1.1 Chapter Rating: PG
1.2 Chapter 9: Coming Out Party
December 16th
The next day was no better weather-wise than the previous. Rain continued to freeze as it hit the already saturated ground. Icicles formed on eaves. No one was out in the terrible weather. All of Hobbiton relaxed inside snug homes and smials. Even the little temporary home of Tandy Bofin and Iris Proudfoot seemed luxuriously warm and inviting compared to the winter storm raging outside. It was the perfect day for drinking hot mulled wine and reminiscing.
Tandy Bofin was several years his cousin Iris's senior. He was engaged to Opal Fairbarn from Scary, but their wedding had been postponed until Tandy's living quarters were rebuilt. Tandy's people had always lived in Hobbiton, and one of the Bofins had always been its Apothecary. They were a steady, respectable family of plump, pleasant hobbits, in no way mixed up with adventures or trouble. A little bit more book-learned than most hobbits, but this was tolerated since it complimented their family business. Tandy was, in fact, distantly related to both Frodo and Bilbo Baggins, but had always kept their meetings on a professional level.
Most hobbits farmed for food, but the Bofins concentrated their efforts on medicinal plants. There had always been a therapeutic garden behind the Apothecary, as well as a large flower garden for making special teas. Tandy learned the family trade from his father, who had recently passed on. Tandy worked at the Apothecary since he was a tiny hobbit lad; mixing potions, distilling essences, making poultices, packaging teas and even perfecting a perfume or two.
A little bit of woodworking entered his trade from time to time, as he was required to make splints, crutches and canes. On bad weather days such as today, he spent his time whittling cane heads into fantastical shapes. Today he was working on a rather elaborate dragonhead carved from red maple. He was planning on inlaying some mother-of-pearl for the scales on the dragon's breast. It was to be a present to his future father-in-law. Tandy was taking extra special care on this carving. A small pile of wood shavings curled at his feet, to occasionally be swept up and tossed into the glowing fireplace. He had worked all day on the carving, and it was now well past suppertime.
Across from him sat his cousin, Iris Proudfoot, the new Hobbiton Physician. She was pleasant enough to look at in a rather typical hobbit way. Her brown curly hair was pulled back into a plat with the occasional tiny curl escaping from the braid. Her only unusual feature was her green eyes. They were leaf green – not hazel or grey-green, but true green. It was a family trait on her father's side which cropped up every other generation or so.
Iris sat by the fire reading a well-thumbed black leather bound book. She had brought most of her medical books with her from the South Farthing when she moved to Hobbiton. Since the ice storm was keeping her and her patients house-bound, she had decided to unpack her reference books. But since she and her cousin were forced to live inside a converted shack instead of a real house or hole, there was no place for the books to go. Her beloved books would have to remain in their boxes until the Apothecary, Physicians Office and their attendant living quarters were rebuilt.
"Tandy, what do you know about Frodo Baggins?" Iris asked.
"Well, I've known Frodo Baggins ever since he moved to Bag End with his cousin Bilbo," he said. Tandy continued to carve on the dragon head. "What do you want to know about 'em?"
"Bilbo is his cousin?" Iris looked up from her book. "I thought Bilbo was Frodo's uncle."
"That's what most folk think," Tandy replied. "I know the family a little better than most. In fact, I'm related to both of them on my father's side. Old Master Bilbo is actually Frodo's distant cousin, related through a great-uncle. But it's that Brandybuck clan, and one can get awfully mixed up about who's related to whom when dealing with the Brandybucks. Anyway, it's just easier to call Mister Bilbo 'Uncle' ain't it? Old Master Bilbo adopted Frodo legally too, so I figure it's right for Frodo to call 'em 'Uncle.' For all we know, you might be more closely related to Bilbo Baggins than Frodo is. I know there was a Proudfoot what married into that group sometime ago.
I've known Frodo since before he came of age. He was nineteen when he came to live over at Bag End. That was many years ago. I wasn't of age back then either. Guess I was only about thirty. I've seen 'em grow up into a fine young hobbit. Except, of course, he's not that young anymore. Well, neither am I! But he's kept his youthful looks a lot better than I have, that's for sure. Guess it runs in the Baggins side of the family, since old Master Bilbo was remarkably well-preserved, even into his hundreds.
Iris, I bet you don't remember meeting Frodo. You did, you know. Do you remember that party the Thain threw for his eldest daughter Pearl's twenty- first birthday?"
"The one at the Great Smials of Tuckborogh?" Iris asked. "The one where cousin Pearl got into such trouble? Oh! I remember Frodo now! He was one of the lads who got into a fight, right?"
"That's him," chuckled Tandy. "Anytime he and his cousin Meriodoc Brandybuck got together they would always get into trouble. Personally, I think it's Captain Merry who planned on all that trouble, and Frodo just got carried away with the fun. But that sure was a party."
Iris remembered Frodo from when she met him at a dance years ago given by the Thain at the Great Smials in Tuckborough. It was Pearl Took's twenty- first birthday party (her "coming out" party). Iris was twenty-five years old at the time.
"Frodo must be slightly older than me – probably his fifties," she mused. But at the time of the infamous party he was in his late tweens, rapidly approaching his adulthood. All the Tooks and their relatives were invited to this most important date in a young hobbit lass's life. Iris, being related to the Took family on her mother's side, attended the party with her mother. Tandy was there as well.
She remembered meeting Bilbo Baggins, and then being introduced to his young adopted heir and nephew, Frodo. All the young hobbit lasses were talking about Frodo and his rich Uncle Bilbo. Rumor had it that Bilbo had a fortune in dragon gold stashed away at his luxurious smial near Hobbiton. That rumor seemed to be a fact to young Iris, as both Bilbo and Frodo were arrayed in the most beautiful and obviously expensive matching waistcoat and vest sets she had ever seen. Bilbo's was of a rich paisley embroidered pattern with honey yellow trim. Frodo's suit was a more sober chocolate brown. It only served to highlight his impossibly wide blue eyes, thick curly dark brown hair and luminescent skin. He was a bit thin for a hobbit, but not bad looking. He and his uncle made a very striking pair.
It was obvious to Iris that Frodo and Bilbo had been invited to the party for the specific reason of introducing Frodo to Pearl Took as a possible future wife. The Thain's wife made it her business to seat Frodo across from Pearl at the table during the formal dinner. And afterwards, she prompt her daughter into making herself available to the young Master Baggins for dancing. But Pearl was a good sport about the whole thing. Pearl wasn't ready yet to have a special lad as her steady boyfriend, and spent most of the night in the company of her small group of close-knit girlfriends.
As the evening advanced, the party moved from the indoor dinning hall to a well-mown field next to the Great Smials. A large wooden dance floor had been set up, complete with gaily colored lanterns and ribbons of various hues. A long table with more tidbits to nibble on and a generous selection of punches, ales and barrel beer was right next to the dance floor. Oil lamps set into baskets and staked into the ground cast fantastical beams of light and shadow across the dance floor. A local band provided the rousing music. Several guests had brought their musical instruments with them to supplement the band.
Dancing continued as dusk faded into twilight, and twilight into early evening. Folk wandered in and out of the Great Dining Hall of the Smials, sampling the food, drinking mugs of fine White Downs beer, and dancing. Off to one side of the dance floor stood the unmarried lads. On the opposite stood the unmarried lasses. In the middle of it all was Pearl, the center of attention, and loving every minute.
After an hour of dancing and drinking, Pearl left the dance floor and went over to the hobbit lasses area. Iris, Belladona Bolger, Estella Bracegirdle and Pearl went inside a room of the Great Smial off to the side of the Dining Hall. Pearl wanted to talk about boys with her older and more-experienced (so she thought) cousins.
"Did you see Billy Cooper?" Pearl giggled. She was a bit tipsy from the ale. "He's so cute! And he sure can dance. He tried to get me to kiss him while we were dancing. Bet he's been with a lass or two already!" Pearl wanted to know about sex in the worse possible way. Being the eldest of the Took children, she had no siblings to ask. And asking her parents was just unthinkable to the young lass.
The older lasses decided their cousin needed to be told the facts of life, especially now since she was twenty-one and would be starting to date soon. Belladona took it upon herself to give a graphic description of a lad's anatomy and how they changed when aroused. Pearl was a bit dubious about this, but her curiosity was definitely peaked by this bit of information. Iris warned her younger cousin about the consequences of intercourse - making a baby.
"Yes, and once you do it with one of 'em, they'll expect you to do it all the time," Belladona complained. "And they gossip amongst themselves too. So be careful about doing it with someone you don't really know all that well."
The girl talk degenrated quickly. Estella told several very off-color jokes, making the lasses giggle uncontrollably. They stifled their laughter as an elderly hobbitess passed by.
"But what do you actually do?" Pearl implored. "I mean, how do you do it?"
Belladona snickered. Estella gave Pearl the facts of life. Pearl was grossed out at the description, but was also intrigued.
"You wait," Pearl bragged, "I'm going to get one of the lads to drop his pants before the night's over." The group of cousins giggled some more and went out of the Smial and over to the lasses' side of the dance floor.
"Well, it's not hard to get a Brandybuck to do that!" Estella whispered. "If you really want to see something, just ask Merry Brandybuck to show you his. He'll drop trousers in a heartbeat. He's a rascal."
Iris snorted with laughter. "Daisy Bofin told me she went on a date with Merry last week and it was all she could do to keep him off her. He's all hands and tongue. Sloppy kisser too."
"I bet you can't get Frodo Baggins to do it," said Belladona. "Those Bagginses are all so formal and polite. They never do anything even slightly naughty. I mean, look at Frodo over there. He's so dreamy, but he hasn't kissed a single lass all evening. He's the ultimate challenge."
"I don't know about that," Pearl said. "His uncle suddenly went off and had an adventure without anyone ever suspecting he could do something as abnormal as that. And there's always Wizards and Dwarves coming and going out of that smial at Bag End. Why, I even heard that Frodo and Bilbo have met Elves before!"
"Elves?" said Iris, "Oh, I would love to meet an Elf. But why would someone as lofty as an Elf ever want to meet a hobbit?"
Pearl was paying no attention to the sudden turn of the conversation. She was deep in her own thoughts for a minute or so. "OK, that's the challenge for the night," Pearl suddenly said. "One of us has to get Frodo Baggins to drop trousers." There was more giggling, but the challenge had been laid out and implicitly accepted.
The girls were interrupted by the arrival of Mistress Took. She shooed them back to the dance floor. The Took matriarch wanted Pearl to dance with all the eligible young bachelors. The lads and lasses were freely intermingling now. No one in particular had a partner – they were all simply enjoying the evening and the music and the physical pleasure of touching each other while dancing. The dance was chaperoned by the Thain and his wife. Saradoc Brandybuck and his wife Esmeralda were also helping chaperone. They mostly looked the other way at the gentle groping going on during the slower dance numbers. In fact, the Thain danced with his wife during one particularly slow tune. Maybe little six-year old Pippin would have a new brother or sister by the time the night was over.
Frodo had been dancing with all the lasses the entire evening and was having a great time. This wasn't at all the boring birthday party he thought it would be. He had had a couple of ales while dancing, and was feeling rather fine. The lasses were all looking pretty fine as well. He had just finished getting himself a little nibble of food when Estella boldly came over to him. Without a word she grabbed his hand and pulled him back onto the dance floor. He noticed a couple other lasses watching them and giggling. He didn't mind. Estella had a great body and didn't mind serendipitously rubbing it against him at every opportunity. "This party is getting better and better!" he thought.
Just as one number ended, another one began. Belladona ran up onto the dance floor and cut Estella out of the dance. Estella stomped off the floor and would have killed her cousin with a glance, if only Belladona would look. She was busy keeping Frodo on the dance floor and insisting that he dance with her now.
After that number ended, Iris did the same thing. Frodo was getting sweaty with all this dancing, but it was the most excitement he had had in a long time. "The Hobbiton lasses aren't at all like these country lasses," he thought. "Wonder if I could get one of them alone for a few minutes?"
He was really enjoying all the attention from the lasses. He enjoyed the closeness of their bodies too. He was starting to get excited from all the close contact with the lasses. He hoped for a slow number soon so he could rearrange himself into a more comfortably position, and possibly sneak a kiss or two. As the music ended, Pearl slyly came up with to him with an ale in her hand.
"It's getting a bit warm on the dance floor, isn't it Frodo?" Pearl purred. She looked a lot older than twenty-one right then. She handed him the mug of ale. He kissed Iris gallantly on the hand then gratefully grabbed the ale. Pearl lead him off the dance floor and past the tangle of couples making small talk on the lawn.
Iris silently cursed herself for not thinking of the ale first! She saw Pearl leading Frodo off to a dark corner of the party field. There was a large old oak tree on the edge of the nearby cornfield. Iris's cousin Tom Bolger grabbed her by the hand and swept her back up into another dance. Her last glimpse of Frodo saw him setting down his now-empty mug, and Pearl leading him towards the back of the tree.
The hiss and pop of another log being thrown on the fire abruptly brought Iris back to the present. She was in her new 'home' in Hobbiton. An ice storm was raging outside, and her cousin was tending the fire.
"Must have been some interesting memories," Tandy said with a grin. "You've been lost in thought for quite a few minutes."
"I had forgotten all about that party," Iris said, smiling. "What do you remember?"
"Well," Tandy said, "I vividly remember that Frodo and Merry ended up getting into a fight over Pearl. Took the Thain and Merry's Dad to pull the two of them apart. Then, curiously, Frodo and Merry were the best of friends the next morning. Pearl ended up getting engaged a few years later to one of the Bracegirdles. I never knew what caused that fight, but it didn't last long and it didn't hurt their friendship none. And now, my dear cousin, I'm off to bed. Make sure the screen is secure around the fireplace before you turn in, won't you?"
"Goodnight Tandy," Iris said. "Sleep well."
1.2 Chapter 9: Coming Out Party
December 16th
The next day was no better weather-wise than the previous. Rain continued to freeze as it hit the already saturated ground. Icicles formed on eaves. No one was out in the terrible weather. All of Hobbiton relaxed inside snug homes and smials. Even the little temporary home of Tandy Bofin and Iris Proudfoot seemed luxuriously warm and inviting compared to the winter storm raging outside. It was the perfect day for drinking hot mulled wine and reminiscing.
Tandy Bofin was several years his cousin Iris's senior. He was engaged to Opal Fairbarn from Scary, but their wedding had been postponed until Tandy's living quarters were rebuilt. Tandy's people had always lived in Hobbiton, and one of the Bofins had always been its Apothecary. They were a steady, respectable family of plump, pleasant hobbits, in no way mixed up with adventures or trouble. A little bit more book-learned than most hobbits, but this was tolerated since it complimented their family business. Tandy was, in fact, distantly related to both Frodo and Bilbo Baggins, but had always kept their meetings on a professional level.
Most hobbits farmed for food, but the Bofins concentrated their efforts on medicinal plants. There had always been a therapeutic garden behind the Apothecary, as well as a large flower garden for making special teas. Tandy learned the family trade from his father, who had recently passed on. Tandy worked at the Apothecary since he was a tiny hobbit lad; mixing potions, distilling essences, making poultices, packaging teas and even perfecting a perfume or two.
A little bit of woodworking entered his trade from time to time, as he was required to make splints, crutches and canes. On bad weather days such as today, he spent his time whittling cane heads into fantastical shapes. Today he was working on a rather elaborate dragonhead carved from red maple. He was planning on inlaying some mother-of-pearl for the scales on the dragon's breast. It was to be a present to his future father-in-law. Tandy was taking extra special care on this carving. A small pile of wood shavings curled at his feet, to occasionally be swept up and tossed into the glowing fireplace. He had worked all day on the carving, and it was now well past suppertime.
Across from him sat his cousin, Iris Proudfoot, the new Hobbiton Physician. She was pleasant enough to look at in a rather typical hobbit way. Her brown curly hair was pulled back into a plat with the occasional tiny curl escaping from the braid. Her only unusual feature was her green eyes. They were leaf green – not hazel or grey-green, but true green. It was a family trait on her father's side which cropped up every other generation or so.
Iris sat by the fire reading a well-thumbed black leather bound book. She had brought most of her medical books with her from the South Farthing when she moved to Hobbiton. Since the ice storm was keeping her and her patients house-bound, she had decided to unpack her reference books. But since she and her cousin were forced to live inside a converted shack instead of a real house or hole, there was no place for the books to go. Her beloved books would have to remain in their boxes until the Apothecary, Physicians Office and their attendant living quarters were rebuilt.
"Tandy, what do you know about Frodo Baggins?" Iris asked.
"Well, I've known Frodo Baggins ever since he moved to Bag End with his cousin Bilbo," he said. Tandy continued to carve on the dragon head. "What do you want to know about 'em?"
"Bilbo is his cousin?" Iris looked up from her book. "I thought Bilbo was Frodo's uncle."
"That's what most folk think," Tandy replied. "I know the family a little better than most. In fact, I'm related to both of them on my father's side. Old Master Bilbo is actually Frodo's distant cousin, related through a great-uncle. But it's that Brandybuck clan, and one can get awfully mixed up about who's related to whom when dealing with the Brandybucks. Anyway, it's just easier to call Mister Bilbo 'Uncle' ain't it? Old Master Bilbo adopted Frodo legally too, so I figure it's right for Frodo to call 'em 'Uncle.' For all we know, you might be more closely related to Bilbo Baggins than Frodo is. I know there was a Proudfoot what married into that group sometime ago.
I've known Frodo since before he came of age. He was nineteen when he came to live over at Bag End. That was many years ago. I wasn't of age back then either. Guess I was only about thirty. I've seen 'em grow up into a fine young hobbit. Except, of course, he's not that young anymore. Well, neither am I! But he's kept his youthful looks a lot better than I have, that's for sure. Guess it runs in the Baggins side of the family, since old Master Bilbo was remarkably well-preserved, even into his hundreds.
Iris, I bet you don't remember meeting Frodo. You did, you know. Do you remember that party the Thain threw for his eldest daughter Pearl's twenty- first birthday?"
"The one at the Great Smials of Tuckborogh?" Iris asked. "The one where cousin Pearl got into such trouble? Oh! I remember Frodo now! He was one of the lads who got into a fight, right?"
"That's him," chuckled Tandy. "Anytime he and his cousin Meriodoc Brandybuck got together they would always get into trouble. Personally, I think it's Captain Merry who planned on all that trouble, and Frodo just got carried away with the fun. But that sure was a party."
Iris remembered Frodo from when she met him at a dance years ago given by the Thain at the Great Smials in Tuckborough. It was Pearl Took's twenty- first birthday party (her "coming out" party). Iris was twenty-five years old at the time.
"Frodo must be slightly older than me – probably his fifties," she mused. But at the time of the infamous party he was in his late tweens, rapidly approaching his adulthood. All the Tooks and their relatives were invited to this most important date in a young hobbit lass's life. Iris, being related to the Took family on her mother's side, attended the party with her mother. Tandy was there as well.
She remembered meeting Bilbo Baggins, and then being introduced to his young adopted heir and nephew, Frodo. All the young hobbit lasses were talking about Frodo and his rich Uncle Bilbo. Rumor had it that Bilbo had a fortune in dragon gold stashed away at his luxurious smial near Hobbiton. That rumor seemed to be a fact to young Iris, as both Bilbo and Frodo were arrayed in the most beautiful and obviously expensive matching waistcoat and vest sets she had ever seen. Bilbo's was of a rich paisley embroidered pattern with honey yellow trim. Frodo's suit was a more sober chocolate brown. It only served to highlight his impossibly wide blue eyes, thick curly dark brown hair and luminescent skin. He was a bit thin for a hobbit, but not bad looking. He and his uncle made a very striking pair.
It was obvious to Iris that Frodo and Bilbo had been invited to the party for the specific reason of introducing Frodo to Pearl Took as a possible future wife. The Thain's wife made it her business to seat Frodo across from Pearl at the table during the formal dinner. And afterwards, she prompt her daughter into making herself available to the young Master Baggins for dancing. But Pearl was a good sport about the whole thing. Pearl wasn't ready yet to have a special lad as her steady boyfriend, and spent most of the night in the company of her small group of close-knit girlfriends.
As the evening advanced, the party moved from the indoor dinning hall to a well-mown field next to the Great Smials. A large wooden dance floor had been set up, complete with gaily colored lanterns and ribbons of various hues. A long table with more tidbits to nibble on and a generous selection of punches, ales and barrel beer was right next to the dance floor. Oil lamps set into baskets and staked into the ground cast fantastical beams of light and shadow across the dance floor. A local band provided the rousing music. Several guests had brought their musical instruments with them to supplement the band.
Dancing continued as dusk faded into twilight, and twilight into early evening. Folk wandered in and out of the Great Dining Hall of the Smials, sampling the food, drinking mugs of fine White Downs beer, and dancing. Off to one side of the dance floor stood the unmarried lads. On the opposite stood the unmarried lasses. In the middle of it all was Pearl, the center of attention, and loving every minute.
After an hour of dancing and drinking, Pearl left the dance floor and went over to the hobbit lasses area. Iris, Belladona Bolger, Estella Bracegirdle and Pearl went inside a room of the Great Smial off to the side of the Dining Hall. Pearl wanted to talk about boys with her older and more-experienced (so she thought) cousins.
"Did you see Billy Cooper?" Pearl giggled. She was a bit tipsy from the ale. "He's so cute! And he sure can dance. He tried to get me to kiss him while we were dancing. Bet he's been with a lass or two already!" Pearl wanted to know about sex in the worse possible way. Being the eldest of the Took children, she had no siblings to ask. And asking her parents was just unthinkable to the young lass.
The older lasses decided their cousin needed to be told the facts of life, especially now since she was twenty-one and would be starting to date soon. Belladona took it upon herself to give a graphic description of a lad's anatomy and how they changed when aroused. Pearl was a bit dubious about this, but her curiosity was definitely peaked by this bit of information. Iris warned her younger cousin about the consequences of intercourse - making a baby.
"Yes, and once you do it with one of 'em, they'll expect you to do it all the time," Belladona complained. "And they gossip amongst themselves too. So be careful about doing it with someone you don't really know all that well."
The girl talk degenrated quickly. Estella told several very off-color jokes, making the lasses giggle uncontrollably. They stifled their laughter as an elderly hobbitess passed by.
"But what do you actually do?" Pearl implored. "I mean, how do you do it?"
Belladona snickered. Estella gave Pearl the facts of life. Pearl was grossed out at the description, but was also intrigued.
"You wait," Pearl bragged, "I'm going to get one of the lads to drop his pants before the night's over." The group of cousins giggled some more and went out of the Smial and over to the lasses' side of the dance floor.
"Well, it's not hard to get a Brandybuck to do that!" Estella whispered. "If you really want to see something, just ask Merry Brandybuck to show you his. He'll drop trousers in a heartbeat. He's a rascal."
Iris snorted with laughter. "Daisy Bofin told me she went on a date with Merry last week and it was all she could do to keep him off her. He's all hands and tongue. Sloppy kisser too."
"I bet you can't get Frodo Baggins to do it," said Belladona. "Those Bagginses are all so formal and polite. They never do anything even slightly naughty. I mean, look at Frodo over there. He's so dreamy, but he hasn't kissed a single lass all evening. He's the ultimate challenge."
"I don't know about that," Pearl said. "His uncle suddenly went off and had an adventure without anyone ever suspecting he could do something as abnormal as that. And there's always Wizards and Dwarves coming and going out of that smial at Bag End. Why, I even heard that Frodo and Bilbo have met Elves before!"
"Elves?" said Iris, "Oh, I would love to meet an Elf. But why would someone as lofty as an Elf ever want to meet a hobbit?"
Pearl was paying no attention to the sudden turn of the conversation. She was deep in her own thoughts for a minute or so. "OK, that's the challenge for the night," Pearl suddenly said. "One of us has to get Frodo Baggins to drop trousers." There was more giggling, but the challenge had been laid out and implicitly accepted.
The girls were interrupted by the arrival of Mistress Took. She shooed them back to the dance floor. The Took matriarch wanted Pearl to dance with all the eligible young bachelors. The lads and lasses were freely intermingling now. No one in particular had a partner – they were all simply enjoying the evening and the music and the physical pleasure of touching each other while dancing. The dance was chaperoned by the Thain and his wife. Saradoc Brandybuck and his wife Esmeralda were also helping chaperone. They mostly looked the other way at the gentle groping going on during the slower dance numbers. In fact, the Thain danced with his wife during one particularly slow tune. Maybe little six-year old Pippin would have a new brother or sister by the time the night was over.
Frodo had been dancing with all the lasses the entire evening and was having a great time. This wasn't at all the boring birthday party he thought it would be. He had had a couple of ales while dancing, and was feeling rather fine. The lasses were all looking pretty fine as well. He had just finished getting himself a little nibble of food when Estella boldly came over to him. Without a word she grabbed his hand and pulled him back onto the dance floor. He noticed a couple other lasses watching them and giggling. He didn't mind. Estella had a great body and didn't mind serendipitously rubbing it against him at every opportunity. "This party is getting better and better!" he thought.
Just as one number ended, another one began. Belladona ran up onto the dance floor and cut Estella out of the dance. Estella stomped off the floor and would have killed her cousin with a glance, if only Belladona would look. She was busy keeping Frodo on the dance floor and insisting that he dance with her now.
After that number ended, Iris did the same thing. Frodo was getting sweaty with all this dancing, but it was the most excitement he had had in a long time. "The Hobbiton lasses aren't at all like these country lasses," he thought. "Wonder if I could get one of them alone for a few minutes?"
He was really enjoying all the attention from the lasses. He enjoyed the closeness of their bodies too. He was starting to get excited from all the close contact with the lasses. He hoped for a slow number soon so he could rearrange himself into a more comfortably position, and possibly sneak a kiss or two. As the music ended, Pearl slyly came up with to him with an ale in her hand.
"It's getting a bit warm on the dance floor, isn't it Frodo?" Pearl purred. She looked a lot older than twenty-one right then. She handed him the mug of ale. He kissed Iris gallantly on the hand then gratefully grabbed the ale. Pearl lead him off the dance floor and past the tangle of couples making small talk on the lawn.
Iris silently cursed herself for not thinking of the ale first! She saw Pearl leading Frodo off to a dark corner of the party field. There was a large old oak tree on the edge of the nearby cornfield. Iris's cousin Tom Bolger grabbed her by the hand and swept her back up into another dance. Her last glimpse of Frodo saw him setting down his now-empty mug, and Pearl leading him towards the back of the tree.
The hiss and pop of another log being thrown on the fire abruptly brought Iris back to the present. She was in her new 'home' in Hobbiton. An ice storm was raging outside, and her cousin was tending the fire.
"Must have been some interesting memories," Tandy said with a grin. "You've been lost in thought for quite a few minutes."
"I had forgotten all about that party," Iris said, smiling. "What do you remember?"
"Well," Tandy said, "I vividly remember that Frodo and Merry ended up getting into a fight over Pearl. Took the Thain and Merry's Dad to pull the two of them apart. Then, curiously, Frodo and Merry were the best of friends the next morning. Pearl ended up getting engaged a few years later to one of the Bracegirdles. I never knew what caused that fight, but it didn't last long and it didn't hurt their friendship none. And now, my dear cousin, I'm off to bed. Make sure the screen is secure around the fireplace before you turn in, won't you?"
"Goodnight Tandy," Iris said. "Sleep well."
