Tane’s Holiday (Foggy Basin Season Two)

Chapter One

Tane

It was a Friday morning, Dillon had left for work, and I was doing the dishes from breakfast. As I washed, I tried to untangle the melody for a new song, but thoughts of home kept on intruding.

Once all the dishes were on the rack, I went to the couch and texted Ma.

With the time difference she’d be asleep back home, but she’d reply when she had time.

Tane: Christmas is coming up, I won’t be home. What are your plans?

I don’t know why I was asking, I could easily imagine all the cousins gathering, the many aunties and uncles — blood related and not.

It would be madness, too many people crammed into the kitchen to cook at once, the kids playing games and shouting, running underfoot, the farm dogs barking and chasing the kids.

There would be far too much food, a lamb rack slow cooked with rosemary, turkey stuffed with cranberry bread stuffing, hot sliced ham, trays and trays of roast potato and kumara, parsnips, pumpkin and whole cloves of garlic.

Rewena to slice up and eat hot from the oven, butter melting into it, fresh green salads made from Ma’s garden and beef and mushroom stew for the old-school uncles.

There’d be too much to eat. Even though the table would be crowded with people, bumping elbows, there would be too much food. Everyone would be given leftovers to take home.

My mouth watered, able far too easily to imagine all the flavours.

I sighed.

It was always too much, too many people asking what I was up to, far too much noise, stressing me out so I was relieved by the end of the day when it was time to take off... but I missed it all the same.

That bone-tiredness I had by the end of a big family gathering was always welcome, because being around all those people fulfilled me.

Maybe next year I’d take Dillon, and maybe Aster if he wanted, back to Aotearoa to experience Christmas in the height of summer. Ma would love them, take them in like family, feed them up.

But that was next year.

This year we were having a Foggy Basin Christmas.

It was up to me to make it as nice as possible. Dillon would be flat out at the grocery right up until Christmas Eve and his parents had made it very clear they wouldn’t be back for Christmas Day, they were having too much fun travelling the country.

***

A few hours later, Ma replied

Mum: Flat out as always, e hoa. We’ll miss you but you won’t miss all the kids running around. Uncle Brian’s lot are awful, so noisy and don’t listen. Arohanui, we’ll be thinking of you

I had to laugh, she was probably right. It sounded like a headache in the making, but all the same I’d like to see the kids. It had been a few years they were probably all twice the size.

I texted back that I loved her and I’d be sending some gifts.

Sitting back, I looked around the living room.

It was nice, I loved how Dillon had decorated, but it wasn’t nearly festive enough.

I picked up my tablet and started some serious internet shopping. Let’s see, what will we need?

A pretty Christmas tree, fairy lights, ornaments for the tree.

... Then he went back and removed the fake tree from the cart.

A real tree would be better, you couldn’t beat the scent of real pine.

He added a couple of cute things: a Christmas teddy bear for Aster, some festive headbands and hats, a Rudolph statue, matching Christmas pyjamas for Dillon, Aster and me, chocolates, cookies.

.. and I was getting carried away. I placed the order before I added too much more.

Time to head out. I pulled on my coat, grabbed my wallet and phone and went in search of a tree.

I considered texting one of the older guys I tutored in singing to ask where to go, but Foggy Basin wasn’t exactly a sprawling metropolis.

I only had to walk a block before I saw signs advertising “Christmas trees for sale”.

I followed the arrow to a small parking lot where trees of all sizes were on display.

It was mid-morning on a Friday so the place wasn’t exactly packed. The man running it was sitting on a fold out deck chair.

“Good morning! Need any help?”

“Nah, I’ll have a wander,” I said, smiling.

He went back to reading the paperback he was holding.

I walked around the lot, enjoying the crisp morning air and the smell of pine.There were so many different ones on offer, some short, some very, very tall.

I should have measured the height of the ceiling, I realised, too late now.

Instead, I let my choice be directed by intuition. My heart would find me the right one.

Sure enough, I found the most beautiful tree on my second tour around the offerings. It wasn’t perfect, in fact, it was a bit lopsided, but the branches were fluffy with needles and it was a pleasingly dark green colour.

It was a little taller than me, and not overly spread at the base. It should fit in the corner of the room nicely.

“You’re coming with me,” I murmured to the tree, then went to make my purchase.

“Nice tree,” the guy said, when we went over to look at it together. He was wearing a fleece-lined vest with the name tag Mickey on it.

“I’m only like, a block and a half that way.”I jabbed my thumb back in the general direction. Although now I considered it, I didn’t really want pine needles sticking into my neck for the entire walk.

“I’ll carry it for you.” Mickey said. “I cut all these trees down, I can handle it. Besides, it’s not like I’m packed with customers right now.”

We both looked around the lot, it was empty aside from the trees.

“Oh and I’ll need one of those stand thingies for it. I don’t think we have a bucket...”

“Bucket won’t counterbalance the weight right.” Mickey stood and grabbed a wrought iron tree stand from the back of his truck. “It’s an extra twenty for this but you only ever need to buy one.”

Now that he’d stood up and I could see the size of the muscles under the man’s plaid shirt I could easily believe Mickey could carry a tree for miles. I also thought he was probably undercharging for the tree stand, it looked homemade and quite beautiful.

“Extra twenty is fine, and yes, delivery would be awesome.” I paid for the tree and stand, and passed the guy an extra twenty on top. “For the delivery.”

He pocketed it without checking, wrapped the tree and hauled it onto his shoulder. “Lead the way.”

We made small talk on the way. I told him about recording music and Mickey told me about his farm, out of town. “Half forest, half Alpaca.”

“Alpaca? They’re like llamas, right?”

“Kinda, but they’re cuter and their wool is pretty valuable. They’re sweet.” Mickey smiled. The way he talked seemed to entirely contradict the tough lumberjack exterior. I found myself liking the guy.

“You alone out there?”

Mickey nodded. “Yeah, my last partner took off after a month, farm life didn’t agree with them, even though as farms go it’s pretty low maintenance. That was more’n a year ago now.”

Mickey brought the tree up the stairs and helped me get it set up in the tree holder. He even showed me the correct amount of water that should be in the base to keep it looking fresh.

“Thanks, you truly went above and beyond.” I passed him another tip as we shook hands.

“Thanks, appreciate it.”

With Mickey gone, I was left with a beautiful, bare tree half-filling the living room. My online order wouldn’t arrive for at least another day, but I couldn’t quite handle leaving it bare.

I could text Dillon and ask him where he kept his Christmas decorations, but I really wanted this to be a surprise.

Snooping around, I found some construction paper... Ma had taught me how to make Christmas angels out of paper when I was a kid. Time to re-remember.