Joyful Occassions
Frodo was nearly a year old, and he had yet to speak many words, leastways when he had an audience. Primula and Drogo had grown quite accustomed to parenthood though occassionally they wished to be more involved with their friends as they once had been. However, they were a tightknit family and their marriage only benefitted from it.
Now, on this day, September first, Drogo and Primula were getting ready for the day -- Drogo for labor on the field and Primula for housework -- as they normally did, and Frodo was fussing, desiring food and hugs from his father as he usually did.
Primula sat a dish with mashed food in front of Frodo and rushed to get the food for Drogo, seeing they had woke up late and were in a hurry. Unforunately her actions proved problematic as baby Frodo began to dig into the food with his hands and smother it on his mouth. Drogo laughed as Primula hurriedly placed the bowl in front of him and rushed to Frodo.
Grabbing the wee lad's hand, she firmly told him, "Frodo, give me your hand."
"No," Frodo said.
Primula did not know whether or not to hug her child happily for speaking for the first time in days or to continue with the scolding as joy rushed through her veins.
"'No' is right. You don't tell mama 'no.' You obey her. Do you understand?"
"No," repeated Frodo, looking quite pleased with himself as he looked at his father.
"Frodo..." Drogo warned, his face stern.
"Dada?" Frodo asked, not understanding the sudden change in his father's expression. "Dada, no?"
"Yes, Frodo, no telling mama 'no,' lad." Drogo walked up to Primula, handing her a rag.
"Now give me your hands."
"I've got to go, dear."
"Good day," Primula replied, giving her husband a kiss on the cheek.
"Bye, Frodo," Drogo said, hoping for at least "dada" in return or a wave.
Primula finished cleaning Frodo's hands as Drogo walked out the door, and she picked him up. Frodo stared at the door for a few minutes before saying, "Dada, bye-bye?"
"Yes, dada went bye-bye," Primula replied happily. "How long have you been talking when we weren't near you? Do you have any more tricks you've been hidin'? Have you?" she asked playfully while tickling Frodo. "Have you, Frodo-love?"
Primula put him down on the floor and Frodo looked up at her questioningly. "Stay there, Frodo; mommy's going to go clean," she instructed before going out the room.
Frodo sat quietly and looked around the room for a few minutes. His mother had never left him to wander through this room alone before. He set his eyes on a tiny silver object on the table just out of his reach. He crawled over to the table and reached for it, grunting.
He really wanted it, the pretty object. He reached again to no avail. He grabbed onto the table and pulled his body up onto his legs, surprising himself. Scared, not knowing how to get down without falling, he said, "Ma?" No answer. "Ma?" he said a little louder. No answer still. "Ma!" he yelled. "Ma! MA! Mama!"
Primula came running into the room, finding Frodo triumphantly holding her silver thimble in one hand, while clutching frightfully onto the table ledge with the other. Laughing, she picked him up and grabbed his chubby hand. "You scared mama, you know that?" she asked. "I was worried. Don't you do that again, okay?"
"'K," he replied quietly, fingering the thimble.
"But you stood!" she exclaimed happily. "Wait until daddy hears that. You will show him, won't you?"
Frodo continued to finger the thimble.
"You know what that is?" she asked. Frodo's bright blue eyes looked up at her. "Mama uses that when she's sewing so she doesn't hurt herself. It's a thimble."
"Dim -- dimb, dimble," he repeated, smiling in wonder at the tiny object.
"No, th -- thimble," Primula corrected.
"Dimble," Frodo stated.
"Oh well, you'll get it in time." She placed him down again. "Now, mama's going to go clean again. Don't scare her again, okay?" No response as the child stared and the thimble and tried to put it in his mouth.
Promptly, Primula took it from him. "No, Frodo, you mustn't do that. Now don't scare mama again, okay?"
Watery eyes looked up at her. "'K," came the wavering reply. Primula tried to leave. "Ma!" he called.
"Yes, Frodo?"
"Dimble?"
"No," she stated firmly.
"Dimble?"
"No, Frodo-dear. You can't have hte thimble."
"Dimble!" he demanded, pouting.
"Alright then, if you're going to continue being awnry, time out."
"No!" he stated firmly.
"Yes, Frodo." Primula tried to lift him up, but he made himself heavy.
"No! No!" he cried.
Nevertheless, Primula got him to the corner of his bedroom, which had no toys. "Now, stay there for ten minutes."
"No!" he protested.
"Yes," she corrected, closing the door behind her.
Frodo crossed his arms. "Mama!" he wailed on the top of his lungs. When 'mama' did not reply, he called, "Dada!" Still no one came to his rescue. He sniffled a little. Why was mama being so mean? Sending him to his room? He would show her! He would have the time of his life, even if it meant playing with his fingers and toes.
So he began to do so, humming shamelessly out of tune nursery rhymes and doing the finger movements he had seen his mother do countless times before.
When he was barely through the second, Primula came in, picked him up and put him on her lap. "Frodo-love, what have you been doing? I hope you've been thinking, though you can't do much of that, I reckon." Frodo pouted. "Well, dearest, how about we go outside and play? Mommy has time to play with you before starting second breakfast. Would you like that?"
Frodo nodded his head quietly, and Primula put him down, allowing his feet to touch the ground while she held his hands. "WAAH!" rang the child's protest through the halls of the smial. Primula put him completely down, and a crying Frodo turned himself around on his knees and reached up. "Unh," he grunted.
"No, say 'up, please.'"
"Unh!"
"'Up, please,'" Primula repeated
"No!"
"We're in a selfish mood today. Okay then, mommy's going to go cook." She began to walk away.
"No!"
"Then, say 'up, please.'"
"Up, pwease," Frodo said, though he remained stubborn.
"Okay, love. Remember your manners next time. Right?"
"'K." Primula picked him up.
"I am going to get you!" Primula threatened playfully as Frodo crawled quickly away. "Oh, where are you?" She lifted a rock, smiling. "No, not there. In this flower garden? No." Frodo giggled. "In the log? No. How about behind the tree? Ah! There you are!" Giggling, Frodo crawled away, but Primula picked him up. "I got you! You're a clever one, you are." Giggling as she tickled Frodo. Of course, she had known all along where Frodo was.
She placed him down. "You want to try to catch me?" A small head nod. Primula began to walk at a decent pace. She felt a pull on her skirt. "You got me! You're fast!" She laughed with her child.
Primula sighed. "Well, Frodo, let's go get second breakfast ready for daddy, okay?"
"'K," replied Frodo, reaching up. "Up, pwease, ma."
Primula laughed happily and carried him away indoors.
TBC...
A/N: Don't expect two updates in one day again...I copied and pasted from my lj and forgot about this chapter, but I didn't want to remove the other. :)
Please, don't forget to review. Thanks so much for reading. :)
