Alfie the Doorstep Cat

by Rachel Wells

  Going to Jonathan’s wasn’t too bad. Despite the fact that the horrible Philippa was there quite a lot, it didn’t matter too much. At least I knew where I was with her, and although she wasn’t nice to me, she was nice to Jonathan. Well, she was sometimes but she seemed to always tell him what to do, not that he seemed to mind. The more I tried to understand these humans, the less I understood them.

  That night, Jonathan came home and made a huge fuss of me, which took me by surprise.

  ‘Philippa’s gone away on business, so it’s just you and me for the next few days.’ I licked my lips in delight. I shouldn’t have been so happy; after all, Jonathan only wanted me because his stupid girlfriend had gone away, but I was grateful for any affection and love he showed me. I decided to make the most of our time together; if Jonathan remembered how charming I was, he might never let Philippa criticise me or call me names again.

  Despite the fact that I had to check on Claire regularly (and the increasingly lazy Joe), Jonathan and I had a lovely boys’ time together. We definitely re-bonded with touch and smell, and I gave him a couple of little gifts to show that he was back in my good books.

  The strange thing was that, although he spoke to Philippa at night, I got the feeling that he was happier without her. It was weird, but when she was there, he seemed to have to be on his guard all the time. He was polite and tidy and cleaned up. But without her, he wore his gym clothes, he left plates on the side overnight, and he was so much more relaxed. I’m not sure the mess was a good thing, by the way, never having been a slovenly cat myself. But nevertheless, I wondered why humans were so stupid. Claire had been happier without Joe, I was pretty sure, and Jonathan was happier without Philippa. When Claire had come back from seeing her mum, she had thrown herself into her friendship with Tasha and the book club and seemed quite happy. Now, with Joe, there was something missing again. Her sparkle had gone. And Jonathan seemed tense when Philippa was around, and he actually seemed pleased she had gone away.

  I really didn’t understand them at all. Not one bit.

  Over the next few days, Jonathan and I developed a little routine. I still made sure that I spent enough time with Claire, but I spent even more with Jonathan. We ate together, and yes, I had so much fresh fish, I was in heaven. I didn’t even miss my sardines. We watched TV together. He would slump on the sofa with his beer and I would sit nestled into his side while he would absently stroke me. We went up to bed together again and the cashmere blanket returned. He talked to me, as well: about work, which he was enjoying; his new friends, who he was planning on drinking with at the weekend; and his gym, which he went to often, as he didn’t want to ‘let himself go’, The only thing he didn’t talk to me about was Philippa, which said it all really.

  But still, every evening when they spoke on the phone he would end the call by telling her that he missed her. He even said he loved her. I couldn’t believe it; I just didn’t believe he really did.

  It was at this point that I developed another plan. Everything that had happened had changed me and given me new ideas. It seemed clear to me what I needed to do. Jonathan couldn’t really be happy with Philippa, and Joe wasn’t good enough for my Claire, so I had the brilliant idea of getting Claire and Jonathan together. After all, I had been the one who started the friendship between Franceska and Polly! Claire and Jonathan both loved me and I knew they would be perfect together. I just needed to try to figure out a way to make it happen.

  One day, I tried hard to get Jonathan to follow me out of the house by miaowing very loudly as if something was wrong, when I knew Claire would be nearby, but his mobile phone rang and by the time he came off the call, it was too late to engineer the meeting. Another time, I tried to get Claire to follow me to Jonathan’s by yelping and then running off. But she thought I was playing and told me not to be such a ‘silly cat’. So far, I had no more ideas on how to get them together, but I was a determined cat and I knew I wouldn’t give up.

  I couldn’t give up. I was seriously worried about Claire. Joe hadn’t left Claire’s house since the night of the Chinese. Well he had, but only to get a bag of his stuff and come back. He sat around all day watching TV and eating her food, and then, when she came home in the evening, he would be mean to her and then apologise, blaming the stress of his job situation. He had tried to kick me a number of times and although I managed to dodge him, he was becoming more menacing each time. I couldn’t leave, because I was worried about Claire, but I was getting increasingly anxious when I was actually there.

  There was no sign of Tasha, and I missed her. There was just Joe, sitting on Claire’s sofa, with no intention of moving, and Claire, running around him like a timid mouse.

  The way he was treating her, I knew I had to get Joe out of our lives. But it was as if he had cast a spell on her. She didn’t seem happy any more, but I don’t think she realised it, as she spent more and more time trying to please Joe. It was another human contradiction I couldn’t understand. I wished I could talk to Tasha, because I was sure that between us we would sort something out. I was certain that she would have noticed what had happened to her friend, but of course I couldn’t do that. So instead I became a bit of an invisible, stealth cat. I became adept at keeping out of his way, hiding behind furniture, but with my ears pricked up so I could hear everything. I knew that he spoke on the phone a lot when she was out. I knew he wasn’t really ever going to get his job back because I had been right all along – it was his fault. I was pretty sure that he had no intention of leaving Claire’s house, because he was giving up his flat. This was turning into a terrible mess.

  When Claire was home, I would make myself seen. She was still fussing me and feeding me but I could see the way Joe was beginning to affect her. She looked tired and worried all day, and she was definitely getting thin again.

  That evening, she got home from work and the first thing Joe asked was what they were having for dinner.

  ‘I’ve got steak,’ she answered, sounding weary.

  ‘OK, good. Let me know when it’s ready.’ When Claire was home, he watched TV all the time, drank beer and let Claire do everything. He didn’t tidy the house or clean, he didn’t shop or even cook. And she never said anything to him, although I knew this must upset her, being such a tidy person herself. Even I knew not to leave my cat toys lying around.

  I was pretty sure that he would never leave, and the worst thing was that I didn’t think Claire would ask him to leave, either. I realised I couldn’t abandon Claire to this horrible man that I didn’t trust – it made my job on this street even more important. It was in the darkest times that I would be needed the most.

  I wondered, almost on a daily basis, how I had got to this. I’d gone from a loving, largely simple home with Margaret and Agnes, to having to fight for survival, living in two main homes and two part-time ones. Now I was in a complete tailspin about everyone. I was only a cat, for goodness sake. I wasn’t built to deal with so much turmoil.

  Thank goodness; finally, it was a day of homecomings. On my walk to number 22, I saw Polly through the window of her flat. She was holding Henry and he seemed to be asleep. I also saw that Franceska and the boys were with her. I jumped onto the windowsill, and I heard Aleksy shout, ‘Alfie,’ in glee. Franceska said something to Polly and then she came to the door and let me in.

  Ah, what a welcome. Aleksy was all over me, as was Thomasz, who seemed bigger than when he had left. Franceska smiled so much and even Polly seemed a tiny bit pleased to see me. She also looked much happier and healthier; her eyes didn’t have their usual dark rings.

  ‘I miss you, I miss you,’ Aleksy kept saying, over and over. It was so lovely and if I had been able to cry, it would have brought a happy tear to my eye. Instead, I had a massive cat grin stuck to my face for the rest of the afternoon.

  ‘How do you feel about being back here?’ Polly asked Franceska, as she put Henry into his cot and went to make a drink for them both.

  ‘I am OK. It was so nic
e to go home, see my family, so good. But I miss Thomasz, the boys miss him and I see that our home is here now. I sad to leave but happy to come back. Does it make sense?’

  ‘Yes. And I’m so pleased to see you, but I didn’t want to come back. I mean, of course I missed Matt, but having my mum help with Henry was just so nice. Even when I started to feel better I preferred being there to here, which sounds so terrible. I know I need to be more like you about living in London, but I really dreaded coming back.’ She looked sad again.

  ‘Oh Polly, I sorry. But you must speak with Matt about it.’

  ‘There’s no point. His career is so important. I mean, I was a model, and there’s no way I can go back to that now that I’ve had Henry, not that I want to. So we have to do what’s best for our future and it’s here; Matt’s job is here. Not only does he earn so much more than he did in Manchester, but also there are far more opportunities. I just wish I was better at this mum stuff.’

  ‘Oh Polly, you fine. It’s hard, that’s all. I never found it easy and only now the boys are bigger it gets better. But maybe your mum comes here?’

  ‘Have you seen the size of this flat? Of course you have, it’s the same size as yours!’ She laughed, which was a good sign.

  ‘No room, I know. Anyways, we make the best of things, yes?’

  ‘Yes, Frankie, we will. And you are so good at that, you know.’

  ‘I struggle. Polly, I didn’t tell you, before we went away, why we went … Thomasz made me go. Someone on the street was very bad to me. They hear me talk to Aleksy, in Polish, I forgot, and they say, “Foreigners only come here for our money and free living, you should go home.”’

  ‘That’s awful.’ Now I knew what she had been talking about before she went away and what she was crying about. My poor Franceska.

  ‘Yes but it not young boy or what you call it?’

  ‘Yob?’

  ‘No, it old lady. With the grey hair. She say it every time I see her. And we no have nothing free.’

  ‘I know you don’t. Honestly, don’t listen to people like that. There might always be prejudice, but it’s just narrow-mindedness.’

  ‘It hurts that people might say it to my children.’

  ‘Look, when Aleksy starts school at the end of the summer he’ll be fine. He’ll make loads of friends and you’ll see that it’s not as bad as you think.’ It was funny hearing Polly being reassuring and positive – it was usually the other way around.

  ‘Thank you. Meeting you makes me feel hopeful, that people will be like you. Not like that old lady.’

  ‘You’re normally the one reassuring me!’ Polly said, again reading my mind, and went over to Franceska and gave her a hug. My cat heart felt warm. I felt as if I was instrumental in this beautiful friendship that had sprung up between them, and it was one good thing that I had managed to do. I was fearful that I was losing my Claire and that Jonathan wouldn’t be so close to me when Philippa came back, so I would hold on to this tightly. It would make me smile when I was feeling sad.

  When Franceska went back to her flat to make tea for the boys, I left Polly’s and wandered back to Claire’s house. But she wasn’t there. I felt excited that she might have gone out after work for once, and when I saw Joe lying on the sofa, I made a swift exit. I went to Jonathan’s and let myself in the cat flap. Then I started as I saw Philippa, sat at the kitchen table in front of a computer. She was wearing a dress, which she never normally did. She looked as if she had made a big effort and I fleetingly wondered how she had got in, as Jonathan clearly wasn’t here. I miaowed, loudly.

  ‘Oh, you bloody cat,’ she exclaimed, jumping slightly. ‘I was hoping that my homecoming would be cat free. Shoo.’

  What did she mean, ‘homecoming’? This wasn’t her home. I began to panic. What if, like Joe, she had moved in? I ran into the living room and sulked under a chair waiting for Jonathan.

  ‘Hello?’ he shouted, as he opened the front door.

  ‘In the kitchen,’ Philippa replied. He went through and I followed him. She jumped up and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him. She looked as if she was sucking the very life out of him. I rubbed against his leg, trying to remind him that this week I’d been his best friend.

  ‘My two favourite people. Well, person and cat,’ he joshed, as he bent down to stroke me.

  ‘Can you leave the cat alone and concentrate on me? In fact, let’s go upstairs – we have time to make up.’

  ‘Let me just feed him first,’ Jonathan said, which pleased me, but Philippa’s face looked like thunder. He put some prawns in a bowl for me and then they went upstairs. I knew when I was beaten, but at least I got prawns out of it.

  Much later, they emerged. She was wearing one of Jonathan’s T-shirts and he was wearing a robe.

  ‘What do you fancy eating?’ he asked.

  ‘Apart from you?’ she said, giggling. She was acting very strangely. Maybe, like Claire, she had drunk too much wine, although I hadn’t seen any pass her lips.

  ‘Why don’t you order a curry? I know it’s your favourite,’ she said. ‘And we can open the champagne I brought.’

  ‘Sounds good to me.’ They spent time discussing what they would eat and then Jonathan ordered the food, opened the champagne and poured it into thin, posh looking glasses.

  ‘Let’s raise a toast,’ Philippa said.

  ‘To what?’ Jonathan asked.

  ‘To us and the fact that I think we should move in together.’ I was glad I didn’t have a drink, otherwise I would have choked on it.

  ‘Really? Move in together?’ Jonathan said. I was gratified to see that he looked a little bit shocked too. ‘But we haven’t been together that long!’

  ‘I know, but we’ve known each other for years and anyway, why not? I mean we clearly get on well and, you know, at our age I don’t see the point of waiting.’

  ‘It’s just a bit sudden, and, well, totally out of the blue. Isn’t this something we should discuss together?’ I wasn’t sure if Jonathan looked confused or terrified. I was definitely terrified, however. I felt my luck was really on a downward spiral.

  ‘Oh, don’t be a typical man. Look, I was away, I missed you. Since we started seeing each other we’ve been together all the time. This is a logical step.’

  ‘But …’

  ‘I know, we’ve only been dating for a couple of months, but when you know, you know! Johnny, you’re forty-three and I’m about to turn forty. We are both successful, attractive, intelligent people. What’s the point in waiting?’ I kind of had to give her credit for her confidence; she certainly seemed to know what she wanted.

  ‘Well, I’m not sure.’ I noticed that Jonathan hadn’t touched his bubbly drink. I think he looked as if he was turning a bit green, actually.

  ‘About me?’ Philippa snapped.

  ‘Of course not. I’m sure about you, just not about this. I mean, where would we live?’ He looked relieved as he asked the question.

  ‘Well, not here, of course. I mean the house is nice enough, but the postcode isn’t great. My apartment in Kensington would suit us both perfectly.’

  ‘I know yours is a nice place and a great location, but I really like it here.’ He looked a bit hurt at the criticism of our house. I wondered how Jonathan, who had seemed so arrogant and confident when I first met him, would even entertain the idea of being with such a woman. I know she wasn’t bad to look at but really, her personality wasn’t at all good enough.

  ‘It’s fine, but you know it’s just a bit further out of town than is convenient. Also, you could rent this place out to a family, it’d make a good rental.’

  ‘I’ve only just moved in though, really.’

  ‘Jonathan, what is wrong with you? I am offering you myself, full time, in my gorgeous Kensington apartment. Imagine, we can entertain in style, which will be good for our careers. I mean this isn’t great to invite people to – it’s not really in the best area, is it?’

  ‘All right, Philippa,’ Jonatha
n snapped. ‘I get it. I’m just not sure that I want to move in to your place.’

  ‘Don’t be silly, of course you do.’ I marvelled that her confidence hadn’t slipped one bit.

  ‘I really like you, and we’ve been having a great time together, but can’t we just leave things as they are? Just for the time being.’ He seemed to be begging a bit. I was beginning to feel happy inside. So far, Jonathan had seemed to really like this woman, and although he wasn’t like Claire was with Joe, which was timid and scared, I honestly thought she did exert a lot of control over him.

  ‘No, Jonathan, we can’t. I want to settle down. I’m thirty-nine. I want to be a partner in the firm this year and they favour married people, or at least settled ones. I want to get married. I want a child before I turn forty-one. There is no waiting to be done.’

  ‘Woah Phil, slow down. Where is this coming from?’ I retreated a bit, and it seemed Jonathan was physically recoiling from her too. ‘As you said, we’ve only been seeing each other for a couple of months. Before you went away on business we were having a lovely time. Going to dinner, spending time here, everything was great but not that serious. You can’t come back from a business trip to New York and demand I move in with you, marry you and impregnate you.’ He laughed, uncertainly.

  ‘I can and I have. Look Jonathan, this makes sense. Look at you. You had this high-flying career in Singapore and you’ve had to take a considerable step back in your work here.’

  ‘Thanks for reminding me.’ He looked unhappy, so I went up to him and rubbed his legs under the table.

  ‘My point is that I have a great job and prospects. You can support me and work your way back up at the same time. We will be a great team. I’ll make you look good and vice versa.’

  ‘You make it sound like a business relationship,’ he said, sounding sad.

  ‘Of course not, but, well, I’m not the queen of romance, you know that. Anyway, that’s what I want and what I want, I get.’ She did look determined; her eyes steely.