Alfie in the Snow

by Rachel Wells

  ‘You can pretend to look for him today, Nellie,’ I said. She was like an aunt to George and also had more patience than I did. After all, George always hid in the same place and it did get a bit tiresome pretending that we didn’t know where he was.

  ‘OK.’ She grinned.

  ‘Has anyone seen Tiger today?’ I asked.

  ‘Nope. She’s been a bit elusive lately if you ask me,’ Rocky said.

  ‘I said the same to her but she said she just didn’t like the cold any more. Though I thought she might be here this morning.’

  ‘Nah, not so far. Although it’s still early.’

  We settled down to our activities, gossiping, watching George play and watching the world go by, and before long Tiger appeared. I was relieved to see her, and I’m not sure why I was worrying. It was just something I always did. I am a worrier by nature. And when, like now, life was coasting along very well, I tended to worry more.

  ‘Hey,’ I said, greeting her excitedly.

  ‘Calm down Alfie, you’re acting like you haven’t seen me for ages.’

  ‘Well, you weren’t out last night.’

  ‘No, sorry, I fell asleep after dinner again, and when I woke up, I thought it was probably too late. Honestly, I am not a fan of winter,’ she declared, examining her paw.

  ‘I love winter, I hope it snows,’ George said excitedly. He’d had his first experience of snow the previous year and he was a big fan. I was not; it was cold, wet and you sank into it, a bit like sand actually, which I also wasn’t too fond of.

  ‘Yes, well, George, you might not say the same when you get older,’ Tiger said, but indulgently. ‘Right, come on and we can go and climb a tree if you’re good.’

  They set off together to the nearest tree. All was normal as I watched George jump about with Tiger, then Nellie went to join them and they started a game of tag. Rocky, Elvis and I watched and caught up on more local gossip.

  ‘Salmon tried to tell us about your neighbours as well,’ Rocky said.

  ‘Of course, his owners will have gone around already, won’t they?’ I replied. Salmon was a pain and used to be my arch nemesis, but we were civil now. He lived across the street from me with the Goodwins who were the self-appointed neighbourhood watch coordinators on Edgar Road. Translation: they were incredibly nosy busybodies who annoyed most of us. But Jonathan had to admit that, with them around, Edgar Road was a low crime street. No one got away with anything. ‘What did he say?’

  ‘Oh, he was doing his usual, acting as if he knew more than he did, being cagey, but we’re used to it now. He didn’t even mention the fact they’d lived in another country, so my guess is that your humans found out more than his.’

  ‘Well that makes me happy,’ I said. I was still curious though. Our chat was interrupted by a commotion and we rushed to see George perched precariously on a high branch. My heart sped up.

  ‘Oh my goodness, George,’ I said.

  ‘Get down at once,’ Tiger was shouting.

  ‘He’s ever so high,’ Rocky exclaimed.

  ‘And that branch don’t look too secure,’ Elvis yowled.

  ‘Oh no, poor boy, what’s going to happen?’ Nellie asked. We all started panicking, running around in circles and yelping. As we came to a halt I noticed that George had started his descent. My heart was in my paws as I watched him climb down. I had discovered my fear of heights a long time ago, whilst being stuck up a tree. Not only that, but I’d had to endure the humiliation of being rescued by the fire brigade. It was all for love, but that was another story. Trees had not been one of my favourite things ever since.

  ‘What were you all shouting about?’ George asked innocently as he reached the ground.

  ‘Oh thank goodness,’ Nellie said, sitting down and looking exhausted.

  ‘George, you were so high, too high,’ Tiger chastised.

  ‘No I wasn’t. Look, I got down, didn’t I? Sometimes you adults panic about the most ridiculous things.’

  Unfortunately no one could argue with that.

  Tiger and I decided we’d had enough excitement for one day so we took George home. He was reluctant, having had so much fun. But while we were on our way I saw the next-door neighbour, Sylvie, and her daughter, Connie, in the street. I couldn’t resist making myself known to her.

  ‘Oh Connie, here are the next-door cats again.’

  ‘They’re cute,’ Connie said, bending down and petting us.

  ‘We’ll meet them properly later as we’re going over.’ Sylvie smiled in the way that people did when they weren’t really very happy. A fake smile, or putting on a brave face as I thought of it. We all did it, us adults.

  ‘Great,’ Connie said but I noticed how her shoulders sagged and she dragged her feet. Her voice definitely lacked enthusiasm.

  ‘Come on, if we get your school uniform sorted quickly then I’ll buy you some more exciting clothes.’ Sylvie was trying hard.

  ‘Fine,’ Connie said as they walked off.

  ‘I think those two need a lot of cheering up,’ I said. Tiger nodded her agreement.

  ‘Well, they’ve come to the right street,’ George finished.

  They really had.

  My slumber was disturbed by one of my favourite noises: my families. From my place on Claire and Jonathan’s bed, I heard the loud cheery greetings. I stretched and rushed downstairs where George was, as usual, centre of attention. I meowed loudly to make myself heard and Aleksy and Tommy came over and took turns fussing me. I nestled into them enjoying the warmth.

  Our house, which wasn’t quiet at the best of times, became louder, more crowded, and heaps of fun. Claire and Jonathan’s was the biggest house which was why we all convened at ours, but Tomasz and Franceska came in loaded with food from the restaurant, Polly and Matt always had wine and beer with them, and the adults – which included me – would all go to the kitchen to prepare food and drinks while the children, with George in tow, went into the living room. The older children would set up games for the younger ones. I had noticed that lately Aleksy hovered a bit before joining the kids; he thought himself too grown-up and I had been warned what that meant. He was a new creature now, something called a teenager.

  I had heard about teenagers, notably from Tiger whose humans didn’t have one but knew one who visited, and I’d had first-hand experience of one when I was in love with Snowball and she lived with a teenage boy who spoke monosyllabically and never smiled. Well, my Aleksy, who I had known for years, since I first moved to Edgar Road and before he even started school, was now one. He had had his thirteenth birthday last year, and everyone had made a big deal about him becoming a teenager, but I didn’t know why because as far as I could see there was nothing to celebrate. It seemed that turning fourteen hadn’t improved things at all.

  It was about losing my sweet best friend – although he was always still lovely to me, I didn’t know if the real him would ever come back. Teenagers were not an exact science though, apparently, but this one, hovering in the hallway, looking at the phone clasped in his hand, ignoring everyone around him, had definitely become one of them.

  Eventually he went into the living room.

  ‘Aleksy, help me make a den,’ Tommy said.

  ‘I’m busy,’ Aleksy mumbled and sat on the sofa doing something with his phone. Toby looked disappointed.

  ‘But Aleksy, you make the best dens,’ Henry complained.

  ‘Please,’ Summer asked, looking at him with her big blue eyes.

  ‘OK, but just for a minute,’ he sighed, as he started gathering the sofa cushions.

  I went to the kitchen where Polly had just finished telling Franceska about Sylvie.

  ‘She’ll be here in a minute, but remember, guys, it’s been hard for her,’ Polly reminded them.

  ‘Hey, I lived in Singapore, remember,’ Jonathan said. ‘And I wasn’t exactly thrilled when I moved back here, so I’ll be able to properly sympathise.’

  ‘God, he’s right,’ Claire said. ‘I hadn’t
thought of it before, but at least you and her can talk about expat life if needed.’

  ‘And also how, if you hadn’t left that sunny, fun-filled life, you’d never have met Claire, or had the kids,’ Matt joshed.

  ‘Hey, he is so lucky he got fired from his job in Singapore,’ Claire said.

  ‘Meow,’ I shouted.

  ‘Of course, you’d never have met Alfie either,’ Tomasz said and thankfully everyone seemed to agree what a terrible thing that would have been.

  Throughout dinner, Sylvie and Connie were quiet. The younger children had been fed earlier, Tommy insisting on eating with them, and they were in the living room watching a DVD while the adults, Aleksy and Connie ate. Claire, Polly and Franceska talked about the local area, schools, and the men were polite, but no one wanted to ask too many questions. Aleksy and Connie sat next to each other but they weren’t exactly chatting either. It was fine but it did feel a bit awkward, rather than the usual conversation and bickering and teasing. I paced around the table, wondering what I could do to bring this evening to life, and then I had an idea. I knew I’d be in trouble, but I jumped on the table.

  ‘Alfie, get down!’ Claire screeched. Aleksy burst out laughing and then Connie looked at him and did the same.

  ‘Bloomin’ cat,’ Jonathan huffed, lifting me off the table and trying not to laugh.

  ‘He is such a naughty cat sometimes,’ Claire huffed.

  ‘But so cute.’ Tomasz grinned.

  ‘You two will be going to the same school when Connie starts on Monday,’ Claire said, the ice having been broken.

  ‘Really? What year?’ Aleksy asked.

  ‘Year Nine,’ Connie mumbled, but then she looked up. ‘I haven’t been to school in England before,’ she said. ‘So I don’t know much about it.’

  ‘I’m in the same year. Hey, listen, I can meet you and walk there with you if you want, I mean on your first day.’

  ‘Would you?’ She looked relieved, as did her mum.

  ‘Sure, I mean I know nearly everyone in our year and school’s OK, so I can help you meet people.’ Aleksy blushed; this was the most I had heard him say in ages.

  ‘That’s great, thank you Aleksy,’ Sylvie said. The teenagers looked as if they had said too much and glanced back at their plates.

  Things got easier after that. Sylvie seemed to relax as she and Jonathan chatted about Asia; they both had been to lots of the same countries although Jonathan admitted never having been to Japan. At one point Polly went to check on the children, then Aleksy asked to be excused and Connie and he left, both grabbing their phones from the kitchen counter on their way out. I spent a while listening to the adults, satisfied that although it wasn’t quite there yet, Sylvie would make a nice addition to the group. I could still feel her sadness and she was guarded but when she smiled, or laughed, I could see that she was lovely.

  I followed Aleksy to where he and Connie sat on the stairs.

  ‘I’m actually really nervous about school,’ Connie admitted. I looked at her properly for the first time. She had shoulder-length dark hair, big eyes and pale skin. She was almost as tall as Aleksy and slim, although she wore baggy trousers and a hooded sweatshirt, which was pretty much what Aleksy wore too. They both had trainers on their feet as well. It was, I believed, the teenage uniform.

  ‘I guess it might be different to your school in Japan. Do you speak Japanese?’ Aleksy asked. Connie said some words which neither of us understood.

  ‘Yes, I do.’ She smiled. She was pretty when she smiled. ‘But now that we’re here I’m not sure how useful it will be. I didn’t want to come home,’ she admitted.

  ‘You know, I lived in Poland when I was born,’ he said.

  ‘Do you remember it?’

  ‘No, but we do visit. And I speak a bit of Polish.’ He said some words again which I didn’t quite understand, although I recognised it a bit as I’d heard Franceska and Tomasz speaking Polish over the years. ‘But I think of here as home now.’

  ‘I still think of Japan as home. I miss it,’ she said, sounding sad.

  I was surprised at how open she was; it seemed that perhaps teenagers only knew how to speak to each other.

  ‘It’ll be alright. Hey, is that the iPhone 7?’ he asked, looking at her phone.

  ‘Yes, it’s the same as yours,’ she replied and they both grinned.

  Family evening came to an end soon after that. Tired children were either taken home or upstairs to bed, George was tucked in with Toby, Aleksy and Tommy bounded off, still full of energy, with their parents, and Connie and Sylvie went next door. Once everyone was settled I went to see if Tiger was out, but it was raining so I was pretty sure that she wouldn’t be. I was right: there was no sign of her. As the raindrops dampened my fur, I thought about going home, snuggling into my warm bed but, before I did, I couldn’t resist sneaking next door.

  I saw Sylvie sitting at the kitchen table, this time with lights on, Hana the cat on her lap again, and in front of her was a computer. She was talking to someone and I knew from experience that she was probably talking to a friend through the screen – I was quite technologically savvy for a cat. I was pleased to see she was smiling and I hoped that being with us had cheered her up a bit. The rain started coming down much heavier and, in danger of turning into a drowned rat, I went back next door to the warm, dry home that was always there to welcome me.

  Chapter Five

  I was thinking about how to get to meet Hana now the weekend was over. Connie had started school and Sylvie told Claire she had some job interviews, and now I had spent a bit of time with both Connie and Sylvie I really, really wanted to meet this exotic cat. Not only was I keen to let her know that she had friends around if she wanted them, but I also was interested to get her opinion on how her family was coping.

  Connie had told Aleksy that they’d had Hana since she was a kitten and she had never been outside, she’d always been a house cat which was customary in the Tokyo suburb where they lived. I could understand that in some places cats didn’t go outside and I also knew it suited some of them, but I couldn’t imagine being a house cat. Although, after some of the trouble we had got into in the past, it probably wasn’t a bad idea. And in George’s case it would make life much easier for me … No, being a house cat, on reflection, sounded terrible and I needed to rescue Hana from this life of incarceration now she was in England.

  These were my thoughts as I hung around outside Tiger’s house – George had gone off for a stroll with Nellie – when I saw her owners come out with her in a cat carrier. I narrowed my eyes and wondered where she was going. Her owners were older than any of mine and didn’t go out very often. But they got into a car, a taxi, and drove off. Tiger hadn’t been looking so she didn’t see me. I forgot all about Hana and fretted about Tiger, where was she going? What was she doing? Was everything OK? I calmed myself down as I went to find the others. Her owners didn’t have luggage with them so they couldn’t be going away. Perhaps they were taking her to visit a friend. I found Elvis and Rocky at the recreation ground, grateful that I could take comfort in their routine.

  ‘The lad and Nellie have gone to the other end of the street,’ Rocky said.

  ‘Yeah, and Nellie never says no to him,’ Elvis added.

  ‘No one says no to George,’ I pointed out. ‘But I wanted to ask you, I just saw Tiger going out, does anyone know where she’s gone?’ I asked. I doubted they did but, before they could answer, Salmon loomed over us. He had a habit of doing that, almost appearing from thin air.

  ‘Are you wondering about Tiger?’ he asked. He sounded his usual smug self. But I wanted information, so I needed to play along.

  ‘I was, I saw her go out with her owners, I had no idea what she was up to,’ I said, trying to sound nonchalant.

  ‘Well, my owners went to see hers this morning, important neighbourhood watch business. Apparently they are taking her to the vet.’

  ‘The VET??!’ I immediately panicked.

  ‘Cal
m down Alfie,’ Salmon said, almost sounding kind. ‘It’s just a check-up. Tiger probably didn’t even know she was going but they said they’d locked the cat flap so she couldn’t go out this morning.’

  ‘Thank you Salmon, it’s really kind of you to let me know.’ I wasn’t used to him being so helpful.

  ‘That’s alright.’ He tried to sound cool again. ‘No fur off my nose.’

  ‘Hey, I was just thinking about Hana, the cat who’s moved in next door to me,’ I said, thinking I owed him.

  ‘Oh yes, have you met her?’ he asked. He couldn’t hide his interest now.

  ‘No, but her owners came to our house last night. She doesn’t go out, ever. She’s a house cat. Something common in her country of Japan apparently.’

  ‘Well I never,’ Rocky said. ‘A house cat?’

  ‘Yes, she’s never been out, ever,’ I said, enjoying having the authority on something.

  ‘That’s a shame,’ Elvis said. ‘It means we’ll never meet her.’

  ‘Oh we will,’ I said.

  ‘What do you mean?’ Salmon narrowed his eyes at me.

  ‘I don’t exactly know, but I will figure something out.’

  ‘I can’t stand around here all day chatting, things to do, people to see.’ Salmon grinned before stalking off.

  ‘Gosh, he’s almost going soft in his old age,’ Rocky said as we watched him swinging his tail behind him.

  I didn’t tell George about Tiger. Salmon had said it was just a check-up but I wanted to talk to Tiger and get some reassurance before involving George. He was surprised as I actively encouraged him to go out on his own after lunch, but he was quick to take advantage as he rushed off with my blessing.

  I sat by Tiger’s back step and it wasn’t long before she appeared.

  ‘Thank goodness,’ I said, nuzzling her. ‘I was worried about you.’

  ‘I know I’m sorry, they sprang the vet on me. This morning I went to go out and I bashed my head against the cat flap, which hurt.’ She paused to rub her head with her paw. ‘They closed it without telling me, and they shoved me, well not shoved, but put me in the carrier and off we went.’