“I think the bang on the head has done you some good, Milly.”
Archie rubbed his cheek against the glass a second time before taking a couple of steps to the end of the sill. This freed up space behind him and, in a flash, Henry jumped up next to him, followed by Jasmine. Portia jumped up, too, but tumbled off and succeeded only after a second attempt, her owners’ over-generous offerings of turkey and sausage over Christmas having done little for her waistline. She increasingly resembled a round, hairy pom-pom. They stared at Milly, meowed softly and, like Archie, rubbed their cheeks against the panes. Tom was astounded.
“What the ... I can’t believe this.”
He grabbed his mobile phone from the coffee table and took a photograph.
“Jill’ll love this.”
He texted it to her. Within seconds, his mobile pinged and Tom read her reply. “OMG!”
The four cats sitting in line on the sill resembled cuddly toy prizes on a shelf at a fairground. Milly was as astounded as Tom and dragged herself forward with the intention of jumping onto the low table below the window. The effort was beyond her, however, so Tom lifted her up. The cats meowed all together as if in a choir and rubbed their cheeks against the panes once more. Milly reciprocated. Condensation spots formed and vanished intermittently on the glass. They were so pleased to see Milly on the road to recovery, having feared the worst when her owners had driven her away.
Tom was so uplifted at the sight of the cats that he rushed into the kitchen and removed some ham and cheese from the fridge. He broke them up into tiny morsels and, placing them into a bowl, went round to the front of the house. The level of purring rose to unprecedented heights as Milly’s new friends gratefully and greedily accepted the treats from Tom’s hand. Archie had to fend off Henry on more than one occasion as he tried to intercept titbits meant for the two females.
“You won’t impress Jasmine that way, Henry,” he whispered into his ear.
Henry backed off, chastened. After their feed, Tom smoothed their coats and tickled their ears.
Rather than being consumed with jealousy and scowling at Tom for making a fuss of other cats as she usually did, Milly’s heart was only warmed by the scene in front of her. In her semi-conscious state at the time of her accident, Milly had been aware of the help the cats had provided. She owed them her life. Archie had been magnificent, organising everything like a battlefield general, darting off to fetch her owners and refusing to give up until he succeeded. Considering his early life as a kitten when he had been abandoned, abused, left for dead and ignored, it was remarkable how he had grown up to become such a handsome, caring and gentle cat. He had reciprocated the kindness and care shown to him by his owners in a manner that made her want to hide her face in shame at the way she had taken hers for granted. Archie was a true inspiration. As for Henry, the timid male she bullied mercilessly, it would have been understandable if he had not wanted to help her, but he chose to do so, keeping her warm and offering reassuring words until Portia arrived. Milly was acutely aware that every cat in the neighbourhood would have helped her if they had been there, and this in spite of the way she treated them; the scowling, the spitting, the scramming, the stealing, the dirtying of their gardens. They deserved better than to feel intimidated by her. Secretly, she was envious of their friendships. Without their knowing, Milly had sometimes hidden high in the thick foliage of the laurel tree of Fiona’s garden and wished that she too was taking part in the fun and frolics before her eyes, particularly the football matches, while Fiona’s treats were mouth-watering and had her salivating. And today they had made the effort to come and see her, raising her spirits at their show of concern. It would be inexcusable to live her life in the same manner as before and so Milly resolved, at that moment, to change her ways. The penny had well and truly dropped.
Tom returned to the living room, wiping his hands, and stroked Milly who was still sitting on the table in front of the window. Archie nosed one of the panes and Milly nosed him back. He then jumped down and the others followed him in a single file as if he were the Pied Piper through the garden gate towards their homes.
“You’ve got such good friends, Milly.”
She responded to Tom’s stroking by standing up and arching her back, nearly toppling over, unbalanced as she was on three legs, her purring soft and constant. He tickled her ears and she leaned into him.
“Be kind to them next time.”
“Rest assured I shall. I’ve learnt my lesson.”
Chapter Seven
Bad Tummies
“What’s up, Milly? Unlike you to not play football.”
“I wish I knew, Jasmine. I just had to stop ’cos I feel a bit sick in the stomach. I’ve felt like this for a few days now and can’t shake it off.”
“Well, I’m not surprised the way you tuck into Nina’s owner’s food. You gobbled down all the prawns virtually by yourself earlier.”
“Yeah, I know, but I can’t resist. They were so delicious. The turkey bits yesterday were scrumptious and I don’t know where she gets her ham from but those pieces last week were heaven. I feel so bloated; I need to cut back.”
“Oh, that’ll be a laugh. You said that yesterday and the day before.”
“Well, I shall this time, I promise you. I feel awful. I’ve got to do something or I’ll become as fat as Portia. There’s no way I’d fit through Henry’s cat flap at this rate, not that I do so anymore ... unlike you, by the way, so I hear.”
Milly nudged Jasmine with her head, knowingly.
“Oh, what do you mean by that, Milly?”
“That you and Henry are not against a bit of canoodling in his kitchen.”
“Where did you hear that?”
Jasmine’s nose and the tips of her ears reddened so obviously that she gave the game away.
“Oh, just through the cat vine.”
Milly gave Jasmine a second nudge.
“Anyway, how come you’re not playing football either?”
Jasmine hesitated.
“Much like you, Milly. I feel a bit under the weather myself.”
“Talking of the weather, hasn’t this spring been gorgeous? It feels like the height of summer. I love stretching out on the lawn, especially now my bandage is off. I feel so much freer without it. I even nearly caught that annoying sparrow the other day but he’s just too quick for me. I’m determined to catch him one day, though, you’ll see.”
“Not a chance. I hear it’s started going into Archie’s garden and even he’s given up, and Archie’s as fit and agile as they come.”
“He is, isn’t he? He’s so handsome, too, and kind and generous with it.”
Cupid’s arrow had struck Milly full force.
“Look at him go, Jasmine! He just dribbled past Dexter and Fred as if they weren’t there. If it wasn’t for Portia filling the goal, he’d have scored six by now.”
It was Jasmine’s turn to nudge heads with Milly.
“The cat vine tells me that you and Archie go off roaming together, like under the railway bridge and down by the river. Is that true?”
Milly’s nose turned pink and she lowered her gaze, coyly, saying nothing.
Nina joined them, panting.
“I can’t keep up with the boys; they take football so seriously. I’m whacked. My owner should be here in a minute with some milk. I could do with a drink.”
Milly’s ears pricked up.
“Mmm. You really have the best owner in the world, Nina. Well, after my own, that is.”
“I thought you’d had enough, Milly?”
“Well, Jasmine, milk’s not really food, is it?”
They laughed.
“I’m so pleased you join in with us now, Milly. In fact, I know everyone is.”
“Thanks, Nina. I’m pleased, too. I was so selfish and spoilt that I took everyone and everything for granted and ignored what’s truly important in life like love, kindness and friendship. It took my accident to make me realise.”
“It was good of you to come here to thank Archie, Henry, Portia and Jasmine for all the help they gave you and to return our toys. Everyone appreciated it. Thankfully, you came through your accident; you had a lucky escape. They should ban cars; I hate them.”
“I agree. They’re pretty solid, I tell you! Horrible things.”
As they were speaking, Henry tried a quick spin on the ball and ended up on his back, the ping pong ball flying into his own goal through the minuscule gap between Portia and the twig acting as a post.
“Oh, Henry! Showing off to Jasmine again, are we? And Portia, you are allowed to move, you know?”
Fred’s teasing was merciless. Henry picked himself up and licked off some dust, chastened. Portia continued her slumber, unmoved. Jasmine smiled. Henry was such a trier, it was easy to be fond of him.
Just as Dexter was about to restart the game, the back door opened and Fiona appeared rustling a carrier bag. The cats rushed at her and even Portia broke into a jog. The carrier bag represented goodies and they circled Fiona’s ankles, meowing imploringly. The greedy Dexter was so impatient he was performing figures-of-eight while Fred kept raising himself up on his hind legs to paw at her knees. Fiona cleared some space and placed the carrier bag on the floor. Dexter and Fred inserted their heads and Fiona had to push them away to remove its contents. With her hands being butted from all sides, she finally managed to open the cartons of milk and fill the plastic bowls.
“What’s up Milly, Jasmine? You two have barely taken a slurp.”
Fiona had never seen such reluctance and tickled them under their chins.
Milly gazed up at her.
“Sorry, but our stomachs are a bit delicate today, that’s all.”
This wasn’t the case for the others, however, and the bowls emptied as rapidly as they had been filled, the fair-minded Archie pawing Dexter away from Portia’s bowl. After a few minutes licking their chops and grooming their faces, the cats huddled together in the centre of the lawn, the setting sun elongating their shadows.
“You were playing superbly, Milly. The Arsenal scouts will soon be taking note if you keep that up! How come you stopped so early?”
“I wasn’t feeling too well, Archie. In fact, I still feel a bit iffy now. I’ve been eating far too much, and running round on a full stomach is not a good idea.”
Archie slid his cheek against hers.
“Shame. You were making Fred, Henry and Dexter look like a bunch of cloggers. They couldn’t lay a paw on you.”
“Hey, that’s not true,” Dexter retorted drily.
“Oh, yes it is! Milly ran rings round you and with Portia being the best goalkeeper by miles, I think we boys need to buck up our game.”
“You were good, Archie.”
“Thanks, Milly, but Portia’s unbeatable and she doesn’t even move. Henry, you’d be much better if you didn’t show off so much.”
“I wasn’t showing off,” he replied insincerely.
Fred, Archie and Dexter bumped their heads into him.
The running around and full stomachs on such a warm afternoon eventually took its toll and fatigue began to set in. They all lay down, their eyes flickering, and stretched out, Nina using Portia’s body as a pillow. Henry made a point of lying next to Jasmine and placed a paw over hers. Milly was struggling to make herself comfortable, however, and tried two or three different positions, fidgeting endlessly. Soon, though, with her stomach aching, she could resist it no longer and got to her feet. She stretched her legs and gingerly padded to the foot of the laurel tree at the end of the garden. There, she vomited. Feeling a little better, she returned to her friends.
“Sorry about that, Nina. I hope your owner won’t mind or blame you but I couldn’t avoid it. I feel so unwell.”
“Don’t worry, Milly. It’s no problem. I do it all the time.”
“I think I’ll make a move home if you don’t mind. I need to get my head down and have a nice long sleep.”
Jasmine stared long and hard at Milly, which Milly noticed with puzzled eyes. It was as if she knew something she didn’t.
Five minutes later, Milly and Archie scrambled over the gate into her garden and Milly was pleased to see the back door ajar.
“Thanks for walking me back, Archie. It’s kind of you.”
“You do seem a bit under the weather, Milly. Go in and rest. I’ll come round tomorrow and see how you are.”
Making himself a cup of coffee, Tom glanced out of the window and, while singing along to U2’s Beautiful Day on his iPod, saw Milly and Archie touch noses. Archie then leapt majestically onto the roof of the shed and disappeared. He smiled for both Jill and he had noticed recently that Milly and Archie were spending a lot of time in each other’s company.
Since her accident, Milly was a different character . She never caused any bother, had stopped snarling, spitting and scramming and always used the trunk of the cherry blossom tree to scratch her claws. She was loving, frequently kneading and curling up on Tom and Jill’s laps, leaning into their legs and responding to their calls. It was like owning a new cat, friendly now with all the others and with any guests Tom and Jill invited home. Nobody risked their lives anymore when they offered their hands to stroke or tickle her! Tom was convinced that this was the result of Milly appreciating all the help and kindness she had received after her accident and during her convalescence. Jill had a more basic theory; she thought Milly was in love!
Milly entered the kitchen and accepted a tickle from Tom before heading into the living room where she jumped onto her blanket on the sofa and curled up into a tight ball. Tom and Jill had noticed a lethargy in Milly in the past few days and Tom noted the same when he followed her into the living room a minute later. He, however, was in a good mood and carried on singing, accompanied by the occasional thrash on his air guitar.
“It’s a beautiful day, sky falls you feel like it’s a beautiful day, don’t let it get away ...”
“He’s happy!” Milly reflected, a paw covering her eyes. “Wish he’d keep the noise down, though.”
As if Tom heard her, he sat down beside Milly. He stopped singing, switched off his iPod, removed the earphones and placed them on the coffee table. He ran his fingers along her spine and tickled her ear. Milly did not respond. Feeling concerned, Tom slurped his coffee.
“Mmm, Milly, you’re not well, are you? Something’s up.”
He stroked her coat and sat with her for the next hour watching some television.
The sound of the front door unlocking indicated that Jill had arrived home and Tom grinned from ear to ear, stamping his feet excitedly on the spot like a child on Christmas morning. Even Milly raised her face though her expression was grumpy. Jill entered the living room. She seemed on edge but her smile was warm, if a little sheepish. Tom got up and kissed her on the lips.
“Sit down, Jill. I’ve got some news for you.”
Tom placed his hands on her shoulders, almost pushing her into the sofa.
“Yeah. What a coincidence ’cos I’ve got some news for you, too.”
Tom sat down next to her. Jill gave Milly a quick tickle under her ear.
“Well, you first.”
“No, you first, Tom.”
He took a deep breath.
“I’ve been offered a job!”
Jill gasped.
“What! That’s fantastic.”
She hugged him tightly.
“Which one?”
“The one in town.”
“What! The one you really wanted, on almost double your last salary?”
“Yep! I can hardly believe it. I’ll probably have to work twice as hard but who cares? They want me to start tomorrow.”
“That’s fantastic,” Jill repeated. “After all these months, finally some good luck. That’s a brilliant job. You deserve it, well done.”
“Yeah, I’m chuffed to bits. Life’ll be a lot easier now. Let’s hope Milly doesn’t start escaping in the mornings again!”
“Well, I
don’t know about life being any easier.”
Tom looked puzzled.
“What do you mean?”
Jill lowered her eyes, then raised them, clasping Tom’s hand.
“Well, it won’t be any easier when there’s three of us.”
Tom’s expression remained unchanged.
“You’ve lost me. There’s always been three of us, with Milly.”
“You can be so thick sometimes!”
Tom hesitated. He was on the point of saying something, his eyes shining and stomach hollow, but stopped himself. Eventually, he whispered, “You’re not?”
Jill’s beaming smile answered his question.
“I am. The doctor just confirmed it.”
Tom leaned back into the sofa open-mouthed, his eyes misting. He grasped Jill, pulled her towards him and kissed her full on the lips.
“You’re pregnant! I can’t believe it. I’m so happy.”
They kissed again.
“And all the time I thought those stomach pains of yours were ’cos of your dodgy cooking.”
Lips pursed, Jill gave Tom a playful thump on the arm and they fell into a long embrace.
Next to them, Milly had not moved a muscle. Letting go of Tom, Jill looked down at her.
“She still lethargic?”
“Yeah, worse if I’m honest. She seems more miserable than ever. She did go out today and was gone for ages so I suspect she was round Fiona’s, but she’s been like this ever since.”
Jill stroked her.
“Oh, Milly. What’s wrong with you?”
“I think we should take her to the vet, Jill. I’m getting concerned; she’s never been like this before.”
“Yeah, I agree.”
“With me starting work tomorrow, I won’t be able to go, and we can’t take her now ’cos the vet’ll be closed.” Tom puffed out his cheeks. “But I don’t want to wait too much longer, either.”
“Same here. Let’s take her to the twenty-four hour vet again. They’ll be open and I like the people there. Milly’s treatment was excellent.”
“Good idea. I’ll fetch her basket.”
Twenty minutes later, Tom and Jill were waiting patiently in reception, a wary Milly on her haunches in her basket beside them, sniffing the air and looking around her. Katie emerged from a door to their right and flashed a smile that lit up the room.
Oh, Milly! Page 5