by Rachel Wells
‘Oh boy, you’ve got it bad, Alfie. Let me give you some advice, man to man; be careful, women are complicated. Take Tiger for example.’
‘Tiger? I barely think of her as a female cat.’
‘That’s the problem, Alfie, you two are such good friends but she is female and, well, it’s kind of difficult to be really close friends with girls. If you know what I mean.’
‘I absolutely don’t.’ I really didn’t get it. I was friends with Agnes, the cat from my first home, I was friends with the human women in my life, so why not Tiger?
‘OK, well Tiger has this little thing for you, you know, more than just friends. She has, you know, romantic feelings for you.’
I nearly fell off my legs. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
‘There must be some mistake, Rocky, she doesn’t think of me like that.’
‘Well, mate, trust me she does, you just don’t notice. You should have heard her just now. She’s really jealous.’
‘Jealous?!’ This was all news to me.
‘Oh, Alfie, you silly cat. You need to be careful if you don’t want to lose Tiger as your friend.’ Rocky sat down, looking serious. ‘She won’t ruin your friendship but you need to respect her feelings, especially if you really do like Snowball.’
‘You’ve given me even more to think about; thank you for being a good friend. I really do care about Tiger, she is my best cat friend and I don’t want to hurt her. But I can’t stop thinking about Snowball.’ Rocky and I looked at each other, seriously.
‘Hey, Alfie, that’s what friends are for. I’d better go – lunch is calling.’
We said goodbye and I suddenly felt I had the weight of the world on my shoulders. How much could my head take? Now I had even more to figure out and solve. I felt as if I might explode.
I made my way back to my house. My cat instinct told me it would be safer to keep out of the way of anyone for now, as I made my way round the back and in through the cat flap. The house would be empty, I could find some peace and quiet and try to get things straight.
As I stalked through the kitchen and was about to go and find my favourite corner of the sofa to snuggle on, I stopped. Because slumped on it already was Claire with Franceska, who was hugging her as she cried.
I felt my heart sink, as I fretted for another person I loved. As one problem was solved, another presented itself. That was how it seemed to be with humans, or the ones in my life anyway.
- CHAPTER -
Fifteen
‘Claire, is going to be OK,’ Franceska said, stroking her hair, the way I had seen her do with her boys when they were upset. Whenever Franceska was stressed her accent was stronger and the way she spoke reminded me of when she first arrived in Edgar Road.
I was confused and scared. When I got up this morning, Claire had seemed fine. She fed me, got ready for work and left the house at the same time as Jonathan, in a puff of smiles and kisses. But now she was wearing what looked like her bed clothes, and her face was red and puffy.
‘I’m sorry, Frankie but I was so sure, and then this,’ she sobbed noisily.
‘Claire, sweetie, you must stay calm. This doesn’t help, and I know everyone says it but you have time, it’s not a rush.’
‘I know, but I can’t help how I feel. I really thought I was pregnant, my period was late, I really felt it, and then today at work, I get the crushing period pains. I’m sorry, Frankie, I know I’m not being sane but I just feel as if I’m going mad.’
‘How long have you been trying?’
‘Over eight months now.’
‘Is nothing. It took me a year to get pregnant with Aleksy.’ Franceska was still stroking her hair, and I hung back. I didn’t want to intrude or interrupt.
‘Really?’ Claire looked up with teary eyes. ‘I guess I am being silly but you know, I’m nearly forty and I know that it’s not too old but I want us to be a family so much. I couldn’t believe it, after the divorce, that I got together with Jonathan and we have such an amazing life. But then I see your boys and Polly … and I really want that. I’m desperate for it.’
‘And you will have it, but you need to stop crying, and relax. I am sure everyone is saying it but you enjoy trying and it will happen.’
‘I don’t want Jonathan to see me like this. It’s not that I’m trying to hide from him but he tries so hard to protect me from feeling bad again. After I told him everything about my divorce and then my disastrous relationship with Joe, he has been so good at looking after me, and I don’t want to worry him.’
‘Right, then I shall make you a coffee, you will clean that face and when he comes from work you tell him you’re a bit unwell, and then rest. That way he can take care of you without the worry so much.’
‘Oh, Frankie, where would I be without you?’
I decided it was time to make my presence known, so I miaowed.
‘Alfie, I didn’t know you were here,’ Claire said, furiously rubbing her eyes. I jumped up onto her lap and snuggled into her neck. She rubbed the top of my head, my favourite spot and then I went to say hello to Franceska.
‘OK, I make some drinks for us and get Alfie a snack, OK?’
‘Great, thank you, Frankie.’
I almost glued myself to Franceska’s leg as she went to the kitchen. I didn’t want to take any chances when it came to getting fed, so I jumped up on the kitchen counter and pointed my nose in the direction of the cupboard where they kept the tuna. I stood on my hind legs and scratched at the cupboard door, and although I couldn’t open it, it was enough to alert Franceska as to what I wanted. I wasn’t being greedy but the emotion of the day had left me feeling hungry.
‘Ah, Alfie, calm down, I get you some!’ She pulled out a tin of tuna, opened it and tipped it in my bowl. She then got me some milk. I purred in thanks as I got stuck in.
Before Franceska left she made a hot water bottle for Claire and sent her to bed. I thought about joining her but as I had so much to think about I decided to stay downstairs, and go back to my original plan of trying to get my head straight. Only now I had even more to think about, because my list was once again growing. Tiger, Snowball and her family and now Claire. There was too much going on for me to process, especially as I now had a full tummy. So with my head full of thoughts, sunlight flowing through the window, I curled up on the sofa and fell into a lovely sleep.
I woke, it must have been hours later, because I heard Jonathan’s key in the door. I stretched my legs out sleepily and jumped off the sofa to greet him.
‘Hey, Alfie.’ He threw his keys onto the side table and bent down to pet me. I purred and offered him my paw for our customary high five. ‘Right, I’d better go and see our patient.’ He kicked off his shoes and ran upstairs. I followed him, running as fast as I could to keep up. He opened the bedroom door and went in, where I could see Claire sitting up in bed and reading. She looked far more composed now than the last time I saw her.
‘Hi, darling, are you all right?’ Jonathan went up to her and kissed her head.
‘Hey, I’m feeling a bit better, just really bad stomach pains, you know, time of the month.’ She smiled though and although I saw a flicker of something in Jonathan’s eyes he seemed to quickly recover.
‘In that case, I shall go to the gym and then on the way back pick us up a take-away. What do you fancy?’
‘Thai.’ Claire grinned and I felt relieved as I jumped up onto the bed next to her. ‘I might have pains, but I’m so hungry.’
‘Thai it is then, my love. Right, I’d better get going.’ He kissed her again, gave me a rough head scratch and then went to get changed into his gym kit. I was satisfied that Claire was all right, or at least she was for now, I thought, as I got down from the bed and went downstairs. As I made my way out of the cat flap, I started following my sense of smell. It was time for me to go and make amends with one of the other women in my life: Tiger.
I hadn’t had much time to think about what Rocky had said, but I decided that
for now I would just ensure our friendship wasn’t damaged. I wasn’t exactly sure how to sort this situation out – I had never been in love before like this and I had never had anyone in love with me the way Rocky said Tiger was – I had to tread carefully. In the meantime I would ensure that Tiger knew she was important to me, in a friendship way of course.
I quickly located my friend. It wasn’t hard, given that she was at home eating her supper. I put my head gently through the cat flap to see if the coast was clear. Seeing that it was, I hissed gently to her and she turned around and saw me. She must have forgotten to be cross as, for a second, she looked pleased to see me until she remembered and scowled at me.
‘Can you come out here?’ I asked. I couldn’t go inside and risk seeing her family. They didn’t like other cats in their house.
‘I’m having my dinner. I shall come out when I’m finished,’ she said in a hoity-toity voice. I didn’t answer, but I gave her my most charming look and popped my head back out. I sat patiently by the rose bush as I waited for Tiger to appear. I knew deep down that she would take her time. And boy did she.
‘I’ve almost forgotten why I came here,’ I said as she appeared sometime later.
‘Alfie, the world doesn’t revolve around you.’
‘I know, I know.’ I was the sort of cat that spent most of his time worrying about others, but it wasn’t the time to point that out to Tiger. Not when she was in one of her moods. I remembered Rocky’s words and realized that perhaps I had been remiss in reading the signs. She really did seem very angry with me.
I thought back to when I first met her. We had become firm friends and had a happy relationship. She was definitely my best cat friend and I’d do anything for her. She was protective towards me, like when she came to Aleksy’s school, she looked out for me; but things had changed slightly, and maybe I had failed to notice the shift in our relationship. I didn’t understand why she seemed so stroppy with me these days.
‘It’s frustrating sometimes, Alfie,’ she said, sounding sad.
‘But I would never do anything to upset you on purpose, you know that don’t you?’ I said, looking at her. She cocked her head to one side.
‘I hope so,’ she said sadly. I was none the wiser as to why she was actually upset but I was sorry that I’d made her sad.
‘I know, let’s go to the park and look at the moon in the water,’ I suggested in an attempt to diffuse the situation.
‘Wow, you must be sorry,’ she said. It was true. Tiger loved to go to the pond and stare at the moon’s reflection in the water. She put her face too close to it and it terrified me, after my near-drowning experience. So on the rare occasion I would go with her I kept well back. Now I wanted to show her how much her friendship meant to me and overcoming my fear and looking at the moon seemed appropriate.
We walked along in silence, passing hedges and garden gates but not stopping to look at other houses. I was focusing all my attention on Tiger. When we reached the park it seemed deserted. I could hear signs of other animals but they were keeping well hidden in the darkness. We made our way to the pond and I took a deep breath, as Tiger bounded to the water’s edge and I made my way there carefully.
‘My favourite is the round moon,’ Tiger said as she looked at the big round ball which seemed to glimmer as it floated on the water’s surface.
‘It is beautiful,’ I agreed as I stood perilously close to the water’s edge and opened one eye to see the moon while keeping the other closed. I felt my legs shaking and I tried very hard to be brave but I seemed to fail.
‘Oh, Alfie, you’re petrified! But I appreciate you doing this for me.’ Tiger laughed kindly, and we thankfully moved away from the pond.
‘I’m sorry we fought,’ I said. ‘I hate it when that happens.’
‘I know and I get it that you’re infatuated with that white cat and her bloody family.’
‘I don’t meant to be,’ I offered.
‘You never do. But you can’t help yourself, Alfie. It’s always like you have to fix things and when there isn’t anything to fix you almost go looking for stuff.’
‘I do, don’t I?’
‘Even in the last couple of years when the families all seemed happy, you have been worrying about the children, and Polly, and of course Claire and Jonathan, it’s just what you do.’
‘I can’t help it, it’s as if finding Edgar Road and being given my second chance at happiness came with a need for me to help people.’ I sighed; it was tiring worrying so much but there seemed no alternative at times. Tiger sighed too.
‘It’s why I care about you and get mad at you all at the same time. Come on then, I guess you’re dying to tell me what happened at Snowball’s this morning.’ Tiger looked a bit embarrassed but I was happy to fill her in. It felt like safer ground.
I couldn’t believe I had forgotten about it. It seemed so long ago and so much had happened in that time. So as we started to make our way back home, wrapped in the darkness of night, I started to tell Tiger about my encounter with Daisy and then Snowball and I felt something shifting inside. Tiger and I might not be completely on the same page but our friendship was stronger than ever, I was sure of that.
As we stopped outside the Goodwins’ house we couldn’t resist jumping up on their garden wall. For once Heather and Vic weren’t at the window but Salmon was. We started taunting him, safe in the knowledge that if he did try to come outside we’d be long gone by the time he made it. Tiger and I grinned at each other as Salmon snarled like a dog, flicked his tail and bared his teeth at us. We teased a while longer and then jumped down and headed home. We strolled back shoulder to shoulder and it seemed that all had been forgiven. I decided I needed to put what Rocky said about Tiger to the back of my mind. I had a list as long as my tail of people who needed my help, and I wouldn’t rest until I’d done what I needed to do.
- CHAPTER -
Sixteen
I spotted Polly a while before she saw me. She was on her own, walking back to the house with a couple of shopping bags, humming to herself. At the same time, I noticed the front door of Snowball’s house open a crack, and I saw my chance. I rushed forth, so when Polly reached their gate, I stood in front of her, stopping her in her tracks, in the hope of engineering a meeting. Polly bent down to pet me as the front door opened and the mother, Karen, appeared. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a shirt and she looked uncertainly around her as she made her way out of the house and up to the front gate.
‘Oh,’ she said startled as she spotted us. She had dark rings under her eyes and she looked a bit messy. Or not exactly well-groomed like me, anyway. I never left the house with any fur out of place. Looking my best was incredibly important to me.
‘Hi, I’m Polly.’ Polly adjusted her bags and held out her hand. Karen looked at it as if she had never seen a hand before in her life. She went to take it and then she burst into tears. Polly and I were both taken aback.
‘I’m Karen,’ she sobbed.
‘Hey,’ Polly said in her gentle voice that always soothed me. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘I can’t, I can’t talk here,’ Karen said, she looked directly across the road to Heather and Vic’s house.
Polly nodded. ‘Listen, my house is only a few doors away, and my husband has taken the kids out, so it’s empty if you fancy a cuppa?’
‘I really shouldn’t,’ Karen protested.
‘It can’t hurt can it? Karen, you clearly need some time to collect yourself. Come on.’ Polly looked determined, like a woman who wouldn’t take no for an answer. And this cat wouldn’t either, as I decided to tag along with them.
Karen was quite a lot shorter than Polly, although most women were. She was about the same height as Franceska, her muddy blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. While Polly walked tall, holding herself with confidence and grace, Karen was walking as if she was shrinking into herself with each step. I could almost feel her weightiness; she walked as if she carried a whole other person on her bac
k.
I don’t think she even noticed me as I padded along a couple of steps behind them, determined not to miss this opportunity.
Polly opened the door and silence greeted us, a rare event in Polly’s house. It made me laugh, because Polly was like an excited kid when no one else was around (apart from me), and once alone she would kick her shoes off, grab a bar of chocolate from her secret stash, put on a face pack, watch TV programmes she told me Matt hated or read her stack of magazines. Although not today of course, as Karen followed her into their small homely kitchen, and sat at the table as Polly wordlessly went to switch on the kettle.
‘Sorry,’ Karen started. ‘I shouldn’t be here.’
‘Why ever not?’ Polly asked. ‘Look, love, it’s OK to chat to me, you know.’
‘It’s not that, it’s just we agreed. No one else needs to know our business, not after what happened.’
‘OK, but if you do want to talk, I’m quite friendly.’ Polly smiled, then busied herself pouring tea before sitting opposite Karen.
‘Please, I can’t go into it now. But it doesn’t help that those people think we’re criminals.’
‘Oh, you must mean the Goodwins. I wouldn’t worry about them; they’re just the street busybodies.’
‘They keep coming round, knocking on our door, normally when I am at work but it’s driving Tim – that’s my husband – crazy. I told him that he should maybe answer the door to them, and put a stop to it, but he won’t.’
‘Well I guess they’re surprised that you haven’t been to one of their Neighbourhood Watch meetings,’ Polly said. ‘This is such a big street, but they kind of rule this part of it, unfortunately.’ Polly attempted a laugh, but it sounded wrong.
‘We couldn’t face it. Not yet, I’m not sure ever. All the questions. Tim saw them spying on us when the police came round the other day, they would want to know everything and I can’t answer those questions.’ Karen seemed slightly hysterical and I thought I understood now why Snowball was so hostile; she obviously had a lot on her plate.
