fork and gently jabbed the duck's skin.
"I think it's done," Rosie said. But I didn't respond. The smell of the roasted duck was again bothering me, and I raced to the bathroom, where I threw up the entire contents of my stomach. I shakily cleaned myself up. I was determined that I would make it through the evening: I didn't want our guests to go home so abruptly, without eating. It would be terribly rude. I decided to fake it.
When I finally came out, Rosie was standing worriedly outside the door.
"Are you alright?" she asked me.
"Fine," I said, trying to smile. It probably looked more like a grimace. I must be taking lessons from Frodo. He always says he's fine when he's not, I thought wryly. "Let's go call everyone in for supper," I said, hoping to avoid Rosie's concern.
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Once everyone was seated, Frodo was quick to tell me how delicious everything looked. I smiled at him, and we began passing the food around. I took only small amounts of the food, hoping to avoid eating as much as possible so I wouldn't throw up again. Everyone was cheerfully chatting, so they didn't notice. At least, no one said anything to me. Rosie kept shooting me concerned glances.
Frodo also caught my eye and glanced at my still full plate, so I knew he noticed. He seemed confused about why I wouldn't eat that much. Once the meal was over, Frodo insisted on allowing Rosie to go sit in the parlor instead of washing the dishes. Rosie looked supremely happy at this, since she would have a chance to talk with Sam, but she was reluctant to leave me. I shooed her on, giving her a knowing look, and she blushed. Frodo laughed softly.
He followed me into the kitchen to help with the dishes. I was still determined not to let on I was sick until the guests had left. I gave Frodo a dish cloth and began washing the dishes while he dried. Frodo had other ideas, however.
"Pearl, are you alright? You didn't eat much at supper," Frodo asked while he dried.
"I'm fine," I said, continuing to wash the dishes and not meeting Frodo's eye. The dish I was washing was not the best smelling, as it had a bit of food left on it, and I immediately got nauseous again. I dropped the dish in the sink and grabbed the side of the sink. Frodo set down his dish he was drying and wrapped his arms around my waist. I threw up right there on the floor.
"Oh Pearl," Frodo sighed. He continued to hold me and rub my back as I threw up on the floor. Finally I finished and started crying. Frodo grabbed the dishcloth and gently wiped my mouth. I threw my head on his shoulder and cried. At that point, Rosie came in the kitchen and saw the mess on the floor and knew what was going on.
"I suspected as much. Here, Frodo: you take her to her bedroom and I'll clean up this mess. I can get everyone in here to help finish the dishes. I'll send Sam over with some clean cloths in a minute," Rosie said. I started to protest, since the guests doing the chores was not proper, but Rosie shooed us out of the kitchen. Frodo scooped me up and carried me into our bedroom. He set me on the bed while he got some fresh clothes for me. Then he helped me change into the fresh night gown.
Soon Sam came in with some extra blankets, clean cloths, and some tea for Frodo.
"I hope you feel better soon, Mistress Pearl," Sam said. I smiled my thanks and closed my eyes, relieved to finally be in bed.
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Frodo's POV
Pearl being sick was quite frightening to me. I had been sick enough as a child and tween, but I had never known Pearl to be this sick before. I also was nervous because I never had to care for a sick person on my own before. I tried to remember how my mother and Bilbo had cared for me when I was young and hoped for the best. I knew I could rely on Sam and the Gaffer to help me if I needed it.
Pearl didn't need my attention right away, because she fell asleep almost as soon as she hit the pillow. Rosie came in about a half hour later and told me that the kitchen had been cleaned up and the dishes washed, dried, and put away. I thanked her and told her to give the others my farewell.
Since Pearl was still asleep, I decided to take a look at my Ring that Bilbo had left me. I had been wondering quite a lot about that Ring ever since Gandalf had left so suddenly. It was still in the envelope that Gandalf had put it in. I was just about to take it out of the envelope when Pearl cried out in her sleep. I quickly put the Ring back and went to see to Pearl.
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Sorry this took so long I was on vacation for a while. Hopefully this chapter isn't too corny. Let me know what you think. Any ideas would be appreciated. ;)