“Oh! it’s not like Frodo didn’t have anyone taking care of him before, he was living with the Brandybucks, his mothers side of the family, after his parents died. Supposedly Frodo and Bilbo just got along so well that Frodo was always visiting and was never home, so eventually he just ended up living there.

Technically Frodo is Bilbos cousin, but Frodo is so much younger so the relationship really is closer to that of a nephew.” Beryll doesn’t want this outsider to think Frodo had been left homeless or anything and that Bilbo took Frodo in out of a need for charity. Even the poorest Hobbits would have lots of family to care for them if their parents died.

“Oh, has to be about 60 years now since Bilbo came back.” She was only a young hobbit when he came back, it doesn’t feel like that long ago. Suddenly Beryll feels very old. “Goodness that makes me feel my age suddenly. I was a young woman when that happened.”

Had it really been that long since something that exciting had happened? She knew her grandpappy fought off wolves and aggressive hedges, and if legends were to be believed the shire even sent some Hobbit soldiers when the king called for aid back in the early days. Guess the shire had been so peaceful lately that the most exciting thing to happen in living memory had been Bilbo’s adventure.

A house is pulling up into view on the road. It would have looked like a small hill if not for the chimney and porch, with a round circular door and and round shutter filled windows. It looks poor by modern standards. The door is not perfectly fit to its frame and the porch is heavily layered in dirt.

”Starting to reach the outskirts of Hobbiton. Won’t be long now until we get to the market square. I’ll walk you to Bilbo’s after I deliver my goods if you’d like.” Beryll thinks she would be more comfortable being led to somewhere she’s never been before in a town she is not familiar with, so she offers to lead this young woman. 

Sixty years since? Must be a pretty old man, by now. Person. Hobbit?

"Oh," she looks around, taking in the approaching... homes. "I'd appreciate it. I can help carry your things," she offers. Nothing in the wagon looks like it'd take four men to move, but it'd still surely be easier for Lex than for Beryll.

“Oh thank you, that’ll make unloading much faster.”

Couple more hill houses show up as they go along, all similarly shabby looking.

Then they start passing, more familiar looking to a modern human, stone houses that look a little nicer. Their doors all fit, the windows sometimes have paper or glass in them instead of wood shutters, porches are kept better swept. The further into town they go the nicer and larger the buildings are. Glass becomes more common in windows, well kept front yards are in front of most houses now, sometimes theres even an obvious gardener out front trimming a hedge or weeding a lawn.

The road starts being paved with stone as they enter the center of Hobbiton, and eventually they reach a meeting point of several of these paved roads for a large paved square. There are some stalls raised but they are either empty or have their owners unloading crates much like the ones Beryll is transporting.

“Here we are. I used to deliver goods market morning but that involved waking up in the middle of the night. It’s much easier delivering the day before when you become my age, even if townspeople think its fresher if they see it delivered the same day.”

She pulls the cart in besides one of the stalls. A stout middle aged male hobbit with ginger hair is waiting for her and he raises an eye when he sees Lex. Beryll waves him over. “Waldo! This is Lex! She has gotten very lost so she is going to Bilbo’s. He’s so well travelled so he can surely help her.” She turns to Lex. “Lex, this is Waldo Rummel, my second cousin. He runs the market stall for the family farms.”

Waldo grunts and looks annoyed. “Except for cousin Tambor’s farms.”

Beryyl rolls her eyes. “Yes of course I didn’t also mean for Tambors farms. Lex would have no idea who Tambor is, calm down.”

Waldo looks mollified.

Waldo starts taking hobbit sized crates of produce off the cart. Though they look heavier than you’d expect for someone that small to be able to carry. Beryll ties the donkey to the stall and also starts helping unload crates. Looking at Lex to let her know she is free to also start helping. The crates just seem headed to behind the stall front wherever there is room.

Lex steps down from the cart and joins in the unloading, then, after shoving her hair down her jacket to keep it out of the way. The work is pleasantly physical, and she has the time to look around while she's going back and forth, taking in the market square.