A Song for the Season

A Time of Giving

By the first Saturday in December, Tenney and Logan pull together a solid set, meeting three times a week to rehearse with Portia. Tenney’s cheeks are pink with cold by the time she reaches the wreath of orange-gold maple leaves on the door. Portia’s violet sweater and crown of gray braids make her look almost regal when she opens it. “Why, if it isn’t Miss Tennyson Evangeline Grant,” she teases, pronouncing Tenney’s full name with a wry wink. Inside, Portia admits Christmas is her favorite time of year.

Logan is already on the couch warming up on his guitar and greets Tenney with a wink of his own. The room is trimmed with string lights and mistletoe for the season. Portia sets out tea and cookies while Tenney tunes her aquamarine guitar, then asks what the Grants do on Christmas morning. Tenney describes a big breakfast, presents opened in pajamas, and her family’s cherished holiday jam.

When Portia turns the question to Logan, his guitar falls silent and his mouth tightens. He admits his dad is touring backup for a band in Asia and probably won’t make it home, since flights from Asia cost too much. Amid everyone else’s cheerful holiday plans, it’s unfortunate that he will not get to hug his dad on Christmas. He mutters an apology for bringing down the mood. Sympathy floods through Tenney, and she slides closer to whisper if he’s okay; he insists he’s fine, though his voice wobbles. She silently vows to find a way to show Logan she cares.

Portia watches him carefully. Christmas can be lonely for some people, she reflects gently, but it is also a season of giving, an opportunity to remind the people we love how much they mean to us.

That afternoon, Mom rounds up the whole family to decorate the house, a tradition Tenney usually finds exhausting but this year cannot wait for. She and Aubrey haul decorations into the living room while the family’s golden retriever, Waylon, howls along to a Patsy Cline holiday album. Outside, Dad and Mason string lights along the porch railing before joining in on an impromptu round of air guitar and air drums that leaves everyone laughing.

Mom hangs a velvet banner reading “Joyful Music” above the fireplace, certain this year’s jam will be their best yet, since Aubrey will finally get to perform her first duet with Mom. Aubrey, pulling bottle-brush evergreens from a box, adds that she is hoping Santa brings her a concertina, too. Tenney’s stomach sinks; she is usually Mom’s duet partner, but between rehearsals and touring, she has not had time to learn anything new for the jam. Noticing her disappointment, Mom suggests she stop focusing on what she needs and think instead about what she can give others. Tenney remembers Portia’s words about generosity.

With only a few weeks left before the tour, Tenney realizes she has barely any time to find the right gift for Logan. She asks Mom about squeezing in a shopping trip, but Mom reminds her how packed their schedule already is with rehearsals and homework. She explains that true generosity is not about finding a “perfect” gift, since the best ones do not always cost money. Tenney knows Mom is right, but she is not sure yet what a gift like that would even look like.