Chapter Seven
Tane
I cleared the apartment top to bottom, which didn’t take too much time since Dillon kept things neat anyway.
Then I made my way over to the firehall.
The fire fighters had done a great job, despite the rain.
The entrance was decorated with strings of cheery Christmas lights, and the fire truck was parked to one side of the driveway.
A large woodfire barbeque was smoking away, ready for sausages and whatever cuts of meat would be eaten that night.
The large garage doors were open, and inside were trestle tables each dressed with a white tablecloth, decorated with garlands of tinsel and laden with beautifully wrapped gifts. To the left of the hall there was a stage set up with an amp and a microphone.
“This is incredible!”
Morris, the fire chief, came forward. He was wearing a Santa costume although his face was bare.
“Hey Tane, the guys just went and got the last of the haul from the shop. There’s plenty of donations coming in from other places as well.
We’ve had volunteers from all over to help with the gift wrapping.
The gifts are organised by age, and the guys took charge of sorting the food into parcels in those boxes there. ”
I followed his gesture to see the large stack of cardboard boxes on the far side of the hall to the stage. There were so many, it felt like more than enough to give one to every person who lived in Foggy Basin.
I pressed my hand to my chest and took a breath. “That’s incredible, Morris, thank you.”
I went to shake his hand but he pulled me into a hug. “No, thanks go to you, and Dillon, for the idea. I feel like I should have been doing this for years, and we’re definitely going to do it next year as well.”
Hugging him tight, I teared up. This was what I was missing, this feeling of coming together as a community.
Morris tactfully looked away while I dabbed at my eyes and busied myself pulling out my phone to take photos. “You did great, really.”
Morris cleared his throat, it could have been my imagination but I thought perhaps he was getting misty eyed, too.
“Come on in, I guess you’ll want to do some sound checks and so on. I’d better get my beard sorted out.”
I walked towards the stage area, greeting all the fire fighters, giving and receiving hugs. They all seemed super excited.
Maybe it wasn’t just me who needed this? Maybe the whole town did.
Sending thanks up to the stars and the universe and whatever divine power existed that we’d been able to pull this off, I stepped up to the amp and flicked it on.
My music students would be turning up soon, and I needed to be ready.
Dillon
“I’m going to run home and change,” Aster said. “Need me to get you anything at home?”
I glanced down at myself. “I’ll come too, I want to change my shirt and get these gifts for Tane home.”
We loaded up with bags, including the last of the hams, one for us and three for the food drive. We could carve them up tonight to serve. As soon as we stepped outside I could feel the chill in the air. The rain had stopped thankfully, but it was icy cold. Maybe it really would snow?
Aster pulled out a tiny harness he’d found for the kitten and wrestled it on him, tucking him into the pouch of their thick hoodie.
“I don’t want him to miss out.”
“Fair enough. We've kind of stopped calling him Ginger, haven't we?"
Aster nodded. "It's too basic a name. He's a complicated soul, he needs a name that reflects that."
Chuckling, I pulled on gloves and made sure Aster had a warm hat on, grabbed one for Tane as well, just in case, and we walked over to the firehall, carrying hams and a couple of other goodies.
"How can you say he has a complicated soul when his favourite passtime is trying to climb the Christmas tree?"
Aster snorted. "He's an explorer. To him, that tree is Mount Everest. Imagine if you were a toddler and you tried to climb a mountain? That's complex thinking."
I shook my head, not convinced but very amused, and then we turned the corner to the firehall.
The place looked incredible. The firehall was covered in fairy lights and it glowed, drawing people in with its sheer prettiness.
I could smell woodsmoke and something delicious being grilled. There were tables of food, and already people lining up to get a plate. Most of the fire fighters were on serving duty, but I could see a few members of the public helping out too.
Santa sat on a chair to one side, waving to the little kids who were eyeing the tables of presents.
I couldn’t believe the sheer number of things on offer. There had to be at least a hundred gifts, wrapped and ready. There were large cardboard boxes ready for people to take home, as well.
“You did this,” Aster said. I realised I’d stopped in the street and was just gawking at how wonderful it all was.
“Tane did it,” I said. “I just said yes to the collection at the store.”
Aster hummed. “Tane and you, you’ve been giving discounts to folks, and encouraging those who didn’t need the discount to donate. It wouldn’t be nearly as big without you. You did good, bro.”
“Thanks.” I gave Aster a side hug.
“Now let’s get inside before I freeze my ass off.”
“Good idea.” I left the hams with the guy operating the grill and he lifted a knife with obvious glee.
“Hot ham rolls, coming up!”
Chuckling, we went inside. Aster broke off to show the assembled kids the kitten.
I found Tane accepting a big crockpot of chili from Isaac and Tig, regulars from the store. “Thanks guys, merry Christmas! Help yourself to the food.”
I slipped behind the table and kissed Tane’s cheek. “This is ....” words failed me. I didn’t have a word big enough for how happy I was.
“I know.” Tane hugged me tight. “Isn’t it?”
I kissed him, trying to convey my thanks and happiness and joy and, well... everything into it.
Tane seemed to understand. He always did, after all.
The hall got busier, more and more people arriving. I took over from Tane at the serving station, so he could start the music.
“Hello everyone and welcome,” Tane said. He picked up a ukulele of all things, and slung it over his shoulder. “Please, help yourself to food, and gifts as well, the lovely Evelyn will help you out with the kind of gifts we have.”
He gestured over to where Evelyn stood, resplendent in a bright red Christmas sweater patterned with snowflaes and an elf hat. She held up a clipboard and smiled wide. It was a good use of her busybody-know-it-all skills, I thought.
“And there’s hot food inside, and from the barbeque.
Everyone is welcome, please don't hold back. I’m Tane and I’m going to start us off with a little song partially in Te Reo, you probably know it.
..” He launched into When a Child is Born.
His lovely, low voice accompanied by the ukelele.
The second verse he sang in Maori, which was somehow even more beautiful.
Then he launched into the final verse in English again, and people started to sing along.
I looked around, feeling somehow unreal, as if I’d stepped from my real life and into a cheesy Christmas movie on some streaming platform.
Tane finished the song, bowed as the gathered people applauded. When he straightened up, grinning wide, he introduced Henry.
“This young man, you’ve probably all heard him busking at some time. Well, I’ve had the honour of working closely with Henry to refine his craft and try some new things. Henry, bring that violin up here, and please, give a warm welcome to Foggy Basin’s premiere violinist!”
Henry blushed, stepping onto stage in a black sweater with a red bowtie, a warm version of a tuxedo perhaps. He bowed, then lifted his violin to his shoulder and began to play Ding, Dong Merrily on High. A classical piece with a bit of bounce to it.
The second he was close enough, I pulled Tane against me, giving him a warm kiss and not caring who saw.
When we broke away, Tane was flushed red. “What was that for?”
“For being incredible.” I laughed. “Merry Christmas, babe.”
Tane hugged me tight. “Merry Christmas. Isn’t this wonderful?”
I looked around, nodding emphatically. “It’s awesome. Way bigger turnout than I expected.”
Tane’s smile faded a little. “It sucks that there’s so many folks in need, but I’m really glad we were able to do this for them.”
“Yeah, exactly.”
We went quiet, standing with our arms around each other, watching Henry.
I felt so grateful for everything in that moment.
Grateful for Tane, grateful for Aster being brave enough to come out, but overall grateful to my warm, loving community who had got behind this idea in such a big way.
Maybe there were people here who didn’t need the free gifts or the food parcels, but they turned up anyway, which made it way less awkward for the folks who really were in need.
“Look! Snow!”
I turned and sure enough, a very light snow was falling outside the hall.
Henry, up on stage, switched to Let it Snow, drawing some laughs from the crowd.
I saw movement in the driveway and turned to look. There was Sam, out of her courier uniform and in a warm-looking puffer jacket. She held the hand of a small girl, beside her was an older woman holding the hand of a boy.
They were standing still, a little stunned, perhaps, at the size of the event. The kids were pointing at the lights, and babbling excitedly.
“Be right back,” I said to Tane and hurried out to meet her. “Sam! Welcome, I’m so glad you came!”
Sam’s worried expression turned to a smile and she took a deep breath. “Thank you. This looks so magical.”
“Do your kids want to come meet Santa?” I asked, thinking it would be a good way to lure them in.
“Can we Mommy?” The girl looked up at Sam.
“Go ahead, just make sure and join the end of the line, don’t just barge on through.” She laughed as the kids ran, sliding a little on the snowy driveway.