Chapter 33 Calls

"Meriadoc Brandybuck, you promised you'd go with me to Aggie Bracegirdle's coming of age picnic by the river today!" Mentha cried in disgust as she saw her elder cousin lounging about underneath the tree a few weeks following Pearl's wedding. Merry sighed in disgust. He had promised Mentha, but the only reason he had agreed to take her was to get her away from him.

"What time is it?" Merry asked, slamming his book shut a little bit harder than was necessary.

Mentha put her hands on her hips. "Eleven o'clock and the party starts at twelve. The lake is at least a half an hour walk from here so we'll get there in plenty of time if we start now."

"I've done a good many rash and foolish things in my life, but I don't think I ever was mad enough to say I'd go with you anywhere." Merry growled.

Mentha looked hurt by his comment but knew better than to reply. She just grabbed Merry's hand and forced him to his feet. "Come on-let us go. Your mother said we were to be back before dusk, so that will give us plenty of time to have fun."

"Should I change into something a bit more respectable?" Merry asked, looking down at his playclothes. They were not exactly horrid, but he was not sure what type of an occasion this birthday party would be.

"You look perfect, Merry. It is not a formal affair." Mentha replied smiling.

"Well-good." Merry sighed. "Let us start walking, then." He walked a few feet ahead of Mentha, feeling thoroughly miserable. He had no urge to go to this party. From what Mentha told him three-fourths of the members attending were going to be girls and a few were going with dates. Merry had this on his side, though: at least Mentha could not make a serious move on him, for she was his cousin. Then again, everybody was related somehow in the Shire it seemed.

"It is going to be such fun!" Mentha told Merry in delight as she scurried to keep up with his quick stride. "There is going to be lots of food and drink and dancing and boating on the river. And presents of course!" She suddenly frowned. "Oh-and Merry-the Bracegirdles are very respectable hobbits, so please don't make any of your abrupt remarks, or do anything odd, will you?"

Merry stared at her with an open-mouth. "Me? Make abrupt remarks?" He asked.

"Certainly! You could not deny that you do it. You are just like Frodo sometimes, Merry."

Merry grinned proudly. "I will take that as a compliment then, if you say I am just like him."

Mentha scowled. The two cousins continued to walk in silence for the next couple of minutes enjoying the warm but not too stuffy summer air. A sweet smell of flowers filled the air, and Merry was reminded at that moment of why he loved this place so much. No matter how many stories he'd heard about the world of elves and men, he still felt very safe and comfortable in his homeland. He heard Mentha humming one of the famous drinking songs:

"Hey ho to the bottle I go To heal my heart and drown my woe...."

Merry smiled to himself. Actually, the song was famous in the Took household. He'd heard Pimpernel singing it many times while she helped her mother and the maids clean up after supper.

The walk to the lake seemed to take less than thirty minutes. Mentha turned to Merry as they approached the party crowd. "You're highly satisfactory. turn slowly round, and let me get a careful view."

Merry rolled his eyes. "Who are you," he asked, "my mother?"

"Shush. Turn around so I can make sure you look all right."

Finally complying Merry did as he was told and held his head up high and his shoulders back. Mentha nodded. "You look excellent. Come now-I see Aggie."

Merry hurried after his cousin and soon found himself surrounded by hobbits of all ages. A few of the Bracegirdle girls were giggling and pointing at Merry, asking Mentha if she had finally found a lad to court. Merry eventually got into a game of kickball with some of Aggie's brothers and a few Proudfoots who had also attended.

"You're going to be the Master of Brandy Hall one day, aren't you?" Mora Bracegirdle asked as the party took their seats later in the afternoon to eat lunch. Merry sat between Mentha and a chubby lad from Bywater.

"Yes."

"Must be fascinating. I think I'd be scared if all of that responsibility was put on me."

Merry scowled as he took a bite of a mushroom. "Thanks." He snarled.

"Ooooh and Mentha-we're going to play spin the bottle again if you'd like," Aggie told her friend with a big smile.

"Yes! Boys and girls together, right?"

"Sure."

"Sping the bottle?" Merry asked. "What is that?"

"Just a game. We'll teach you how to do it, don't worry." Mentha promised, not wanting to go into details. If she told Merry it was a game where boys and girls sat in a circle and spun a bottle and whoever the bottle point landed on the person had to kiss the one beside them, he would surely not want to play.

"Oh. All right, then."

"You do know how to play the game, don't you?" asked Aggie with a raised eyebrow.

"Huh? I um..."

Mentha elbowed him in the shoulder. "Sure he does. We've played it tons of times at home!" She narrowed her eyes when Merry started to contradict her.

"We have?" Merry mouthed to her once Aggie turned to talk to someone else. Mentha nodded.

"It's a fun game and you'll like it. TRUST ME."

Merry sighed, fingering his glass with uncertainty.

After lunch it was time for present-opening, and there were many spectacular gifts for everyone. Merry received a few books containing fairy tales of the Elves of old. When the presents were finished, it was time for games. Merry reluctantly joined the rest of the crowd in a large circle and caught sight of a glass bottle in the exact middle. He sat beside Mentha, picking at a random blade of grass as Aggie explained the rules. He cauht the word "Kiss" and jolted from his daydream.

"KISS?" He cried, startling everyone.

"Of course, silly! That's what the whole point of this game is!"

"MENTHA!" Merry hollered angrily, trying to get up, but Mentha pulled him back down.

"Oh stop being such a baby," She snapped. "A kiss won't kill you!"

Merry gave her a look that could have killed an Oliphant.

At that moment the game began, and Aggie, as she was the birthday girl, got to spin first. Merry watched as Lobo Bracegirdle became the first victim and had to kiss Milow Proudfoot on the cheek, with a look of pure disgust on his face. Merry felt secretly pleased that he was sitting between two girls and not two boys at this point, because he was the next victim. He took a deep breath and turned to Mentha, both of his lips puckered out. He could hear giggles from the others as she planted a kiss on his lips, and he watched as her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink when they parted.

"Too bad I am related to you," Mentha whispered. "You're not a bad kisser!"

Merry had to smile. "I'm not?"

"No! You're not slobbery like some people."

"Who else have you kissed that you have the right to say that?" Merry whispered as the game continued. Mentha raised her eyes, turned away and started whistling innocently.

"Who did you kiss?" Merry cried.

"Oh....no one." Mentha teased.

"WHO DID YOU KISS?" Merry demanded.

Mentha rolled her eyes. "PLEASE, Merry. What do you care who I kissed? It's not like you're in any competition with me! We couldn't date anyway-we're cousins!"

Merry sighed. "FINE." He leaned his chin in his palm and watched as Mentha kissed the boy to her right after a few more turns were up. The game, Merry decided, was rather amusing after all. He laughed along with everyone else, starting to feel very comfortable around this crowd. By the time the party ended it was nearing tea time, and Merry was exhausted. It took a bit of force to drag Mentha away from chatting with her friends and the two headed back towards Brandy Hall.

By the time they got home, it was time for tea and Esmerelda pulled them both in. "It looks like you had a wonderful time," she told Merry with a grin after Mentha skipped away towards the dining room. Merry sighed.

"Mum, we played spin the bottle," Merry whispered.

"You did, mmmm?" Esmerelda sniggered. "who kissed you?"

Merry laughed. "Mentha of course. I was sitting next to her. Sometimes a boy had to kiss another boy, depending on where he was sitting. And in all honesty Mum....it wasn't bad."

Esmerelda gave a hearty laugh and patted her only son on the shoulder. "That's my good lad. Go on now and get your tea." She watched as he scurried off, shaking her head with a grin.

"Children," She said to herself, taking a pile of clean laundry to her bedroom.