Chapter 17-Of Autumn and First Love
It was just about the beginning of Autumn, a time Diamond loved, because of the beautiful colours there were around to paint, all the gold and reds and browns. The painting classes may have just started off as an excuse to see each other more often, but Pippin was.enthusiastic at painting. Not very much more could be said, he was improving but his 'Autumnal Landscape' had actually been mistaken by Merry as a picture of the raspberry pie he had for elevensies. Pippin liked this idea, and proved to be better at doing Still Lifes (mostly entitled 'Mushrooms with Mushrooms' and 'Study of Many Mushrooms', but that was beside the point).
Pip took his new- found acquaintance to meet some of his other friends, as it looked like she would be pa part of his life for a long while yet. Among these was Samwise.
Diamond and Rosie got on quite well together (apparently they'd been at a little schoolhouse together or something, a subject which Pippin didn't care to elaborate on, as he'd never really gone to a proper school, and wasn't too great at spelling even at thirty-five years of age).
Little Elanor had learned to talk beautifully, which fascinated Pippin. She'd grown up more than he'd thought possible since he'd last seen the little maiden. He had to laugh, though, when he greeted Elanor, and her prompt response was:
'Mummy, I don't like this person. He talks funny.' Diamond and Sam had cracked up at this, unsurprisingly, and Sam had said his little girl had voiced their thoughts perfectly. Pip acted indignant but secretly adored the little child's ability to speak her mind.
It was while he was having a lazy sort of pipe-weed smoke (and Diamond had tried this, dismissing the idea it wasn't 'proper' for ladies to smoke with a 'Hon, we're living in the Fifteenth Century now! If people don't like it they can stuff their weed where the sun don't shine') with Sam that a thought occurred to him: children.
He looked across at Diamond, sitting making daisy chains with the last of the summer flowers for Elanor. Somehow he knew she was thinking the same as him. He was almost certain she wished that little Elanor was hers. The way she looked wistfully at the girl, mind obviously miles away, dreaming she had a child to call her own...oh, wait. She'd caught him looking and quickly hidden her face. Yes, no use at all, dreaming of having a child. That didn't make any sense. ' I did tell you ye'd know what it felt like soon enough. Prove me right,' said Sam's heavy voice down his pointed ear, causing him to jump in his seat in surprise. 'Ah didnea ken whit yer ta'kin aboot, Sam. She's onli a freend after a'!', flustered the Took. Rosie was giving him bizarre nudge-nudge, wink-wink looks (she was like that), so he decided to just shut up and think about something else. He looked nonchalantly the other way.
Fine, so what if he did love Diamond? How was he supposed to tell anyway? Well? He didn't know, that was for sure. Something obviously showed, by the way people kept... sweet heavens, did Rosie have something in her eye or what?
He sighed hopelessly, and this was immediately misinterpreted by Sam, as a deep lovesick sigh. Diamond looked at him and grinned cheekily. There was a face Pippin reserved for 'I don't know how much longer I can stand this for' situations. He used it.
It was just about the beginning of Autumn, a time Diamond loved, because of the beautiful colours there were around to paint, all the gold and reds and browns. The painting classes may have just started off as an excuse to see each other more often, but Pippin was.enthusiastic at painting. Not very much more could be said, he was improving but his 'Autumnal Landscape' had actually been mistaken by Merry as a picture of the raspberry pie he had for elevensies. Pippin liked this idea, and proved to be better at doing Still Lifes (mostly entitled 'Mushrooms with Mushrooms' and 'Study of Many Mushrooms', but that was beside the point).
Pip took his new- found acquaintance to meet some of his other friends, as it looked like she would be pa part of his life for a long while yet. Among these was Samwise.
Diamond and Rosie got on quite well together (apparently they'd been at a little schoolhouse together or something, a subject which Pippin didn't care to elaborate on, as he'd never really gone to a proper school, and wasn't too great at spelling even at thirty-five years of age).
Little Elanor had learned to talk beautifully, which fascinated Pippin. She'd grown up more than he'd thought possible since he'd last seen the little maiden. He had to laugh, though, when he greeted Elanor, and her prompt response was:
'Mummy, I don't like this person. He talks funny.' Diamond and Sam had cracked up at this, unsurprisingly, and Sam had said his little girl had voiced their thoughts perfectly. Pip acted indignant but secretly adored the little child's ability to speak her mind.
It was while he was having a lazy sort of pipe-weed smoke (and Diamond had tried this, dismissing the idea it wasn't 'proper' for ladies to smoke with a 'Hon, we're living in the Fifteenth Century now! If people don't like it they can stuff their weed where the sun don't shine') with Sam that a thought occurred to him: children.
He looked across at Diamond, sitting making daisy chains with the last of the summer flowers for Elanor. Somehow he knew she was thinking the same as him. He was almost certain she wished that little Elanor was hers. The way she looked wistfully at the girl, mind obviously miles away, dreaming she had a child to call her own...oh, wait. She'd caught him looking and quickly hidden her face. Yes, no use at all, dreaming of having a child. That didn't make any sense. ' I did tell you ye'd know what it felt like soon enough. Prove me right,' said Sam's heavy voice down his pointed ear, causing him to jump in his seat in surprise. 'Ah didnea ken whit yer ta'kin aboot, Sam. She's onli a freend after a'!', flustered the Took. Rosie was giving him bizarre nudge-nudge, wink-wink looks (she was like that), so he decided to just shut up and think about something else. He looked nonchalantly the other way.
Fine, so what if he did love Diamond? How was he supposed to tell anyway? Well? He didn't know, that was for sure. Something obviously showed, by the way people kept... sweet heavens, did Rosie have something in her eye or what?
He sighed hopelessly, and this was immediately misinterpreted by Sam, as a deep lovesick sigh. Diamond looked at him and grinned cheekily. There was a face Pippin reserved for 'I don't know how much longer I can stand this for' situations. He used it.