The Cat Who Came Back for Christmas

by Julia Romp

  Shiny earrings, water and swimming, sweets that last for a long time, London Aquarium, making mince pies because I make them lovely, animal documentaries, magnets, orange chocolate.

  Knowing the time so I know how many hours I have.

  My bed, but I don’t like going to sleep.

  The things I don’t like are:

  Liars.

  People who pull faces when they look at you.

  Shouting makes me worried.

  Small rooms.

  People who smell of Wotsits or coffee.

  Jokes because I can’t understand them and people make them and I can’t work them out.

  My mum when she looks down and breathes loud or when she don’t answer if I talk and she says she’s thinking.

  When people say “You look happy” because Mum says they say it when I’m not smiling and I feel happy inside but people still say that.

  I know I act different sometimes. I try to fit in and it don’t work and it makes me sad. I would never cry or show my feelings at school. People don’t understand me. I want to look and talk but it don’t come out and it comes out wrong. If I’m happy inside, I can’t smile. I don’t like showing it in case I look over the top. Lots of people have laughed at me and it makes me feel sad. But my mum will tell me how good I am at everything and I’m special. My mum makes me feel good. She says we are all different and have a bit of all sorts inside us. I tell the truth but sometimes it hurts people’s feelings. Mum said we need to think before we say something and I’m much better at that now. Not that I need my mum to figure this out for me.

  Here are the people I know:

  Michelle—She smelled nice of washing powder and made me happy. She would say “Do you want a drink, George?” She had pictures all over her flat of Ricky and Ashley when they was little. Michelle only liked trainers. She had five pairs. She liked jeans and ate toast.

  Arthur—He was my friend and every day he knocked for me. We played football or trampoline. His mum was small and their dog Jedi dribbled.

  Nanny Zena—She’s my dad’s mum and she made me a clown teddy when she used to knit. Now she is blind and can’t knit any more.

  Nanny Carol—She’s my mum’s mum and held me first when I was born. She is an old pensioner who has a bus pass and she is going to start living like a teenager now she has a bus pass. She loves cakes with cream. She can eat a whole birthday cake.

  Dad—He takes me swimming and plays computer games like I do.

  Lewis—He’s kind, lovely and a good dancer. Mum says to him, “Look after George, won’t you?” when we go out but it’s the other way round because I have to look after him.

  Nob—He’s strict but kind.

  Boy—He’s laid back.

  Sandra—She’s always having a baby.

  Tor—She looks like my mum but different.

  Dell—He’s Tor’s husband and he’s Mr. Cool.

  Wendy—Her face stays the same every day. She doesn’t change. She says “Hello George.”

  My mum—Before Ben came, I didn’t want to love anyone. I didn’t know what love was. I didn’t think about it really. I just remember knowing my mum was there to look after me. But it’s different now.

  That’s just a little bit about George. There’s so much more to him and Ben is the one who helped him show it all to the world. This isn’t the story of a magic cure for autism, of course, but it is our story about the magic that Ben gave George by bringing out his playfulness, fun and most of all love. Ben changed our lives forever and while George will always struggle in many ways, I believe the love he has for Ben—and the way it helped to bring George and me so much closer together—saved us both. If Ben was taken for a reason, it was to show us how powerful the love inside George is, because without Ben, he was lost. With him, he has a center, a voice and a way to show the world all the good inside him.

  Losing Ben made me realize that I have to prepare for the day when he leaves us for good and is too old or ill to stay with George anymore. So I have started mentioning to George that one day Ben might have a kitten and he seems convinced that it’s possible, because anything is when it comes to Ben. One day in the not-too-distant future, I will bring a kitten home and tell George that it is Ben’s son or daughter. I hope he will learn to fall in love with it just as he did Ben.

  For now, I focus on each day as it comes. Some are harder than others but throughout them all, I am so proud of George and all he has achieved—reading and writing, caring for his classmates and being a loving boy who cares about the world and people around him. I can honestly say that George really is the best son a mother could ask for and I love everything about the person he is. He’s truly unique, and that’s just about as much as any mother could want.

  Acknowledgments

  My most special thanks must go to Mum, Tor, Nob, Boy, Lewis and the rest of my family: you put up with my schemes, love and support me every step of the way and I couldn’t be without you.

  To all the people who have helped George in the past and continue to do so today—Andy Leigh, Wendy Vogel, Michael Schlesinger, Miss Proctor, Ms. Bahsin, Mr. Classon and Mr. Thurman—and everyone at Marjorie Kinnan—Mrs. Adams, Mrs. Ward, Mrs. Nagel and all the rest of the staff—you make George’s world a much happier place.

  It would be impossible to name everyone who helped me search for Ben but every phone call and message of support, whether from a stranger or a friend, was so appreciated. Special mention must go to Wendy, Keith, Nikki and Kayleigh; Alison, Steve and Carla; Tracy, Anne and Eliza; the staff at the Animal Rescue Center in Twickenham; Norma Mackie; Pat Cole and Jessica Thompson at the Hounslow Chronicle.

  Thanks also to Mavis, Monty and Socks—I know how much you miss Prudence.

  And finally a big thank-you to Laetitia Rutherford, for finding me; all at HarperCollins for believing in my story; and Megan Lloyd Davies for helping me laugh while I told it.