by Rachel Wells
I went to see if there was any movement from Tiger’s house before I returned home. There wasn’t. The house was shrouded in darkness and I knew her family normally went to bed early, so I wasn’t surprised. I quickly popped to the back of Sylvie’s house and saw that Connie was at the kitchen table, with her computer in front of her, and it looked as if Sylvie was helping her with her homework while Hana sat next to the computer. They looked more harmonious and I wondered how Sylvie would react when she found out about Aleksy. But that was a worry for another day.
I went home and curled into my bed and thought about Tiger. I replayed certain scenes with her in my head. How she was protective of me since we first met on Edgar Road. How she was always the more aggressive of the two of us and had got me out of trouble a few times. She was unafraid, she seemed so fearless. How she teased me about my vanity and conceit but still liked me for it. How she’d been jealous of me and Snowball, and I’d felt our friendship was really under threat, but she had been so mature about it and we had worked through. How she was the one who helped me when I was broken-hearted after Snowball left and how quickly she took to helping me parent George and never complained. She didn’t complain about much. And when I told her I loved her, which was a long time coming, she was so happy, but she also would never have pushed me into it. She was the best friend a cat could ever have, and as I finally let myself fall apart, when no one could see me, I realised I had no idea how I was going to cope with her loss. For an ideas cat, I literally had no idea how I would carry on without her.
Chapter Fourteen
George’s head moved from me to Tiger, and back again. He blinked and then he looked at us both again.
‘I don’t understand,’ he said. The poor kitten really didn’t.
‘I’m not well, George,’ Tiger said. ‘I can’t get better. It happens sometimes and soon, but I don’t know how soon, I won’t be here any more.’
‘But where are you going? On holiday?’ It was George’s first experience of loss, and goodness, what I wouldn’t have given to protect him from it.
‘No, although it might seem a bit like that. I’m going far away so you can’t physically see me but I will always be watching you.’
‘Well that makes no sense at all,’ George said. ‘If you’re so far away how can you watch me?’
‘Well I’m kind of going to be in the sky, so I will be able to see you but you won’t be able to see me.’ I’m not sure Tiger was actually doing a good job of this. She was confusing the poor lad even more. Not that I was sure I could do any better, but I thought I’d have a go.
‘What Tiger means, George, is that sometimes people, or cats in this case, have to leave this earth, but they will be in your hearts forever, so they never properly leave you.’
He blinked at us both again.
‘So you won’t be here, in this house, on this road?’
‘No.’
‘And I will never see you again?’
‘No.’
‘But we don’t know exactly when I will never see you again?’ George asked. He seemed composed but I was still unsure what he was comprehending, after all it was huge.
‘No, we don’t know for sure,’ I said. ‘But we have been led to believe that it’s not going to be long.’
‘Before Christmas?’ George asked. I hadn’t thought about that, I hadn’t thought about this being close to Christmas. Would this be Tiger’s last ever Christmas, would she even make it to Christmas? It was unbearable.
‘I honestly don’t know, George, but I won’t be able to come out much, so you’ll have to come and see me. I’m pretty sure my family will be alright with that but come even if they aren’t, because I want to see you.’
‘I want to see you too, Tiger mum, and I promise that I’ll come in, whether they shout or not. But please, try to be here for Christmas. I don’t want to have Christmas without you.’
‘And nor do I, love,’ Tiger said and I could see she was about to cry, in a cat way of course.
George seemed to accept this and I was relieved. He was behaving with a maturity I didn’t always credit him with.
‘Do you mind if I go now? I need to think,’ he said.
‘Of course, but come and see me later?’ Tiger asked, giving him a nuzzle.
‘I will, Tiger mum.’
As George went off, we decided that I ought to go and fill the other neighbourhood cats in on the situation. Tiger didn’t think that she would be able to make it. Not only was she feeling weak but she was also distraught about George.
‘I’m not sure he understood,’ she said, clearly worried, on top of the fact she was also exhausted. Whatever this illness was, it had changed her almost beyond all recognition already, she was a shrunken version of herself and she was struggling. I knew she was in pain too, but she refused to complain about that.
‘No, but we’ll help him, and you know he needs time to let the news sink in.’ I knew I had needed time and I wasn’t sure it had still fully sunk in with me.
‘You promise you’ll take care of him, when I’m gone.’
‘You know I will,’ I said. ‘But let’s not speak of that.’
I didn’t know why but I was suddenly filled with optimism that this would all sort itself out. She said that the vet told her family she wouldn’t get better but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t. Vets weren’t always right. I had heard Claire say the same about doctors. What if they’d got it wrong, what if Tiger was just bad now but would recover? She wasn’t that old, not even in cat terms, and by rights she should have years left in her. And I knew that due to her laziness she hadn’t even used up half of her nine lives. No, I narrowed my eyes, there was no way that Tiger could die.
‘But you have to promise me something,’ I said, suddenly energised.
‘What?’
‘That you’ll try to fight this illness. For me, and for our boy.’
‘I will, Alfie.’ But I could hear the hopelessness in her voice. She didn’t think she could, but luckily I had enough belief for all of us.
I left her to rest as I went to see the other cats. Rocky, Elvis and Nellie were joined by Tinkerbell, a cat who was a boy, but had a girl’s name. He didn’t often hang out with us, he was normally too busy looking for food, but he did at times, and was a very pleasant cat, one I was happy to call a friend.
‘Have you seen George?’ I asked.
‘Yes, he ran past here a while back, going at some speed I should say,’ Nellie said.
‘When I asked him where he was going, he shouted back that he had to be somewhere important. Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t see anywhere important at that end of the street.’ Rocky sounded confused.
‘And it’s not like the boy not to stop and pass the time of day,’ Elvis said.
‘Maybe he heard about somewhere to get food.’ Tinkerbell narrowed his eyes, as if he was thinking about following him, but then he sat down. ‘Not to worry, I’ve just had two lunches.’
I filled them in on Tiger’s situation. Nellie immediately started yowling. Elvis and Rocky seemed very quiet.
‘I knew there was something amiss. I mean, we’ve barely seen her and normally she’s always with you or the lad,’ Rocky said, eventually, his voice full of emotion.
‘I don’t know, the place won’t be the same without her,’ Elvis said.
‘She’s not gone yet. She might recover,’ I said.
‘In my experience, when the vet says your days are numbered, they are generally right,’ Tinkerbell said. ‘And, Alfie, I’m not trying to be mean but, you know, sometimes it’s better to try to accept it, especially as you’ve got George to think about.’
‘I know but I just don’t want to lose her,’ I said, lying down on the soft grass, feeling like I never wanted to get up again.
‘Hey, we’ll be here for you, and the lad, and Tiger of course. How about tomorrow morning we go to her garden, show her our support?’ Rocky said.
‘That’s a good idea,’
Nellie agreed. She had come over to nuzzle me, we were all united in grief.
‘As long as I’ve had my breakfast of course,’ Tinkerbell said, and I managed a grin. Sometimes when the world seemed to be changing, falling apart, breaking hearts, having someone act as if everything was normal was a comfort.
‘Do you think I should go and look for George?’ I asked. Now I had stopped feeling sorry for myself I was worried about him again.
‘I’d leave him for a bit, give him some space. We’ll all keep an eye out for him.’
‘I am so lucky to have such great friends,’ I said, before going home so I could crawl into my bed and wallow.
George returned just in time for tea. I could tell he wasn’t feeling very good, his eyes were downcast and he didn’t have his usual bounce about him. He ate a bit, but not as much as normal, and I knew I would have to get him alone so I could have a chat with him. I took my chance as Claire took the children upstairs to get them bathed and ready for bed.
‘Come outside with me for a moment,’ I said, and George followed me through the cat flap.
‘Will she really die, Dad?’ he asked.
‘You know, son, I keep saying to myself that it’s all a big mistake but that is what the vet said, and she’s not feeling well at all. So, as much as we don’t want to, I think we have to face facts. You must have noticed how thin she is.’
‘I did today, but she’s my Tiger mum, and I don’t know what I’d do without her. What happens when she’s not here?’
‘I don’t know, son.’ I felt my eyes glistening with tears and cats don’t cry. ‘I know we will miss her, our hearts will hurt and we won’t feel good at all, but together we’ll get through it. I know you are young and you shouldn’t have to say goodbye to someone you love, not at your age, but I can’t stop it, I can’t protect you from it.’
‘I’m scared, Dad.’ He looked at me with his big, innocent eyes.
‘So am I,’ I admitted and I moved in as close to him as I could while we both yowled about what we were about to lose.
Chapter Fifteen
I could tell that Christmas was creeping closer, because there was an excitement in the air that wasn’t there before. It was only a few weeks into November but Claire always started making lists early. Polly also started talking about ordering things from the internet to get ahead of the game. Jonathan, of course, moaned about money and Matt, who loved Christmas, talked about how he was going to decorate the house, for the kids, and how Jonathan should do the same. Jonathan didn’t share his enthusiasm and wasn’t keen, saying the houses looked tacky when they were all done up. He could be so miserable but I knew, deep down, he loved Christmas.
Tomasz and Frankie were gearing up for the restaurants’ pre-Christmas rush. For most of December they spread themselves very thinly, as Christmas menus started to be served, office parties booked, and with a few restaurants to run, they were kept busy.
But the most important event, according to the adults, more important than the letters to Santa and the arguments about when to decorate the house, was the nativity play. This play was only taking place in the younger children’s school, but it was a big deal. Claire and Polly were chatting excitedly about it when they got a letter saying that the school was holding auditions and the children were all enthusiastic about their potential parts.
‘Right, kids, what are you going to do for your audition?’ Claire asked as she, Jonathan, Toby and Summer were in the living room after tea. George and I were also in attendance.
‘I’m going to sing,’ Summer announced before launching into a rendition of ‘Jingle Bells’. It wasn’t great, more shouting than singing, but Jonathan and Claire clapped enthusiastically as she finished. Parents were a little biased. I knew this as I could be too, but not when it came to that sort of noise.
‘Great, Summer. And Toby?’ Jonathan asked.
Toby cleared his throat, then got down on all fours. ‘Hee-haw,’ he said.
‘Right, is that it?’ Jonathan had his hands ready to applaud but then he scratched his head.
‘I want to be the donkey,’ Toby explained.
‘Oh, in that case, it was excellent,’ Claire announced and they all clapped loudly, before getting the kids to do it over again. I raised my whiskers; in my opinion, once was more than enough.
‘You are going to kill these auditions,’ Jonathan said, enthusiastically.
‘Jon, it’s the school nativity not the West End,’ Claire pointed out but she looked pretty excited about it too.
Despite being heart-broken about Tiger, I decided to focus on the Aleksy situation. I needed Franceska, who was worried about him, to know the truth, because I knew she would be relieved. Aleksy wasn’t ill, he wasn’t miserable, there was nothing wrong with him, apart from first love. And I knew that if Franceska saw that she would be reassured. And, anyway, it was not good for them to sneak around together. I had learnt that the best way to deal with things was to be open about them.
I had a foolproof plan. I went to see Dustbin, and chatted it through with him. We knew that Aleksy usually walked Connie home from school – I’d seen him – and I also knew from Franceska that she was letting him have a bit more freedom as long as he was home for his tea. So, all I needed to do was to get Franceska to our street so she could see them together. Simple. Although, from past experience, I knew that getting humans to do as I told them wasn’t always easy. It could be quite exhausting, in fact.
I waited until Franceska and Tomasz came out of the restaurant and were about to head inside the house. Then I started behaving oddly. I yowled, meowed, yelped, hopped around in circles and almost cried myself hoarse. I scratched at Franceska’s trousers, careful not to hurt her, and just as I almost felt as I was going to pass out, they seemed to get it. I tried not to catch Dustbin’s eyes, he was rolling around with laughter behind a dumpster.
‘I think he wants us to do something,’ Tomasz said, scratching his head.
‘MEOW!’ Yes.
‘I go with him, you stay home because the boys will be back any minute,’ Franceska said, glancing at her watch.
Tomasz nodded. ‘But call me, to let me know everything is OK.’
‘MEOW,’ I shouted again. Finally. Although I was exhausted, I set off round the side of the yard to the main road. I managed to get Franceska to follow me, although she seemed very confused as she did so.
‘Is something wrong?’ she asked. I tried to tell her it wasn’t but I don’t think she understood. I managed to dodge a chubby dog who tried to leap at me, luckily his owner pulled his lead back. He snarled at me as I grinned back at him. Dogs were no match for me, even when I was tired and emotional. We made it to our street without further incident, but of course I am a cat and I wasn’t sure about the timing. Had they come home? Were they on their way? I had no idea. I led Franceska to Connie’s front door, hoping that somehow this was going to work.
‘Is something wrong with Sylvie?’ Franceska asked, looking at me with concern. ‘But why didn’t you get Claire or Polly?’
‘Yowl.’ Honestly, did she understand nothing? She shrugged at me and then she rang the doorbell. There was no answer. I wondered how I would come up with a plan B, because let’s face it, this one had really taken it out of me. We stood on the doorstep, poor Franceska looking totally bemused, and me so tired I thought I might pass out. Instead I sat down.
‘Alfie, what on earth is going on?’ she asked. I put my head in my paws. She turned to leave, and then she stopped. ‘Oh my,’ she said. I looked up. Bingo. Walking towards us, holding hands, were Aleksy and Connie.
‘Aleksy and Connie?’ she asked.
‘You’re welcome,’ I thought as I lay down and tried to get my breath back, relief flooding my poor, tired body.
They both stopped short as soon as they spotted Franceska, and they untangled their hands, as if we hadn’t already noticed. I wondered whether those suffering from ‘teenagerness’ temporarily lost a few brain cells as I’d always
thought of Aleksy as being quite clever.
‘Hi Mum,’ Aleksy said, trying to sound casual. ‘I was just walking Connie home from school because …’
‘He’s borrowing a book from me for English,’ Connie quickly added, sounding as if butter wouldn’t melt but looking embarrassed, and a little awkward.
‘Is that what they call it these days?’ Franceska arched an eyebrow.
‘What?’ Aleksy asked.
‘It’s fine, I was hoping to see your mum, but she’s not here.’
‘No, she’ll be home in about an hour,’ Connie said, still red-faced.
‘No problem. Right, Aleksy, go and get your book and then you can walk home with me,’ Franceska said.
‘Sure, Mum,’ Aleksy said.
When they went inside, Franceska bent down and gave me a tickle. Then she lifted me up for a cuddle.
‘Is that what you wanted me to know?’ she asked.
‘Meow,’ I said, quietly.
‘Oh Alfie, you are such a good, clever cat. I can’t believe my Aleksy has a girlfriend. Oh, I am so not ready for him to grow up, but at least it’s nothing bad, thank you.’ She kissed my fur and put me back down.
Chapter Sixteen
Claire was having one of her ‘girls’ nights’, although why they called it that I had no idea, they were hardly girls after all. Polly and Franceska were coming round and Sylvie would be joining them; they were so determined to make her feel welcome that they included her now. I was so proud of my women, their friendship had been built over a number of years but they never excluded people and I believed that I might have had a paw in that.
Polly and Franceska arrived first, both brimming with excitement.
‘Quick, tell Claire what you told me,’ Polly said, shoving Franceska into the kitchen.
‘What?’ Claire looked bemused.
‘My Aleksy, he told me. OK, he didn’t exactly volunteer the information, but when I caught him, he came clean. I mean, Alfie led me there, so because of Alfie I know everything now.’
