by Rachel Wells
I waited in the kitchen for Jonathan to come downstairs, and when he did, he made coffee, poured me some milk, put some toast on and gave me some cold salmon that he’d cooked. I savoured the breakfast, as I realised it might be my last for a while.
‘Right, Alfie, I’m off, but I’ll see you after work,’ Jonathan said, standing up. I crossed my paws that he would.
I set off to see Claire. When I arrived, she looked as if she hadn’t slept. She was distracted as she patted me and I could see in her eyes that she was scared too. She wasn’t happy with Joe, anyone could see that, but she also seemed to think that being alone was a bad thing. I had heard about this with humans, that some people would rather be with someone, even if they weren’t happy, than on their own. Claire was one of those people, I’d decided. But seeing her, the state she was in, and then looking at the hole still glaring out from the wall, made me even more determined to see my plan through.
I left the house with Claire, who was going to work. I walked a little way down the street with her until she had to turn off.
‘You take care, Alfie, and I’ll see you tonight.’ I rubbed against her leg and knew she definitely would.
It was time to take my shaky legs to the flats at number 22, where I scratched at the door before Franceska let me in.
‘Alfie,’ Aleksy and Thomasz said in unison and they proceeded to make a big fuss of me. I was affectionate with both boys and they rewarded me by tickling my tummy as I lay on my back. They didn’t seem to mind doing this for ages and I lapped up all the wonderful sensations while I could. I played with them until Franceska said it was time to go and see Polly. I hadn’t seen Polly since that day with the doctor so I was pleased to go too.
The lady that answered the door wasn’t Polly but an older lady, quite elegant and not as old as Margaret.
‘Franceska, how nice to see you,’ she said, smiling.
‘Hi, Val. We just want to see how is Polly. If there is anything we can do?’
‘Yes, you can come in, she would love to see you, and the boys can entertain Henry.’ She stepped aside and I followed them into the flat. ‘Oh hello, you must be Alfie, the hero cat.’ I purred. I decided I liked this woman.
Polly was wearing her pyjamas but she looked beautiful and a little better. Franceska gave her a big hug as the boys went straight to where Henry was sitting on his play mat, surrounded by cushions.
‘Frankie, it’s so nice to see you,’ Polly said. ‘Now I’ve slept for so long, I’m feeling a bit better.’
‘Good, but you take time.’
‘I’ll pop the kettle on, shall I?’ Polly’s mum asked.
‘Thank you, Mum.’
‘I can help?’ Franceska asked.
‘No, love, you sit and keep my daughter company.’ She left the room.
‘So, are you OK, Frankie?’
‘We very good. Aleksy start his school next week and I find nursery for Thomasz. Is good for him to meet children and also I get a part-time job. Just a shop or something but good for me.’
‘Actually that sounds great. Improve your English, meet people. I never asked what you did in Poland, for work?’
‘My family had a grocery shop, so I worked there. Not so exciting but I like. I like serving people and having chats.’
‘Aleksy?’ Polly said. He turned round. I was surprised; it was the first time I had heard Polly talk directly to him, but I guess she didn’t know that.
‘Yes?’ he said.
‘Yes, Polly,’ his mum corrected.
‘Sorry. Yes, Polly.’ Polly laughed.
‘Are you excited about your new school?’
‘I am yes, so, but I am also a bit scared.’
‘Right, well, I think that we should go to the shops and you can choose a cool school bag and pencil case; it’ll be a starting school present from Matt and me.’
‘Wow, really? I can have Spiderman?’
‘Whatever you want.’
‘Polly,’ Franceska started.
‘No, please, Frankie. I can never repay what you’ve done and I hope you don’t need me in the way I needed you, but let me treat the boys. And also, I need an outing some time soon, I can’t fester in here forever. A trip to buy a Spiderman bag might do me the world of good.’
‘OK, thank you.’
Val returned with the tea and they all chatted like old friends. The boys played with both Henry and me and I felt emotional as I knew what was happening next. But although I was leaving them, I knew they would be all right. They were happy, and while Polly wasn’t exactly back to normal, she was at least more cheerful than she’d been. I could tell when she picked Henry up and kissed him. I had never seen her do that before. Henry barely cried the whole time I was there. It felt as if a miracle had happened in the flats at number 22.
Before lunch, they decided to take a walk to the park.
‘I need some fresh air,’ Polly said. ‘Let me quickly throw on some clothes.’ That was a curious expression, I thought, but she returned wearing jeans and a T-shirt. They started getting their shoes on. Henry was strapped into his smaller pushchair and Thomasz insisted on walking. They set off, and they turned round to me as I stood at the gate.
‘Bye, Alfie,’ Aleksy said.
‘Bye, Alfie,’ Thomasz mimicked. Both Polly and Franceska bent down to stroke me.
‘If you come back at lunch time, I’ll buy you some fish on our way back,’ Polly said. I miaowed with joy.
‘You’d swear he understood you!’ Val pointed out.
‘He very clever cat,’ Franceska replied. ‘Of course he understood.’
I rushed to see Tiger after leaving. I took the back way, which was slightly quicker; jumping fences and dodging snarling dogs. When I arrived, she was sunning herself in the back garden. I told her immediately of my plan and she looked stricken. She actually yowled at me in annoyance, but I tried to explain the thinking behind it. She called me all kinds of cat names, telling me I was an idiot. Then she cried out and said she was scared for me because we didn’t know how it would turn out. She said I was a very brave, very stupid cat indeed. And I couldn’t do anything but agree with her. We eventually had an affectionate goodbye and I promised that I would do whatever I could to make sure I came back to her in one piece.
I tried to forget about the visit with Tiger and what lay in store as I hastened back to number 22 for my fish.
‘We go to my flat,’ Franceska said, as I met her outside with the boys. ‘Henry is sleeping and Val makes Polly rest too, so I have your fish.’ I purred with pleasure and followed them up the stairs.
Aleksy put the television on, and Thomasz sat on the floor as close to it as he could get. Franceska, who was in the kitchen, shouted, ‘Too close, Thomasz, move.’ And she laughed. I wondered if she could see through walls. Cats have wonderful sight and can sense objects but even we can’t do that. I followed her into the kitchen and waited for my lunch. As promised, she cooked me some fish and then served it. It was like being a human, apart from the fact that I ate from the floor. I ate quickly and then cleaned myself as she fed both the boys and herself.
After lunch she put a reluctant Thomasz down for a nap and spent time reading with Aleksy.
‘Is hard to read English,’ he complained.
‘Yes but you are doing good. Soon you will be better than your mamma.’
‘Will I like school?’ he asked, looking worried.
‘You will love it, just like you did in Poland.’
‘But with different language.’
‘Yes and the teachers say they will be very kind to you and help you, so you must not worry.’ I could see that, for all her reassurances, Franceska was concerned about her boy.
‘And if Polly buys me a bag, I will be very happy.’ Aleksy squirmed as his mum kissed him and cuddled him.
After reading for a while, Aleksy got out his toy cars and tried to make me chase them. I did, but my stomach wasn’t feeling good. My nerves were growing and although I tried t
o make the game fun, my heart wasn’t really in it. I told myself off. If this was to be our last play for a while, or, I shuddered at the thought, even longer, then the least I could do was to have fun. So I let Aleksy push the car, which I chased and then tried to roll it back to him with my little paw. It wasn’t that easy. He laughed with glee when I did this. We played for what felt like a very long time, before I had to leave. It was time for me to go and put the very scary plan into action.
As I bade everyone goodbye I memorised their faces and hoped sincerely that I would see them again soon.
My legs were shaking as I approached Claire’s house. Tiger was waiting for me outside and she gave me a quick nuzzle and wished me luck. She asked me to reconsider but I said I couldn’t; something told me that this had to be done for the good of Claire, whom I loved so much. I might have been angry with her, I might have been annoyed at how weak she was, but I loved her and she needed me. I felt as if I was all she had and although that didn’t feel like much, I hoped that now it would be enough for her.
I leapt with more energy than I felt through the cat flap and stood still for a moment. I could sense that Claire wasn’t home yet. Joe was in the living room watching television. I took a breath and felt my fur stand on end. I remembered last feeling this level of terror when I first started being a homeless cat. My little cat heart was beating so fast that it was almost jumping out of my body.
I sat outside the living room, waiting. I wasn’t sure how long I was there before I heard Claire walking down the path and I thanked God for giving us cats such excellent hearing. Timing was everything. I ran into the living room and jumped straight up onto Joe’s lap. He looked surprised and then, as I had guessed he would be, angry.
‘Get off me you stupid moggy,’ he shouted and I hissed at him before lashing out and scratching his arm. I closed my eyes, as I had predicted what would follow.
‘You stupid bloody cat, I hate you,’ he said, as he threw me across the room. I curled myself into a tight ball and when I felt myself falling, I put my legs out and landed straight. Claire had entered the house, so I yowled as loudly as I could.
Joe darted across the room and began to kick me repeatedly. The pain seared through my entire body, and I could no longer even cry out.
‘Oh my God, what the hell, get off him, get the hell off him, you bastard!’ I heard Claire cry before everything went black.
I wasn’t sure, despite watching lots of hospital dramas with Margaret, whether I was conscious, unconscious or something in between. I knew I wasn’t dead because I hadn’t seen Agnes or Margaret and I was pretty sure that in death I would. I was warm though, although it felt as if we were moving as the pain seared through me. I could vaguely hear voices and was reassured that one of them was Claire’s.
‘What have I done?’ she cried. ‘I let him use me and now he’s gone and nearly killed Alfie. Oh God, if he dies, I’ll never forgive myself.’
‘Claire,’ it was Tasha’s voice I could now make out. ‘You were vulnerable after the divorce. We thought you were better but that wasn’t real, was it? You still felt worthless and I should have seen that. But Joe, well he did see it. Men like him sense these things. You can’t blame yourself. Look, Alfie will be OK, we’re nearly at the vet and I know he’s going to make it through.’ But she didn’t sound sure, I could hear it in her voice. ‘And he saved you.’
‘You know, Alfie watched him punch a wall the other day. I bet he thought he would have done it to me next.’
‘He would have done if you hadn’t kicked him out.’
‘I know that now. When he was kicking a poor defenceless cat I suddenly woke up and finally found the strength I never thought I had. I pulled him away, I was so angry that I shoved him and hit him myself, but then he started to do the whole “sorry” thing. Unbelievable! This time, I wouldn’t have it. I told him if he didn’t get out in five minutes I’d call the police.’
‘What did he do?’
‘He cried, just like when he punched the wall, but I stood firm. I was too scared to pick Alfie up, which is why I called you. There was blood everywhere and he wasn’t moving. Joe was still standing there, not going anywhere, so I told him to get out again, and then he got nasty. So with the phone in my hand I dialled 999 and told him: one more step and I’d press the call button.’
‘And that was when he finally left?’
‘Yes, but not before calling me all the filthy names under the sun.’
‘He was horrible.’
‘But why didn’t I see it?’
‘I don’t know, if I’m honest. I thought he controlled you. But then when you want something badly enough, you only see what you want to see. Claire, you have to learn from this; there are, unfortunately, lots of men like Joe out there.’
‘I am so sorry and stupid and I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to Alfie.’
‘That sort of attitude, calling yourself stupid, got you into the mess in the first place.’ I could hear that Tasha was being very real with Claire, which I liked, and Claire was crying, which I didn’t like, but as I drifted off back to the blackness, there was very little I could do about anything any more.
My plan had worked, I had got rid of Joe at last. I just hoped the cost wasn’t too high.
I don’t know how many days had passed in this strange place. I was in an animal hospital, where the vet had done various things to me. He said I had to stay there, as I was barely conscious. I vaguely heard talk of an operation and I had been given injections that made the blackness come. I could hear voices, but not always make out what they were saying. I was being given pain medication that took the pain away, but left me feeling drowsy. I wasn’t scared any more because I didn’t have the energy for such emotions. I felt as if I was mainly sleeping. But not normal sleep, with fish-filled dreams, but sleep where nothing happened and nothing was going to happen.
One day I woke up and opened my eyes. I flicked my whiskers, which were still there. Although I couldn’t quite move, I felt my brain was a bit more normal again.
‘Alfie,’ a woman said. I looked at her. She wore a green coat and had her hair tied back. She seemed kind, though. ‘I’m Nicole, one of the nurses who have been looking after you. It’s good to see your eyes finally. The vet will be along to see you in a minute.’
And then I knew I was getting better. The vet prodded and poked me and I hissed at him but he laughed at that. Nicole stroked me and then said I was well enough for Claire to come and visit me now.
I nearly cried with happiness when Claire arrived with Tasha to see me. It was a bit of a struggle to keep my eyes open but I did, just long enough to see her looking much better as she had done after her weekend away; more like her pre-Joe self.
‘Oh, Alfie, they told me you’re going to be all right,’ she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks, but tears of happiness, I presumed.
‘Thank goodness, you’re looking more like your cute self again. This has been the longest week of my life,’ Claire said, ‘but if you carry on like you’re doing, then in another week, you could be home with me again.’
‘And don’t worry, there is no Joe any more,’ Tasha said.
‘No, he’s long gone and no one else will ever come between us. You saved me, Alfie, I know you did.’
‘Don’t you think it’s weird?’ Tasha said.
‘What?’ Claire asked.
‘That it happened the way it did?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well it’s almost as if he planned it. Joe punches a wall and scares you both, then a day or so later, you come in from work and find him kicking your cat.’
‘Because he’s a brute and I still hate to think about it,’ Claire snapped.
‘But no, I mean, he claimed that Alfie attacked him, right? Well what if he did? What if he provoked Joe to make sure that he would never hurt you?’
‘I know Alfie’s clever, but he’s not that clever. Tash, are you crazy? He’s a cat.’
I smiled to myself as I drifted back to sleep.
Claire visited a lot over the next few days and I regained my strength. I could stand up again, as nothing had been broken, thankfully, although I still felt pain and the vet said I might not be as agile as I once was. But I didn’t care, because I could still walk, and although I had internal injuries, I had apparently been a very lucky cat. I didn’t feel it at the time, or afterwards, but maybe I had been.
A few days before I was due to go home, Claire arrived again, but not with Tasha this time. I was awake but very drowsy, having just had some medication, and I couldn’t easily open my eyes. But the voice I heard was unmistakable.
‘Alfie!’ he cried. ‘God, what happened to you?’ My Jonathan! I tried, but failed, to open my eyes.
‘So, you’re saying Alfie’s your cat?’ Claire sounded annoyed.
‘I told you he was my cat! I’ve been bloody looking everywhere for him.’
‘I saw your posters but I didn’t think it could be the same cat, because he’s mine,’ Claire stated.
‘What, despite the posters saying that I was missing a little grey cat called Alfie?’ Jonathan’s voice was angry as it had been when I first met him.
‘Well, yes, I can see how you might think that now.’ Claire sounded slightly contrite.
‘So, despite the fact that he looks exactly the same and has the same name, you still thought it was a different cat?’ I was glad Jonathan clearly hadn’t been changed by my absence.
‘Well, I mean, he’s my cat.’
‘So you say, but how many cats called Alfie that look like him do you think there are in one street in London?’ I could hear the impatience in his voice.
‘I just didn’t … I’m sorry, he must be living with both of us.’
‘I guess it explains why he disappears so much.’
‘I always wondered about that,’ Claire said.
‘I can’t believe I’ve been putting those posters up for over a week and you didn’t even think to call me.’