The daughter of a dreaming child-abuser. That's what The Minas Tirith
Post had written about Elanor. She took another bite of her pancakes and
read on. The daughter of a dreaming child-abuser, Elanor Gamgee has had a
wretched life. Her parents did not care how she was raised, thus she moved
to Minas Tirith at a young age. The Shire, where the young playwright hails
from, is a dreamy place of villages and gardens, and small creatures called
hobbits, of which both of Elanor's parents were, inhabit it. Elanor,
however, is quite tall compared to the hobbits, standing at nearly 5 feet,
1 inch. In her latest theater production (directed and written by Elanor
herself), Women of the Cusp, Elanor tells of her horrid, neglectful
childhood through the story of four women from different lands. Miss
Gamgee, however, does not thank herself for her success. Her mother was a
smoker and an alcoholic, along with many other faults. "I have my mother
thank for my creativity. If I would have had an easy childhood," states the
dramatic beauty, "I would have nothing to write about."
Another tear fell from the 22-year old's face. She hadn't said any of
that. Except for that last quote. She had stated that last quote. But other
than that, nothing. Oh, Valar have mercy, where did The Minas Tirith Post
get all of that? Elanor threw the newspaper down and curled her legs up
closer to her chest, her wavy platinum, long blonde hair starting to stick
to her face from the crying. Mama's going to kill me, she thought. But she
deserves it. I hate Rose Gamgee. I hate her.
The phone rang from across the room in that small cottage in the heart
of Minas Tirith. Elanor stared at it, still sobbing. She didn't know who it
was. She didn't care. But she did know that since a few people in the Shire
got The Minas Tirith Post delivered, she was going to be the town's
'perfect girl gone wrong'. Another ring from the telephone. What's Daddy
going to say? A million and one horrible thoughts entered Elanor's mind.
And Uncle Merry.and Uncle Pippin. A third ring from the phone. She stared
at the receiver as the answering machine blinked and came on. "Hello,
you've reached Elanor- I'm not home right now, but if you'd like to hear
from me again, please leave your name and number after the beep! Thanks,
and have a great day!" The beep came, and then a familiar voice rang out
from the receiver. "Hey, Elanor, baby, it's me." The cutest accent in the
world, just like her Uncle Pippin's. "I've been tryin' to call you for a
little while and you won't pick up, so I'm starting to worry." This made
Elanor smile a little and pull the blanket up over her more as she cuddled
closer the pillows on her couch. Fastred was such a worry wart. "I'm coming
over there and I'll break down your door if I have to. Love you, baby."
Elanor hugged her suede maroon pillow tighter to her chest. Why did it
have to be this way? Mama, she thought, why couldn't you have raised me
like a normal parent? Why was there always ale and bourbon on your breath?
A knock on the door and the familiar voice of her fiancée. "Elanor?
Where are you? Elanor? Ellllannnooorrrr?" She forced herself off of the
couch and slumped to the small wooden door. There stood Fastred, out of
breath and tired, obviously having run all the way from his cottage just a
little ways down the narrow road, paved thousands of years ago with stones
of Numenor and caves of Helm's Deep.
"Fastred, what's got you so shaken up?" Elanor looked sympathetically,
smiling a little, at Fastred. He looked relieved beyond words.
"Oh, Elanor- thought you were, well, dead or something." Fastred threw
his arms Elanor. He wasn't a hobbit, but a Man, and was quite a bit taller
than she would ever be, although until a hobbit is 33 they continue to
grow. She still had a little over ten years to get taller, and she was
already quite unusually tall for a hobbit, with normal feet, too. She'd
never had hobbit feet, and her hair had never been curly, but naturally
wavy; Elanor looked more like and elf maiden than a young hobbit lass. Her
pulled back platinum blonde hair was still sticking to her face from
crying. Fastred backed away a bit and lifted her chin, then smiled slightly
and looked her straight in the eyes. "Still having trouble with Rosie
Dahlin?" Everyone Elanor knew in Minas Tirith called her mother Rosie
Dahlin, because in the Shire, no one said 'darling' it was always 'dahlin'.
And instead of 'baby', it was always 'bebe'. More of a Southern Bayou
accent existed in the Shire than an English one.
"She hasn't called; no one from back home has." Elanor looked a bit
defeated, but she continued. "I got a letter from Mama, though. She cut up
all of the pictures she had of me, then burned them and sent them in the
post."
Fastred shook his head. "I will never understand that whole story
between you and your Mum. Never, ever."
Elanor sighed and closed her eyes, then reopened them. "You don't want
to."
The phone rang, and Elanor looked at it and then looked thoroughly
alarmed as Fastred walked towards the receiver. Elanor took a knife off of
the kitchen counter and pointed it at Fastred, obviously freaked out.
"Don't you answer that, Fastred! I know it's her. I know it is her, don't
you dare pick that phone up!"
Fastred shook his head, rolled his eyes, and picked up the receiver.
"Hello Rosie!" He was trying to sound as cheery as possible. A Southern
accented voice on the other end of the line sounded upset but trying to act
cheery as well. "Well hello Fastred! Um, is she there?" Fastred smiled and
said, "Sure Rosie Dahlin, just a moment." He stretched out the receiver
towards Elanor, whose lips were pursed and was shaking her head furiously.
Fastred, in a hushed voice, held his hand over the phone so that Rosie
couldn't hear, and he said, "Elanor, believe me, she's fine. Just talk to
her, babe." Elanor calmed a bit and put the telephone receiver to her ear,
taking a long breath before she said anything, and then all she could
manage was a "Hi Mama." And right after she said that, there was screaming
and the sound of banging on the other end of the line, and then Rosie's old
voice.
"YOU LITTLE BITCH! YOU SHOULD BE THANKFUL I DIDN'T KILL YOU AFTER I
HAD YOU! HOW COULD SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT ABOUT ME, AND SAY IT TO THE
MEDIA! I AM THE LAUGHING STOCK OF THE ENTIRE SHIRE! WHAT IN THE HELL IS
WRONG WITH YOU?" Then the dial tone. Rosie had hung up on her first-born.
Elanor pushed the Call End button on the phone and slammed it down. "I HATE
Rose Vivian Gamgee. Don't let me forget that, Fastred."
