Tenney Shares the Stage

When the Music Stops

The next afternoon, Tenney can’t focus on her homework. Every thought circles back to Logan, and once she finishes her assignments, she paces the kitchen like a song stuck on repeat until Mom hands her Waylon’s leash and tells her to make herself useful. Nine blocks later, she and Waylon end up on Portia’s doorstep.

Portia looks surprised to see them but waves them in, pouring Tenney a glass of sweet tea. Neither of them has heard from Logan, and none of it makes sense to Tenney, since he was proud of their song and thrilled about opening for Belle Starr. She fumbles for the right words, explaining that playing music is like breathing for Logan, the same way it once helped heal Portia after her stroke, and that he probably needs it now more than ever. Portia points out that only a couple of weeks ago, the two of them couldn’t sit in a room together without sparks flying, and asks why Tenney is so determined to help him now. Tenney admits she used to think Logan was selfish, but getting to know him changed her mind, and she isn’t ready to give up on him or their music. Portia studies her for a long moment, then agrees they should go talk to him.

They drop Waylon at home first, where Tenney braces herself to beg for permission, but Mom surprises her by agreeing right away, only cautioning that things don’t always turn out the way people hope. Portia drives them to Logan’s street in a classic Ford truck with a big curved hood.

The overgrown path to Logan’s house leads to a boy who is clearly not Logan, small and sandy-haired with a red sheet knotted around his neck like a cape. He hollers a greeting so loudly that Portia flinches, then shakes his head hard when Tenney asks for Logan, explaining that his brother went to the grocery store. He introduces himself shyly as Jude.

Mrs. Everett appears behind him looking like she just woke up, apologizes for her bleariness since she only got home an hour ago from a night shift at the hospital, and lets them wait inside. The living room is tidy but a little bare, with a flowery rug and a wall of framed photos above a fraying couch. Jude drops down by a pile of toys and sends a little train zooming across the floor.

Portia breaks the silence, asking how Logan is doing. Mrs. Everett admits he’s pretty upset, since she and Zane have both already given him a piece of their mind. When Tenney asks whether he really shoplifted, a chill runs through her as Mrs. Everett nods. She explains that Logan is a great kid, helpful and loyal, but stubbornly proud of his independence, and that since his father’s been gone, he’s taken on more responsibility than most kids his age. Jude interrupts proudly to announce that his dad is in Japan playing guitar with Godzilla, complete with a roar loud enough to send him running into the kitchen, and his silliness breaks the tension just long enough for everyone to smile.

Logan’s father, Phil, has been touring Japan backing a band, Mrs. Everett explains, but his pay has been unpredictable, and the bills have piled up. Money has been tight enough that Logan begged for a job of his own until she finally gave in, and he now works a few hours a week as a junior custodian at her hospital. Looking back, she can see how stressed he’d become trying to balance school, music, a job, and Jude, though he never once complained about it.

Suddenly, all of Logan’s strange behavior, his bad moods, his lateness, the constant phone-checking, starts to make sense to Tenney. He wasn’t being a jerk. He was just trying to keep up with everything.

Jude wanders back in with a juice box and curls up against his mother. She says that yesterday, they learned Phil wants to stay in Japan through the end of the year, news that left Logan too upset to talk about. Exhausted from her night shift, she’d asked Logan to watch Jude so she could sleep before rehearsal, but the plan fell apart.

Jude proudly announces that he had an asthma attack, striking a superhero pose. Mrs. Everett explains that when his inhaler ran out, Logan biked to the pharmacy rather than wake her, got a flat tire partway there, and ran the rest of it, only to find he’d left his wallet and insurance card at home.

The pharmacist told him to come back later, then stepped away to take a call, leaving the medication on the counter. Logan took it. A security guard stopped him before he reached the door, and though he tried explaining he meant to come back with the money, it was no excuse.

Mrs. Everett wipes away a tear, calling it a horrible decision made by a boy who was tired, worried about his brother, and in over his head. She explains that the police may drop the charges if Logan does community service, but no matter, she insists that what Logan did isn’t who he is as a person, and Tenney agrees firmly, feeling almost relieved that he broke the law only trying to help Jude.

The front door clicks open, and Logan walks in with groceries, freezing at the sight of Portia and Tenney. He turns bright red, mutters that he’s fine, and heads for the kitchen. Tenney follows, meaning to tell him she’s glad he’s okay, but settles for saying she’s sorry he missed rehearsal instead. Logan only growls that he has groceries to put away and turns his back on her.

Undeterred, Tenney follows him into the kitchen anyway. Logan glowers as he unpacks cans, accusing her of telling Portia everything about his family. Tenney insists she said nothing, that she only called because she was worried, but Logan snaps that he doesn’t need anyone’s help. Tenney counters that his family does need help, whether he admits it or not.

Tenney explains that his mom told them everything, about his dad in Japan and his job at the hospital, and asks why he never told her the truth himself. Logan admits, gritting his teeth, that he didn’t want her treating him differently, didn’t want her to know he was skipping rehearsal to scrub toilets or missing songwriting sessions for laundry and putting Jude to bed. He didn’t want any of it touching the band. Tenney argues that it already has, and that they can’t be partners if he keeps shutting her out. Logan snaps back that he never asked her to be part of his life.

The words sting. Tenney pushes forward anyway, admitting that Zane might cancel their contract because of this, and that it isn’t fair to her either. Logan accuses her of only caring about the record deal, and though she insists that isn’t all she cares about, she doesn’t take it back. His ears flush red, but he offers no apology, insisting only that he did what his family needed. Tenney argues his choices affect their whole future, not just his own, but Logan snarls that he never asked to be part of hers.

Quietly wounded, Tenney says maybe they shouldn’t play together anymore. Logan agrees flatly and says he’ll tell Zane he’s done, refusing to turn back around even as she silently wishes he would. He never turns, so she never says it. She walks out past Portia and Mrs. Everett, unable to look at anything but the wall for fear of crying in front of him, until all that’s left is the ache of losing him, and the band.