A Cat Called Alfie

by Rachel Wells

  ‘I know they are way too interested in everything that’s going on, but I guess that by ignoring them you are fuelling that curiosity,’ Polly said, tentatively.

  ‘Polly, we aren’t criminals.’

  ‘Oh no, I wasn’t implying that, love.’

  ‘We’re just a family, having a tough time and want to be left alone.’

  ‘Yet you’re sitting here with me. It can be lonely cutting yourself off – I should know, I’ve been there. We only want to help though.’

  ‘Yes.’ Karen looked as if she remembered that she was indeed doing that. I sat under the table, and listened, I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. ‘And I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, it’s just that, well, I guess I’m not ready to be around people just yet. I’m so tired, working all hours, it’s not that I want to be anti-social, but we just need a bit of space.’

  ‘Hey, whatever you need.’ Polly tried to look supportive but I could see her underlying confusion. She didn’t look as if she knew what was going on and neither did I.

  ‘I had a row with my son, Christopher. He’s fourteen and so angry all the time.’

  ‘Hormonal teenager?’

  ‘Yes, but more than that. My poor children have been through so much … I really am sorry to be so weird but I just–’

  ‘Hey.’ Polly held her hands up in defeat. ‘Honestly, as long as you’re OK. And you know where I am if you ever do want to talk. I’d hate you to think we’re all like Heather and Vic.’ Polly, was full of compassion, it was one of the things all my families had in common.

  Karen stood up. ‘I’m sorry again, but I really must go.’ Karen went to the front door, said a distracted goodbye and, looking around furtively, hurried off down the street.

  ‘Well for someone who has nothing to hide she sure acts like she does,’ Polly said as she picked me up and started stroking my fur. ‘I mean, Alfie, I’m sure there’s nothing criminal about them but she clearly isn’t the most normal person I’ve ever met.’ I miaowed my agreement. It seemed none of the family could give a straight answer. They all talked in riddles, never letting their guard down about whatever secret it was they were hiding. None of us had any idea what was going on.

  My only conclusion was that if they didn’t have anything to hide, they were hiding from something. Or someone. Or everyone for that matter.

  A little while later, the door opened as Polly and I sat side by side on her sofa, her flicking through magazines, me processing my thoughts. With a thundering of little feet, Henry ran in.

  ‘Mummy! We saw a rabbit, and some cows. Alfie! Hi, Alfie.’ I loved Henry’s excitement.

  ‘Where on earth did you take them?’ Polly asked, when Matt came in.

  ‘To the toy shop,’ he laughed. ‘They had a farm set and Henry spent ages playing with it, he loved it. I told him we’d get him some animals for his birthday.’

  ‘And where is my little girl?’ Polly said as Henry climbed on his mum and smothered her with cuddles.

  ‘Asleep in the pushchair. Hi, Alfie.’ Matt sat down, so we were all squished together on their sofa.

  ‘We need a bigger sofa,’ Polly observed.

  ‘Or maybe this boy could take up less room,’ he replied, tickling Henry so he giggled and wriggled.

  ‘Oh, Daddy.’ Henry laughed.

  ‘By the way, I bumped into the lady from number forty-eight today, Karen. She was upset so I invited her round and although she came she was still so secretive and basically couldn’t wait to leave. I have no idea what’s going on. I don’t think they’re a danger to the road like some think, but I agree that it is strange.’

  ‘Yeah, that’s what Jonathan said. He said they acted like everyone was out to get them.’

  ‘Actually that’s it, that’s exactly what it was like.’

  ‘But the Goodwins aren’t helping,’ Matt said. ‘They’re fixated on them; it’s like an obsession.’

  ‘Well maybe if we can get the Goodwins off their back they might start to behave a bit more normally then.’

  ‘You got any ideas how to stop Heather and Vic?’ Matt asked with a grin.

  ‘Short of locking them up, no.’ Polly laughed. ‘But remember how sad I was when I moved here. When Frankie tried to be friendly to me I pushed her away. What if it’s like that?’

  ‘Oh, darling, you weren’t well then and maybe they have their own problems, but unless they want to tell us we can’t make them.’

  ‘No, Matt, we can’t but putting the brakes on the Goodwins would be a good start.’ She looked determined.

  I miaowed loudly. Polly and I were the most in tune it seemed, at the moment anyway. She was right, if the newcomers weren’t ready to tell us what was going on, then we needed to get the Goodwins to back off and then hopefully they might feel a bit more welcome, until they were ready to open up. That was what we had to do but I had no idea how we would do it. Once again I had to put my thinking cap on and let the head scratching – although I actually did enjoy a little head scratch – ensue.

  - CHAPTER -

  Seventeen

  I trembled at the sight of cat carrier; normally it heralded a trip to the vet, which never ended well. It was four days after I’d met Karen, and the weekend was looming. Claire had also put my cat bed by the front door, along with a bag of cat food. My eyes widened; was I being given away? I couldn’t think of anything I had done wrong, although yesterday I had been looking through the fence at next door in the hope of seeing Snowball and I’d come nose to nose with an annoying little mouse. It had been so scared that the stupid thing ran towards me and into my garden. I was actually trying to get rid of it, but somehow – probably due to what Tiger called my inept hunting technique – the mouse had ended up in my house. As it ran off I was going to get it but then I was distracted by a lovely smell, and forgot all about it. Instead, I’d sniffed the fresh laundry that sat in the basket waiting to be put away, before noticing that on top was my favourite – Jonathan’s favourite – cashmere jumper. It had seemed so delicious and was so soft that I couldn’t resist jumping on it and, before I knew it, I’d fallen asleep.

  A commotion had woken me; all hell had broken loose. Claire was screaming and standing on a chair in the kitchen. Jonathan was running around with a broom and when I emerged, they both looked at me in an accusatory way.

  ‘Did you bring a mouse in?’ Claire asked, sounding annoyed. I miaowed, realizing I’d forgotten about it. But in my defence, I then sniffed it out and chased it back into the garden. But then Jonathan picked up his jumper.

  ‘You’ve been sleeping on my best jumper!’ he shouted, clearly unhappy. ‘Look it’s covered in your fur, Alfie, how many times do I have to tell you to keep away from my cashmere?’ he stormed. Claire and he were clearly unhappy with me and now, looking at the cat carrier, it seemed they were punishing me in the worst way.

  ‘Ready for your holiday?’ she asked me, picking me up. I looked at her, head cocked to one side. ‘Remember I told you that Jon and I were going away this weekend, so you’re going to stay with Franceska and the boys.’ A feeling of relief flooded me and I breathed again. Ahh, of course! I’d forgotten. Jonathan had booked a weekend away for them, somewhere called Paris which was in a different country apparently, and they were going for three days. I would normally stay at Polly and Matt’s but this time, Franceska was going to take me to Aleksy’s school to see the Alfie project, after spending the weekend with them.

  Although I was going to stay with people I loved, I wondered how I would cope being so far from my street. I was nervous away from Edgar Road, and felt trepidation of places unknown. I had learnt that adventure wasn’t always a good thing and actually quite a lot of it for me had been bad. I shuddered and my fur stood on end as some of the memories flooded my head. As I started to scramble out of Claire’s arms and away from the cat carrier, I realized I needed to calm down, reminding myself that I had been to Franceska’s before, so it wasn’t like going to the unknown.

&nb
sp; I did have to give myself a talking to quite often. Memories of my journey to Edgar Road still invoked terror in me. It was sometimes hard to remember that I was safe and loved although I constantly tried to remind myself.

  ‘Don’t be such a silly cat,’ Claire said, coming towards me and stroking my fur. ‘You’re going to have so much fun, Alfie, and hopefully so will we. I’ll pick you up on Monday evening.’ She kissed the tip of my nose and put me down on the floor. Although I hated being in the cage, I knew there was no option, and the idea of a few days with Aleksy and the others couldn’t help but make me smile. And of course, I was expecting gourmet sardines from my lovely Franceska. So, as I talked myself down I remembered that I would actually have a lovely time. Yes, I would enjoy my holiday. Although I would miss trying to catch a glimpse of Snowball.

  Claire drove me to my holiday home, all the while chatting animatedly about how much she was looking forward to going away with Jonathan. Of every human I knew, I loved it that Claire still talked to me the most. I guess it was a habit she had developed when we lived together, just the two of us, before she moved in with Jonathan.

  By the time Claire found a parking space on Franceska’s road, I knew that she was hoping that this weekend, spent in a luxury hotel, would result in her being pregnant. I basked in happiness when Claire was like this – she had her dark moments, but who doesn’t? Claire’s had the potential to be worse than most though and I fervently hoped she would get what she wanted. Not only was I happy to have an addition to our family but I wanted that happiness to last. I always worried that it wouldn’t.

  Happiness was so wonderful but it could also be scarily fickle.

  HAPPY HOLIDAY ALFIE! greeted me. Aleksy had made me a banner painted in rainbow colours along with a picture of me. Aleksy looked both proud and a little shy as everyone praised his artistic talents. I miaowed and jumped up into his arms – it was our new favourite trick. Aleksy thought he’d taught me but we all know who the teacher was really.

  As everyone clapped and grinned I felt as if I had come home again. I did miss this lovely family who meant so much to me and although they had travelled further than I had to get to Edgar Road all that time ago, we still would always share that bond. They were immigrants, Tomasz used to tell me, which meant they weren’t born in this country. But they worked hard and were such good people that I knew that they actually belonged here now, with me. Or I belonged with them.

  As Claire and Franceska went to the kitchen to have a chat, Tomasz and Aleksy took me into their living room where I was presented with a lot of toys all laid out for me. It was playtime.

  After chasing fake mice, cars, and running around in circles, I collapsed on my back and let the boys tickle and fuss over me. I was tired but very happy as Claire came in to say goodbye. She gave me a huge cuddle and kiss and told me to be good – as if I would be anything but – and then she left.

  ‘Right, Alfie, is your dinner time?’ Franceska asked.

  ‘Can I feed him?’ little Tomasz asked. I followed them to the kitchen where Franceska made me a very happy cat by getting a tin of sardines out of the cupboard. I tried to be patient as Tomasz helped open the tin and with ‘careful, careful’ repeated, he tipped the sardines in my bowl.

  I eagerly got stuck in when they were finally put on the floor and Tomasz stood by proudly as I ate. My boys were growing up fast. When I first met Tomasz he was still very small, taking naps and learning to talk. Now he and Aleksy were like proper little people.

  The door flew open and I heard the booming voice of big Tomasz, their father. He came into the kitchen carrying cartons of food. Aleksy came running into the kitchen after him.

  ‘Pappa,’ little Tomasz shouted, gleefully.

  ‘Dinner,’ big Tomasz said, putting the food on the counter. He scooped up both of his children into a big hug, they all laughed. Tomasz was a big man and towered over his wife as he kissed her. ‘Ah and here is our guest. Welcome to our little home, Alfie,’ he said, picking me up and stroking me. I purred into his massive neck.

  ‘How long can you stay?’ Franceska asked.

  ‘We are fully booked tonight, so I have to go back in an hour.’

  ‘Right, better get this heated up quickly then.’ She smiled.

  ‘I’m sorry, kochanie, I will get back as early as possible.’

  ‘I know, but now it’s getting so busy, which is good, can you get more staff?’

  ‘We are trying, I promise, but it’s difficult to find good staff. I have more interviews next week, so fingers crossed.’

  ‘Good, because I love you work so hard for us but it would be nice to see you a bit more.’ Franceska smiled, though, and I knew she wasn’t really angry, I just wondered if she was a bit lonely while her husband worked so much.

  Later that afternoon, I stood by the flat door and miaowed. I wanted to go out, but there was no cat flap in the second floor flat, and although they had got me a litter tray I turned my nose up at it. I would use it in emergencies but I didn’t want to if I didn’t have to. I wasn’t that sort of cat.

  Franceska, gestured to me to follow her and she opened a back door, which I hadn’t noticed before, and she walked with me down a flight of stairs. We emerged into a small yard.

  ‘This is the back of the restaurant, I can leave the door open for you, but be quick as I don’t want any mice to get in,’ she said.

  I was pleased by this limited freedom and I found a patch of weeds to do my business in, before quickly scoping out my surroundings. There were some big bins in a small-ish yard which led to an alley. My nose was aroused, I could smell wildlife here, mice and even those horrible big rats. But then it made sense. Where there was rubbish, there was vermin. I didn’t need Franceska to tell me to be quick; I wasn’t sure I fancied hanging around here too long. Although I didn’t catch sight of anything, I knew they were lurking in the shadows waiting for scraps to feed off.

  I bounded back upstairs and Franceska went down to close the door. She looked relieved when we were back inside.

  ‘I just don’t want any of those mice or rats coming in here,’ she said, as Aleksy and Tomasz sat on the sofa, in their pyjamas, watching television. ‘Hazard of living above a restaurant,’ she explained. I tilted my head in sympathy. It wasn’t nice. And of course although I could see off a few mice, I tended to avoid rats, some of whom seemed almost as big as me.

  ‘But what about Dustbin?’ Aleksy said.

  ‘Oh yes, he is very good at catching them, but they still seem to come back.’ I miaowed, wanting them to tell me who Dustbin was. They looked at me and laughed.

  ‘Dustbin is a cat who lives by the dustbins. I’m surprised you didn’t see him just then. He gets fed by the restaurant and he chases off the mice and rats. He’s a big cat.’

  ‘He is much bigger than you, Alfie, and he never goes inside, ever,’ Aleksy explained.

  I was curious and wondered if I would meet this cat while I was staying.

  ‘He smells funny,’ Tomasz piped up. ‘And his fur is very messy, not like yours.’ I was a silver/grey coloured cat, with a tinge of blue in my fur, my eyes were shiny and healthy and my perfectly round face was proportionate to my slender body.

  ‘Yes, it is true he is not as good-looking as Alfie,’ Franceska concurred. My fur gleamed in pride. ‘But he is a good cat nonetheless and we don’t need to be mean about him.’

  ‘Oh no, Mamma, I like him,’ Tomasz added, giggling. ‘He’s not a house cat like Alfie but he is a cat.’

  ‘Of course he’s a cat, dummy, you get different kinds of cats,’ Aleksy said. I smiled through my whiskers. Aleksy was right, you get different kinds of cats and different kinds of people. It was how the world worked.

  Later that night I woke, briefly wondering where I was. I knew I was in my bed, but, as I blinked through the darkness I could see two beds, one with Aleksy sleeping, his covers all thrown off him and a leg hanging over the side, and Tomasz, still fully tucked in. Franceska had talked about ho
w Aleksy loved school again now since the bullying incident which seemed to be firmly behind him. And she credited me with being the one who saved the day. I smiled as I remembered that I was on something called a ‘holiday’ with some of my favourite people, so I settled back down and managed to drift back to sleep. After all, holidays were for taking it easy, and I intended to do just that.

  - CHAPTER -

  Eighteen

  I had developed a compulsive need to meet this cat called Dustbin, due to the fact that he was obviously part of my Polish family’s life. I was let out into the back yard after breakfast but there was no sign of him, just a few dirty mice scratching around. They looked startled to see me but I wasn’t interested in them, having enjoyed a hearty breakfast. I could see a way out of the yard, which seemed to lead to an alleyway but I was reluctant to explore the unknown territory. I returned with my curiosity far from sated as we spent the morning at home in the flat. Big Tomasz had the morning off, and while Franceska went to the shops, us boys played video games. I tried to join in, watching a bird flying around on screen which I tried to follow with my paw, but I lost my normally incredible balance and fell off the TV stand. The boys shrieked with laughter. Slightly humiliated I then tried to see if I could use the controllers they were holding onto but they kept swerving them out of my grasp. In the end I gave up and became a spectator.

  ‘Alfie, we are going to take Aleksy to football this afternoon,’ big Tomasz said, as Franceska returned and called the boys in for lunch. I joined them, although I wasn’t expecting any food, I liked being around the action.

  ‘Can Alfie come?’ Aleksy asked, excitedly, and I purred and jumped into Tomasz’s arms. I had no real idea what they meant but I wanted to go to wherever it was.

  I cried to be let out again, as the family sat down for lunch and as I stepped out the door I immediately struck gold as I met the cat that could only be Dustbin. He was a little fragrant, I have to admit (and not in a good way), and his fur stuck up in all directions; he was also huge, almost as big as a dog. As I stood stock still, unsure of the reception I could expect, he turned to me.