It had been a week since my brother got home. I hadn't seen Merry again since that day. I tried to think of any excuse to go seek him out, but sadly I could think of none. So day in and day out, I worked on the farm. Always something to do, so at least I was able to keep busy.

There was to be a celebration in honor of the group returning. Since Merry hadn't seen me in the pink dress my mother made, I didn't mind wearing it again. I also had her help me fix my hair again. Lastly I donned the necklace my brother had brought me. When I looked in the mirror I felt beautiful. I hoped Merry would think I was too.

When we got to the celebration, there was a special table set up for them. There were early spring flowers everywhere. It was more grand a celebration than any wedding I had been to. It was beautiful. As usual, it was after dark when the party really got going. The music played loudly and the ale was plentiful. Even my parents got up and danced, which was a rare occasion in itself. There were quite a few girls I saw that had their eye on Fredegar now that he was an adventurer. He loved the attention and danced the night away with them all.

I kept my eye on Merry as much as I could without drawing too much attention to myself. My brother forced me up to dance a few times, and Merry and I took turns passing each other during the dances, but never had a whole dance together. I still cherished every moment I was able to be near him. I saw there were other girls doting on him. He didn't pay them much attention, but he didn't turn them away either, which caused a tiny pang of hurt to run through me.

I waited and waited around, but Merry never came to talk to me. A few drunk hobbits tried to get me to dance with them, but they were sloppy drunk. I had no desire to be groped in front of the Shire, so I said no. It was then that I realized the party had gotten a little too rowdy for me, so I took one last look at Merry and scuttled off to a quiet, dark spot by the lake. It was a perfect storybook night. A clear sky, a warm breeze in the air, crickets chirping, and frogs singing to their mates. I could hear the music from the party, but it wasn't overpowering anymore. I found an old log laid on its side by the lake. I sat down and looked up at the sky. The stars were as bright as they ever were. The moon was full and it lit up the ripples on the lake so much that it reminded me of the stars. I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. What a perfect night it was.

Soon after I sat down, I heard a twig snap behind me. I turned around and to my very pleasant surprise, there was Merry, walking toward me, with his pint of ale still in hand.

"May I join you?" He asked. I was beaming.
"Of course you can." I said shyly.

Merry sat down near to me, but not too close. "Beautiful night, eh?" He said. The smile I had would not stop. I nodded and said "Mmm hmm." Merry chuckled a little.

"You're sure not very talkative. I remember when you were younger, you could talk the ears off a billy goat." He joked. I snickered a little.

"I don't know what to say. You've been all over Middle Earth and seen everything imaginable. What is there that I could say that you haven't already heard?" I inquired.

"Ha!" He said. "There is plenty more to talk about." He smiled at me, then took a drink of his ale, but he didn't have any suggestions for conversation. We sat there in silence for a few minutes. Finally he spoke.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Merry said to me with a twinkle in his eye. I looked at him, curiously.

"Yes, of course. You can tell me anything," I gushed. Merry hesitated for a moment, then swallowed a drink from his stein, then set it down on the log beside him. He took deep breath and smiled.

"Do you remember the day I was walking by and you struck me with the fence post?" He began. Immediately I blushed and looked away in embarrassment.

"Yes." I murmured. Merry paused for a moment, then finally managed to get his words out.

"I wasn't just out for air. I was walking past your farm, hoping to see you. Ever since I saw you when I returned to Shire, I wanted to see you again and again. I was hoping I would get a chance to talk to you, but I lost my nerve as soon as I saw you." He chuckled to himself, then continued, "I was trying to walk past you without you noticing me when I got hit with the post."

The smile on my face was so big, I was sure it reached the corners of my ears. His words were like magic to me. I looked over to him, but he didn't return my gaze. He was looking out onto the lake, as if he was afraid of what I might think of his confession. I reached over and put my hand on his. At that, his eyes met mine. He saw my smile, and slowly one grew on his face too. He turned his hand over and our fingers intertwined. He started to lean in for a kiss. I knew what I should do; I should lean toward him and gently let our lips meet, but I panicked. Instead of landing his kiss on my lips, it ended up on my cheek. He pulled back, then turned away awkardly.

I tried to speak twice, but nothing came out. Then I finally managed, "I'm sorry, Merry. I've never kissed a boy before. I don't know what to do," I confessed. I was mortified. When I looked at Merry's face, I could tell there was hurt there. I pulled my hand away from his. He looked at me, then turned away again.

"I should be going. Good night, Estella." He said as he got up. I couldn't say anything. I sat there for a minute and just watched him walk away. I sighed, then beat myself up over my own stupidity. All I wanted was Merry and I may have ruined it. How could I reject something I wanted so badly?

Suddenly it dawned on me what I had to do. I got up and ran after Merry. I caught up with him and touched his shoulder from behind. He bolted around to face me, and seemed surprised to see me. I threw my arms around his neck (which was rather hard, considering how tall he was compared to me) and I planted a deep, long kiss on his soft lips. He wrapped his arms around my waist and held me tight. The kiss he returned was so full of passion that I felt my knees give out. Instead of falling to the ground, Merry lifted me up and continued the kiss without missing a beat.

When he finally set me back down, I was shaking. He took off his cloak and put it around my shoulders, then pulled me in for a long embrace. He kissed my forehead, then said "Let me walk you home." I said nothing, but I reached my hand to his and grasped it firmly. We walked next to the lake, slowly making our way to my home. Before we rounded the curve near my house, he pulled me in for another long kiss. I savored every second of it. When we got to my door, I noticed all of the lights were out. My mother and father must have been at the party still, or they were in bed. I was sure my brother was still at the party, soaking up all of the attention from the girls as he could.

Merry walked me all of the way to my door, then snuck in another quick kiss. Our hands were the last thing to part. I removed his cloak and gave it back to him. He waited until I was inside and shut the door before he walked away. I caught a glimpse of him from our front window. He had a wide smile and seemed to walk confidently down the road toward his home. The smile on my face mimicked his. My cheeks hurt from smiling so wide. It wasn't until I turned around and saw my mother sitting in her chair next to the fire, knitting, that the smile quickly dropped off my face. As soon as she saw my face turn from elated to serious, she laughed out loud.

"Don't worry, Estella. Your secret is safe with me. Off to bed with you, now." She said, never missing a stitch with her knitting. I couldn't help but smile again. The smile just wouldn't stop. I was beaming all of the way to my room, I smiled as I changed into my night clothes, I smiled as I crawled into bed and covered myself up, and I smiled as I drifted off to sleep. The best night of my life, I thought to myself as I dozed off.