A Song for the Season

Homesick Hotel

The after-show meet-and-greet in the Kingsport Auditorium lobby lasts nearly an hour. It’s a blur of hugs, selfies, and autographed EPs. Tenney and Logan smile for every camera while otherwise ignoring each other. Emily and Corinne Hayden gush about the show, Corinne wrapping Tenney in a bone-crushing hug.

Then everyone heads to a pizzeria for dinner. Dad and Zane talk business while Tenney and Logan stay quiet, Dad reporting fifty-two EPs sold that night. What matters more than anything else, Zane points out, is how the two of them felt about the show. Logan stays silent, and Tenney admits the set went okay, though Zane calls it a rocky start but a strong finish. Logan mutters under his breath that he guesses he wasn’t so terrible after all.

Tenney stays quiet about the blowup with Logan, worried that explaining would convince Dad and Zane the two of them are not ready to record together. Dad asks if anyone wants to explore, but Logan stares at his shoes and claims he’s tired, and so does Tenney. Tomorrow is the tour’s busiest day. There’s two more shows, one in Sevierville in the morning, and one at Thompson’s Station, near Nashville, in the evening before the drive home.

Tenney’s phone buzzes with a photo from Mom, their dog Waylon in reindeer antlers and a red Rudolph nose at the neighborhood’s Howl-iday Ramble with Aubrey and her brother Mason. Tenney feels a pang of homesickness when she sees everyone so happy without her. Snow starts falling, tiny flakes melting before they hit the ground. She wants to tell Dad about the fight with Logan, but airing it might jeopardize the album, so she stays quiet.

Back at the hotel, Zane heads to the business center and Logan says he has to make a call, leaving Tenney to ride the elevator with Dad alone, too worn out to talk. At their room, Dad observes that she looks like she needs time alone and offers to explore without her. She admits, gratefully, that she does. He tells her touring is allowed to be hard, and that getting through the tough times is part of becoming a better performer.

Alone, Tenney flops onto the bed beside her guitar, feeling sad, angry, ashamed, and homesick. Outside, the parking lot is coated in dirty frost, and a red ribbon tied to a streetlamp flutters loose in the wind. She grabs her journal and writes about missing her family and the ribbon. And then, the half-finished holiday song she has been struggling with floats back into her mind.

Tenney picks up her guitar and checks the melody against the lyrics, and within minutes has nearly two pages of verses coming faster than she can write them down. It is not the cheerful, silly holiday tune she set out to write, but it feels more real, and turning her homesickness into music makes her feel closer to home.

Tenney has just about finished when Dad pokes his head in. He asks how she’s doing, and she responds that she’s doing okay. He carries in hot chocolate and a sugar-dusted snowman cookie for dessert, its jaunty smile making her laugh. Tenney thanks him and takes a sip. Dad kisses her head, pulls her into a hug, and murmurs that she seems to be feeling better. “I am,” she agrees, and as warmth seeps through her, she realizes she means it.