Moving Home by Lyra

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

B2MeM Challenge: Economy - o72 - Real Estate; Women of Arda - o72 - Elanor Gamgee
Format: Ficlet
Genre:
Rating: General
Warnings: n/a
Characters: Elanor, Rosie, Samwise
Pairings: strictly speaking: Elanor/Fastred, Rosie/Samwise
Summary: Planning to move home with her husband, Elanor discusses different options with her mother. Daddy isn't happy to see his no-longer-little girl go.


Moving Home
"Here, Mom, what do you think?" Elanor selected one of several letters from a heap on the dinner table. "'Cozy traditional smial, beautifully situated in a hill overlooking Greenholm. Two bedrooms, parlour, bathroom, kitchen, larder, cellar. Small garden with apple orchard.' Doesn't that sound nice?"
Rosie Gamgee looked up from her knitting and shook her head. "It sounds rather small," she said. "Only two bedrooms? Imagine all of us coming to visit – that would be a tight fit!"
Elanor grimaced. "But Fastred says it's such a sweet little place. I'm sure we can build some additional rooms once we've bought it."
"I really don't know," Rosie said. "You could, of course, but remember that you might soon have a baby! You won't want to be doing any building then."
"You're right, of course," Elanor said, and put the letter down in a box. It had Rejected written on it in red ink. "What about this one, then? 'Four bedrooms, parlour, kitchen, two pantries, two bathrooms. With its own well, too. Front and back garden. Fifteen-minute walk to Greenholm center.' Better? That's just a house, though, not a proper smial." Elanor was somewhat prejudiced against houses; she loved the grass roof and the round windows of Bag End.
Rosie smiled indulgently. "It sounds very nice for all that, dear." she said. "Of course, you'd have to see it in person before making any final decision. It's all very well if Fastred likes it, but you have to live there as well!"

"I don't know why you have to live there at all," Samwise Gamgee, who had so far appeared to be absorbed in his book, paying no attention to his wife's and his daughter's conversation, spoke up. "Surely Fastred and you can't complain that you don't have room enough here. Or we can look for a nice little smial right around the corner!"
With the patient expression of a woman having to explain the obvious, Elanor said, "You know that Fastred has ambitions, Dad, he hopes for an office of great responsibility in Greenholm."
"He can try for an office here just as well," Sam said gruffly, laying the book aside face-down: A sure sign that he was severely distracted, for he would never have allowed such torment to a book otherwise.

Elanor sighed. "No he can't, Daddy. You know that he'd have no chance to amount to anything with you here. No-one can hope to be voted over you." She smiled broadly so her father would no that there was no reproach in what she said.
"He can wait then," Sam grumbled. "I won't be here forever. He can be Mayor then or whatever he wants!"
Rosie rolled her eyes. "You silly man," she said, but she put her knitting aside and went over to her husband, hugging him and leaning her face against his. "Your daughter is a grown woman now. Be content that she only wants to move to Greenholm instead of running off to Mordor with her best friend!"
"I'll write you lots of letters," Elanor promised. "And we'll take something with an extra bedroom just for you, so you can visit us any time you like. Here's another house Fastred thinks we might like – it comes with its very own rose garden..."

Comments

[burning-night.livejournal.com]

Aw, Sam! Very sweet :)

[engarian.livejournal.com]

Very sweet. I can just see Sam being a little grumpy at the idea that his firstborn is leaving home.

- Erulisse (one L)

[grey-wonderer.livejournal.com]

(Be content that she only wants to move to Greenholm instead of running off to Mordor with her best friend!") LOLOLOL
Looks to me like Rose had things in proper perspective. I enjoyed this very much.

[aliana1.livejournal.com]

Ha! Love the real-estate banter, and the fact that Sam gets to be a grumpy dad. Rosie's dig about running off to Mordor is great, too.

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Most enjoyable!

[elleth]

Awww, I really liked this! You've managed to draw a beautiful character study of Elanor and Rosie both here - seems like Sam is not the only one with trouble letting her grow up, though Rosie is managing to disguise most of it behind what seems like genuine practicality.

I loved the warmth between the three of them regardless of such a thorny issue, and those holes/houses sound wonderful. I'd like the key for the one with the rose garden, please. :)

[oloriel]

You're right, Rosie surely has misgivings of her own (and might have acted more clingy if Sam hadn't done the job ;))! Glad you found their characters and relationship satisfying. I'm sure they're all really nice places! Let me see if I still have that key lying around somewhere... ;)