WHISPERS OF THE RING
The Company Pauses for Tomatoes
"Where do you suppose he might be, Mister Frodo?" Frodo huddled further under the boughs of the twisted pine the company was using as shelter from the storm. Stewed tomatoes filled the small space with a homey fragrance. How Pippin managed to keep the ripe fruit from bruising in the days since they had departed the Shire was a mystery to all but perhaps Merry.
"At this point, I not certain, Sam. I only have the stories he told me, the letter he left me and any intuition that might serve me in the stead of solid leads." Frodo sighed heavily. Two weeks from Hobbiton already and it seemed they were no closer to Rivendell than when they had first left. He hadn't yet mentioned where he was leading his friends, in case they never found it. Bilbo had taken the best maps with him when he left, leaving Frodo with older, more unreliable guides to try to find their way with. And with the rumors of the Elves leaving the land, he was very uncertain what they would find when they arrived in Rivendell. Would the Elves even help them? Would there be any elves left to help them? Had Bilbo managed to talk his way on a westbound vessel, leaving Middle-Earth forever?
"Well I think we're ready for some supper!" Pippin announced cheerily.
Sam gave Frodo's shoulder a warm squeeze and dug around in their pack for their tin dishes. "We'll find him, Master Frodo. He's a Hobbit before all else, and we hobbits don't much like adventure. He probably settled down in the first comfy place he found."
Frodo took the proffered plate and gave Sam a grateful look. "Thanks, Sam."
But Uncle Bilbo wasn't a normal hobbit, was he? Frodo couldn't rid himself of the vague dread that haunted his sleep and stepped shadow quick behind him when he was awake. How many nights now had he dreamt. No. It was better not to rouse those slumbering fears.
"Better grab some quick there, Frodo. Merry has enough appetite for two!" Pippin smacked Merry's fingers with his spoon.
"Ouch! Pippin, you're acting like a mother hen! If Frodo can't defend his stomach, it's his loss." Frodo grinned in spite of himself. He reached over and quickly scooped some of the stewed vegetables and skewered sausage for himself. Sam broke his chunk of bread in half and set a large portion in Frodo's plate for him.
"There Merry, I've taken what I want, the rest is yours!"
Merry gave Pippin a look then gleefully scooped more onto his plate. "You' re a wonderful friend, Frodo! Of course, it's only fair I get seconds, I DID carry Pippin across the river when he proved he couldn't keep his footing."
"Ack! You're bringing that up again, Merry? That was days ago! And I didn 't slip neither, I mistook a fish for a rock and it pulled right out from under my foot!"
Sam and Frodo shared a mock-pained look. The two of them had been arguing about Pippin's unexpected bath since a minute after it had happened.
"Suuuure it was. Just admit you slipped and I'll let it pass, Pippin. All I'm asking for is a bit of honestly, it concerns me greatly, as your dear friend, that you deceive yourself so much." Merry sounded so sincere he was insincere.
Sam rolled his eyes knowing what was coming next.
"Never! And lose a bet to the likes of you?" The two of them had placed a friendly wager before crossing that the other would fall in for being a clumsy oaf. The stakes were high, a fine, fat sausage to the winner, and neither were willing to back down.
"Frodoooo." Merry whined good-naturedly. "You're an honest hobbit! Tell me true, was there a fish or did Pippin slip?"
Frodo shook his head and kept his face as solemn as he could manage. "Indeed, I could say nay nor aye to neither. I was already across the river when I heard the splash. Ask another, for I do not have your answer."
Sam nudged Frodo with an elbow, being the only 'other' present.
"Sam! Dear Sam." Pippin began.
Sam held up his hands in defense and said quite firmly, "No Pippin. I've already said my piece and I won't say it again."
"But Sam, you were behind us, surely you.."
"No Pippin."
Merry let out a whoop of glee. "Ah-hah! You owe me a sausage Pip!"
Pippin pulled a face at Merry. "Frodo, did it at least sound like I slipped on a fish?"
Frodo burst out laughing. "A rock, a fish, I cannot say; 'twas the result and not the cause that I heard. And should I have heard it, I could not rightly say what slipping on a fish would sound like!"
"I would wager," Merry put forth, "that is sounds very similar to a fat, frying sausage. For fish or rock, it was still a clumsy hobbit and his clumsy hobbit feet that went for a bath in the river." Pippin looked to Frodo and Sam for support, his eyes doing a fair impersonation of a puppy. Frodo and Sam covered their mouths to stifle giggles.
"I think he has you, Pippin," Frodo stated amicably. Pippin appealed to Sam with pleading eyes.
Sam shook his head. "He has a point, fish or rock it makes no difference," Sam admitted.
"I am defeated then." Pippin's shoulders slumped then shook as Merry thumped his back in a good-natured manner.
"Buck up, Pip! I'll not ask for it until we're in the Shire again and you can wheedle one of Susie Took's famous sausages for me!"
Pippin brightened a bit. "So, I have a chance to win it back yet!"
Merry grinned enormously. "You keep telling yourself that, Pip! But I'll not give it up so easily!"
Frodo reached over and snitched a small piece of sausage from Merry's plate. He popped it in his mouth and chewed slowly. "Indeed not." Frodo mumbled through a mouthful of spicy meat. "For we all know what keen senses you have when it is in the defense of your belly." Frodo nearly choked on his stolen morsel when Merry made a face very similar to that of Pippin's supposed fish. Incoherent noises were all he could muster, so great was his indignation at the theft. Pippin and Sam joined Frodo in laughter and even Merry, always one to appreciate a joke, had to laugh.
Sometime later, when suppers had been eaten and cleared away and the hobbits lay quiet in their bedrolls, snuggled close to each other and the still warm ashes of their small fire, Frodo began to dream.