A Friend Called Alfie

by Rachel Wells

  I was always so busy worrying about other people and their feelings that I didn’t have much time for my own. When I saw Oliver at the Barkers’, it hit home how much I missed having companionship, so when I saw Snowball and felt how wonderful seeing her made me feel, I realised I was still very much alive, and it was time for me to start living.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  George had agreed to give Snowball a chance, although I felt I should give Snowball a bit of a wide berth for the moment while things were still tender between them.

  The children were out with Jonathan and Matt. Pickles was in his bed, George was either with Hana or Harold and Snowball. Claire and I were enjoying the peace and quiet when the doorbell rang. I went with Claire to answer the door and was pleased to see Aleksy on the doorstep, on his own.

  ‘Hey, Alfie, Claire,’ he said as he came in. He leant down to pet me. Pickles, who had been asleep, appeared.

  ‘Woof, woof, woof,’ he said, licking Aleksy’s leg.

  ‘Ughh, Pickles you are a rubbish guard dog.’ He picked him up and petted him as Pickles licked his face. ‘I hear Snowball’s back, I can’t wait to see her,’ he said.

  ‘You should go and see her, take Connie as well,’ Claire said.

  ‘I think we’re going in a bit.’

  ‘Woof!’

  ‘Can I take Pickles?’ Aleksy said.

  ‘If you promise not to let him off the lead.’

  ‘Woof.’ Pickles licked his face again. That dog could get his way with anything, it seemed.

  ‘Right, Aleksy, it’s nice to see you but what do I owe the pleasure?’ Claire asked.

  ‘I want to buy a present for Connie, you know for Christmas,’ he said, blushing. ‘She’s going to Japan, which means I won’t see her on Christmas Day, but I want to tell her that I care and also make her feel as if I’m OK about her going.’

  ‘You couldn’t ask your mum?’ Claire asked.

  ‘No, she’ll only tell me to buy her one of those funny neck pillows to use on the plane.’ She did; Franceska was known to only spend money on things that she deemed useful.

  ‘So what were you thinking?’ Claire asked. She was smiling and I think she found it sweet, as did I, that Aleksy had come to her for help.

  ‘Jewellery, I heard women like that,’ he said looking at his feet.

  ‘They certainly do.’ Claire smiled. ‘So why me?’

  ‘Because you have good taste and Jonathan says that shopping is the thing you do best,’ Aleksy replied. Claire rolled her eyes. Jonathan did say that. A lot.

  ‘Right, come with me, we’ll hit the internet,’ Claire said and they went to the kitchen to her laptop.

  ‘Is the internet something I can eat?’ Pickles asked me.

  ‘No, it is not and you need to stop trying to eat everything,’ I chastised.

  ‘OK, Alfie,’ he replied as he licked me.

  I decided, that I’d go and see my friends while Aleksy took Pickles. I hadn’t seen much of them since Snowball was back, because as I said before, I was still processing my feelings. I headed out into the cold, shivering as I first hit the outdoors, and made my way down. I was disappointed to find no one was there but it was a freezing day, so it was also understandable. I stayed for a bit, wondering whether to head back when I spotted George walking down the road.

  ‘Hey,’ I shouted and went to join him.

  ‘Why haven’t you been to Harold’s for a while?’ he asked as we fell into step with each other.

  ‘I just wanted to give you the chance to spend time with Harold. Your old dad can give you some space you know. So how are you finding it?’

  ‘Dad, I know I was upset at first but you have to admit that it is strange that your old girlfriend turns up, but I actually like her. I really like her, she’s funny, and I like that she’s nothing like Tiger mum as well. Although Tiger mum was funny, she and Snowball are very different. You really don’t have a type do you?’

  ‘No,’ I laughed. ‘I don’t have a type. But I also have a lot of feelings—’

  ‘I do know, and I don’t want to talk about that but there is something I do want to talk about.’

  ‘Right, go on?’

  ‘It’s about Harold’s idea for the Sunday Lunch Club. He’s got a list of people who don’t have anyone and he’s even written it all down in a notebook. I chatted about it with Snowball as well and we both think that it’ll be great for our community if we could put it into practice.’

  ‘Right, so you guys now have your own little plan, seeing as you wouldn’t talk to her a few days ago that’s interesting,’ I teased.

  ‘Stop it, Dad. But you know my job, it’s not at the hospital anymore, but I still have it. I still have to try to help lonely people you know.’

  ‘I know and I’m proud of you.’

  ‘But we need your help,’ George said.

  I felt as if we had come so far. I was so delighted that George and Snowball were actually in cohorts about something, I was pleased Harold was doing something as well, but I didn’t know where we went from here.

  ‘My help with what?’

  ‘Harold is too nervous about his idea to tell any humans, is there a way we can put it in practice on our own?’

  As much as I was a cat who normally put plans into action, arranging for people to cook for other people and take care of them was possibly beyond me. It definitely needed human intervention.

  ‘We need one of them to hear the idea, so we need to encourage Harold to tell them,’ I said.

  ‘But how do we do that? I mean he’s happy to talk to Snowball and me but that’s as far as it goes,’ George said.

  ‘Then we need to find a way to get him to tell the others, and they can help get it set up, I know they can,’ I said.

  ‘But how?’ George asked.

  ‘George, I think we need another plan.’

  ‘I was hoping you’d say that. But I also think we need Snowball’s input on this one.’

  ‘Really?’ It seemed she had won my boy over.

  ‘Yes, she told me about your past, and some of your plans have been really terrible. With her help, I reckon we can keep us all out of danger.’

  I had no words.

  ‘It’s a bit like old times isn’t it?’ Snowball asked as we sat in Harold’s garden discussing what George had told me earlier.

  ‘Different house but yes,’ I replied, feeling a mixture of nostalgia and confusion. I felt warm despite the fact it was freezing and being next to Snowball was making me happy.

  ‘Alfie, I feel that I’ve bonded with George, but I also think it all hinges on his plan. If we can’t get Harold to tell the others about the Sunday Lunch Club, George will be so disappointed and I can’t bear to let him down.’

  ‘I agree, I want to make it happen too, not least because I love that he accepted you so quickly.’

  ‘It wasn’t that quick, he froze me out for over a week.’

  ‘Believe me, for George that’s nothing. He didn’t talk to me for ages not that long ago. Anyway, any ideas about how to get Harold to tell the others? I really don’t know why he won’t.’

  ‘He says he thinks they might just say he’s a silly old man and not take it seriously,’ Snowball told me. ‘It’s totally irrational because it’s a great idea, but he doesn’t seem to have confidence in himself.’

  ‘Poor Harold, not only is it brilliant, but he’s given it a lot of thought, according to George.’

  ‘Weirdly he swears that he and George came up with the idea together, I have no idea how that worked though,’ Snowball said.

  ‘You said he’d written it down?’

  ‘Yes, he’s got this notebook and he said the other day he’d made a list of people and also written a bit about how his idea would work.’

  ‘Where is this notebook?’ I asked.

  ‘He leaves it on the arm of his chair, mostly,’ she replied. ‘Why?’

  ‘I think I might have an idea …’

  ‘Just li
ke old times.’

  ‘What did you think of Pickles?’ I asked. I hadn’t seen him since he’d been to Snowball’s house. I think Aleksy must have taken him back to Polly’s.

  ‘Interesting little fellow. Kept trying to lick me,’ Snowball replied.

  ‘You better get used to that. Did you fall in love, when you moved away?’ I hadn’t asked this question directly yet.

  ‘No, I didn’t. But I know about you and Tiger. She always loved you.’

  ‘And I grew to love her, but it was different than with you, not better, not worse, not more or less, just different.’

  ‘I do understand. I did feel a bit jealous at first, but then that’s natural.’

  ‘Yes, and you will always be my first love, Snowball. Remember how hard I had to work to woo you.’ We both laughed.

  ‘It’s strange, I’m still upset about my family, I know they had to move and I know they thought long and hard about taking me with them, but …’

  ‘Snowball, it was only when Claire told them that we were looking for a cat that they actually made up their minds, because you know their reasons.’

  ‘I know, and I don’t like the heat – I’m much more a winter cat.’

  ‘You live up to your name,’ I joked.

  ‘And settling in with Harold is very strange. He’s lovely, don’t get me wrong but it’s the two of us so much of the time and the others were out of the house a lot whereas Harold isn’t, so I do have more company. And he’s a lovely man and seeing you again, and my other friends and meeting George …’

  ‘It’s not all bad is it?’

  ‘No, it’s not bad at all.’ Then Snowball snuggled into me a bit and we sat there like that in silence. In that moment, I realised that you can love lots of people, because I realised that I absolutely still loved her.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  He wasn’t the most obvious love guru but since he’d been spending time with Ally, Dustbin had definitely changed. He’d softened slightly and he was definitely happier. He had more of a spring in his step. That’s what love did to you. And I had a spring in my step that cold, frosty December morning when I went to see him. I needed some clarity and I think I needed it away from Edgar Road. I had left George in sole charge of Pickles, because I had done more than my fair share of Pickles sitting. George said he was happy to do that and he had gone off to get Hana to come round to ours too to keep them both company. She’d agreed, of course, being the most agreeable cat ever. In order to get away I told him I was working on the plan to get Harold’s ‘lonely people club’, which is what George had named it, up and running. And I was working on that but I was also working on myself. Because there was a part of my heart which did feel lonely, I could acknowledge that now.

  When Snowball moved away, I didn’t even want pilchards, that was how bad my heartbreak was. But then Claire had come up with the genius plan to get George, and although I loved him more than anyone I’d ever loved, because he was my son, the part of my heart reserved for a different love had been empty. After Tiger, I hadn’t considered ever falling in love again. I was confused. I felt guilty. For George, for Tiger, and for Snowball. I wasn’t in the habit of just falling in love all over the place, there had only been two loves in my life after all. Claire said it was fate, and although Jonathan didn’t believe in fate, maybe I did.

  My thoughts had brought me all the way to Dustbin’s yard.

  ‘I wasn’t expecting to see you, Alfie,’ he said.

  ‘I needed someone to talk to,’ I replied and I told him how I was feeling. ‘I still love Snowball, my old feelings have come back as strong as ever but I don’t know what to do because of George?’

  ‘You know George has been through a tough time, which is why he reacted so badly to having Snowball back,’ Dustbin said, when I explained all. ‘Understandable but he did get over that quite quickly. He might not like the idea of the two of you together but I think he’ll come round. He’s a clever cat.’

  ‘I know, but I don’t want to hurt anyone.’

  ‘Ah, yes, but you know all Tiger really cared about was your happiness, I am sure she still cares about that. Tiger is gone, which is horrible, and you’ll never forget her. The problem is, Alfie, life moves on and you have to move with it.’

  ‘You’re so wise,’ I said. I was feeling so sad that I lay down and let myself have a little yowl.

  ‘And we both know that life doesn’t last forever, so we have to live it to the fullest. When I met Ally, I wasn’t interested in companionship. You know me, I’m only friends with you because you were so persistent, didn’t give me much choice, and I’m glad I am. And it was thanks to you that I was able to open my heart up to Ally too. You’re a good friend, Alfie, no, the best friend a cat could have, and that being said, you deserve to be happy too.’

  ‘Love and friendship, that’s all we want isn’t it?’

  ‘Two important things and you taught me them.’

  ‘And about the joys of pilchards! In fact, I really fancy some pilchards.’

  ‘Shall we go to the restaurant door, look hungry and see if they’ll find something for us?’ Dustbin smiled.

  ‘You’re speaking my language.’

  As we ate sardines, not pilchards, but I’m not one to complain, Dustbin and I discussed the idea Harold had for his lonely people.

  ‘Remember last Christmas, when you got everyone to the restaurant. That’s probably what inspired Harold.’

  ‘You might be right. He goes to this senior centre once a week but he says that some people there don’t see anyone apart from that, and often they don’t have a proper cooked meal, because they only cook the basics themselves. It’s sad.’

  ‘But he’s got the idea, so all you need to do is to let one of the humans find out about it.’

  ‘Yes, I think Claire, this is right up her street, but I don’t understand why Harold won’t tell her about it.’

  ‘It sounds as though he’s lacking in confidence,’ Dustbin pointed out.

  ‘He told Snowball he’s worried they’ll think it’s a silly idea and laugh it off,’ I explained. Dustbin was right. Harold had lost a bit of confidence since being ill, actually, I think it worried him at times, how vulnerable he was. Although I had never suffered a lack of confidence, I could understand it.

  ‘Right, but, Alfie, if he’s written it down then all you need to do is to get one of them to read what he’s written.’ He said it as if it was simple, and as I thought about it, I realised that it was.

  ‘Oh, Dustbin, you are a genius on so many levels. Of course, I’ll steal the notebook and take it to Claire.’ My mind was whirring again. Perhaps I wasn’t as planned out as I thought.

  ‘Or you might find it easier to take Claire to the notebook, and it might be a bit less risky,’ Dustbin narrowed his eyes at me.

  ‘Of course, Dustbin you really are the best.’ I calmed down and realised he was right. I was a cat. How on earth would I carry a notebook?

  ‘And tell George that this was your idea. You get this done for him and Harold, and then you will possibly soften him up a bit when you tell him how you feel about Snowball.’

  ‘Since when did you become the king of plans?’ I asked, only slightly affronted, because normally this was my department.

  ‘Since your head has been full of confusion about Snowball. Don’t worry you’ll have the crown back in no time.’ He grinned at me, and I grinned right back.

  I was so happy as I walked back, things were coming together, I could feel it. My humans were happy, my cats were happy, Pickles was happy – although Pickles was always happy. I felt fully confident of being happy. But as soon as I went through the cat flap I could hear loud and upset voices, and that didn’t sound very good. I immediately panicked, I had left George with Pickles; what if something had happened to either of them?

  ‘It’s my fault,’ Claire was saying, ‘I shouldn’t have been so stupid.’

  ‘Claire, calm down, you’re not stupid,’ Sylvie
said, hugging Claire. Polly had our cat carrier in her arms, which she put down on the floor.

  ‘Claire, of course kids leave chocolate lying around at Christmas, it happens, and I’ll get him straight to the vet, honestly, it could have happened at our house.’

  I wondered what was going on but Pickles was lying on the floor, a snorting noise coming out of his mouth, his eyes were droopy, he had a sort of white foam and he didn’t look like his normal self at all. I felt panic in the tips of my fur. What was wrong with Pickles? He hadn’t even moved since I got home. George was sitting watching with a horrified look on his face. I turned to him.

  ‘What happened?’ I asked, as Polly grabbed Pickles and managed to get him into our carrier.

  ‘It wasn’t my fault,’ George said, eyes wide.

  ‘I’m sure it wasn’t. But what wasn’t?’

  ‘Pickles ate some chocolate coins that he found in the living room, where the kids had them, and apparently dogs are allergic to chocolate so now he has to go to the vet, but he just said how much he liked them, even the foil they were wrapped in.’

  ‘He ate the foil?’

  ‘Some of it. Dad, I told him not to eat them but he didn’t listen.’

  ‘Did you tell him that cats never eat chocolate?’

  ‘No, I didn’t think of that. I’ll tell him that later, if he’s alright. Do you think he’ll be alright? Oh, Dad, he has to be alright.’

  ‘He’s going to the vet, he’ll be in good hands, like Harold was at the hospital. I’m sure he’ll be fine.’ I wasn’t sure at all, I thought, as I watched Polly lift him gently into the car carrier.

  ‘I realised that I love him, Dad,’ George said, his eyes sad.

  ‘We all do, son, we all do.’

  I put all thoughts of my plan aside as I tried to console George. He wasn’t going anywhere until he knew that Pickles was alright, he was more fond of the puppy than he let on. He also felt guilty and no matter how many times I told him it wasn’t his fault, he didn’t believe me.