Book Read Free

Alfie and George

Page 5

by Rachel Wells


  ‘He’ll be fine,’ Jonathan cut in. ‘He’s a man, he’ll soon bounce back.’

  ‘Typical male point of view,’ Polly added.

  ‘I’m sure Jon’s right. He’ll soon be his old self,’ said Matt.

  ‘Hey, why doesn’t he come and stay with us for a couple of days,’ big Tomasz suggested.‘A change of scene might help.’

  ‘That’s not a bad idea,’ Claire said.‘Maybe next weekend?’

  I gave up eating and curled up by Franceska’s feet, nestling into her legs. A weekend away wouldn’t solve my problems, but it would be nice to be with them all and it would mean I wouldn’t have to look at the empty house next door. Plus, I’d have the boys to keep me occupied and I’d get to spend time with my cat friend Dustbin. I felt something akin to hope for the first time since I had heard that Snowball was leaving.

  ‘Yeah, can he come?’ Aleksy said, sounding excited. It seemed it was all settled. I would take my broken heart away for the weekend.

  That night, I was thinking about my weekend away when I heard Jonathan and Claire arguing. It was a funny kind of argument though, because ever since Summer was born, they rowed in whispered voices. I was worried. After all, whilst I had enough problems of my own, I didn’t want anyone else to be unhappy – I wasn’t sure I could bear it. I crept closer to their room to listen.

  ‘Look, we can get a second opinion,’ I heard Jonathan say.

  ‘You mean a third opinion. Jon, I am trying to tell you, it’s pointless, and it’s time we faced facts. I’m OK, really. We were lucky with Summer, but there aren’t going to be any more babies. I’m sorry I can’t give you another child but at least we have her.’

  ‘I know, we’ve got Summer and Alfie … It’s fine, as long as you’re all right. I mean … OK, yes, I would ideally love another child but it’s more important that our family – you, me, Sum and Alfie – are all right. I love you.’ I felt a bit relieved, it seemed they weren’t really arguing after all.

  ‘No, I’m fine. Please don’t worry, this isn’t going to send me back to my black days, it really isn’t. I’m disappointed, but I think deep down I knew, the tests just confirmed it.’ Claire did have dark moments, which made us all worry terribly, but it was only when things went wrong. She seemed to be coping with life so much better these days – there was no doubt that Jonathan and Summer had brought great joy into her life. It was if they had taught her how to be happy.

  ‘So we’re OK? Then why are we arguing?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ I saw Claire sit down on the bed.‘Jonathan, I don’t want Summer to be an only child.’

  ‘But you just said you were OK?’

  ‘I am, but that doesn’t mean we can’t adopt. There are so many children out there who need a good, loving home. We’ve got all that and more. We have space, we can afford it …’

  ‘I don’t know.’ I could hear the doubt in Jonathan’s voice.

  ‘But why not?’

  ‘Because.’ I could almost hear Jonathan folding his arms across his chest. He could be such a child sometimes.

  ‘Because why, darling?’ I saw through a crack in the door that Claire had put her arm on his.

  ‘It’s complicated. I just think it’s a big step, taking in someone else’s child. And then the adoption process is gruelling, we might not even be accepted.’

  ‘Oh, Jon, I’m sure we will, I’ve spoken to Dad … We might not get a baby, but I know that they are crying out for homes for older children. We’re not criminals or insane …’ She attempted a laugh.

  ‘I’m not so sure. I mean about adopting, not being a criminal. Or insane.’

  ‘OK, but will you at least agree to let me look into it?’ I heard Claire’s pleading voice and then Jonathan’s sigh.

  ‘If you really have your heart set on it then we can look into it, but I’m not promising anything.’

  ‘Hey, like you said, we might not even be accepted, but at least let me find out. I don’t want to wonder about it, that’s all.’

  ‘Hey, I’d be more agreeable to you adopting a new girlfriend for Alfie,’ Jonathan joked. He often did this when he was uncomfortable, tried to make a joke. A pretty poor joke, in my opinion.

  ‘Jon, that’s not funny. But now you mention it …’

  ‘I was joking,’ he said.

  ‘I know you were. OK, let’s go to bed.’ As I saw them settle down for the night, I went back to my basket, thankful that everything was fine and there was nothing to worry about. Apart from myself of course.

  Chapter Eight

  ‘So you’ve never been in love?’ I asked. I was in the small yard behind the restaurant with Dustbin. Dustbin was my friend and the cat who sort of worked for Tomasz’s restaurant. He was what he referred to as feral; he had never lived in a house before and liked it that way. He lived in the yard outside the restaurant and Franceska and big Tomasz’s flat and he kept the vermin under control. We’d known each other since I had started visiting here and he was also one of the wisest cats I’d ever met.

  It was nearing the end of the weekend and I have to say that it had done me the world of good. I’d eaten well, having found my appetite, and I found it easier not to pine, being a bit further away from Snowball’s old house.

  ‘Can’t say I have,’ Dustbin replied, eating some leftovers that Tomasz had put out for him, baring his teeth at a foolhardy mouse who had come a bit too close. Dustbin was the master of multi-tasking.‘I’m not that kind of cat. I like my own company most of the time. I like hanging out with you and passing the time of day, and I don’t mind hunting with some of the other cats around here, but romance and all that – nah, it’s not for me.’

  ‘But love is wonderful,’ I continued, feeling quite poetic, despite the fact we were surrounded by bins and rodents in a pretty ugly yard. It certainly wasn’t like my last time away, in the country. A picture of Snowball and me popped into my head, running through the long grass without a care in the world, and I yowled.

  ‘That’s as maybe, but you’re not feeling wonderful now,’ Dustbin pointed out. I couldn’t argue with that. ‘Look, mate, I know you loved that cat. I remember when we rescued her when she ran away, I saw how much she meant to you then. I’m sorry it’s been so tough for you.’

  ‘Thanks, Dustbin. And you’re right, but spending the weekend here has been such a tonic, I do feel a bit better.’

  ‘Yeah, well, I think it’s good for you to have a break from home, and sometimes a bit of distance can give you perspective. I know that when I have a problem, going off to roam away from here often gives me clarity.’

  ‘You’re a wise old cat, even if you’ve never been in love,’ I said, and I meant it.‘But I’d better go now, I think my visit here is nearly over.’

  ‘Ta, Alfie. Right, make sure you come back again soon, now you’ve got a bit more time on your paws. And maybe I’ll teach you to hunt,’ he grinned.

  ‘No. I mean, yes, I’ll come back, but no to hunting. It never ends well for me.’ I shuddered. The last time I had been bitten by a cheeky mouse. It was too humiliating.

  ‘OK, but we can hang out nonetheless. I have to get on now, there’s this awful rat who thinks he can come here whenever he wants, and it’s time for me to show him who’s boss. Unless you want to come with me?’

  ‘Um, as tempting an offer as that is, I think I’ll give it a miss,’ I said, backing away.

  Yes, the weekend had done me some good. The boys had been fun to hang out with: we’d played football – or paw-ball – at the park and I had been given plenty of treats. I felt as if the adults were being extra kind to me, especially food-wise, like they were trying to feed me up. I missed my other humans, especially little Summer, but I was happier than I had been since Snowball left. Although missing Snowball was still occupying most of my time, the weekend had proved a distraction. I couldn’t stop hurting, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. I loved her so much that the pain was a reminder of that, and in some ways it comforted me – although I
understood that that made little sense.

  I made my way back up to the flat where Aleksy and little Tomasz were playing a game on their games console. Franceska was sitting down, which was rare for her, and having a cup of tea. Big Tomasz was sitting at their small dining table, planning menus for the following week. It was a lovely, harmonious family scene.

  ‘Ha ha, I win,’ Aleksy shouted, punching his arm in the air.

  ‘You cheated,’ little Tomasz replied.

  ‘I didn’t, how could I cheat?’ Aleksy looked at his brother who threw the game controller down in a huff. OK, maybe not so lovely.

  ‘Enough, boys,’ Franceska said.‘If you can’t play nicely together you lose the games. And anyway, we have to go soon to take Alfie home.’

  ‘Oh no, does he have to go?’ Aleksy came over and picked me up. Little Tomasz stroked me, all arguments forgotten as I nestled into the boys and purred.

  ‘Yes, unfortunately, then we’ll come home and you have to do homework. It’s school tomorrow.’ The boys started complaining and big Tomasz shushed them as Franceska went to get my things together. They decided that, as it was warm, we would walk home, though I got carried some of the way as I still hadn’t fully regained my strength. I was glad to be in big Tomasz’s arms when we walked past the Snells’ house. There was a ‘To Let’ sign outside it now, which made me feel terrible all over again; I was almost as empty as that house.

  We stood on the doorstep and Jonathan opened the door.

  ‘So glad you’re here,’ he said.‘Can you all stay for a bit?’

  ‘Just for half an hour,’ Franceska replied. ‘The boys have homework.’

  ‘I’ll put the kettle on then,’ Jonathan said. As I walked in, I immediately knew something was different. I could sense something, or I could smell something – I wasn’t sure what it was. As big Tomasz put me down in the hall, I knew that something was wrong.

  ‘Oh my,’ I heard Franceska exclaim from the kitchen. I stayed where I was, trying to figure out what was going on. The boys stayed with me.

  ‘My goodness, what on earth?’ I heard big Tomasz say as he too entered the kitchen.

  ‘It was Claire’s idea and I’m not sure it’s one of her better ones,’ Jonathan replied, sounding tetchy.

  ‘It’s gorgeous,’ Franceska said.

  ‘I tried to talk her out of it but she wouldn’t budge,’ Jonathan moaned. ‘I mean really!’ He didn’t sound happy. Just what was going on?

  ‘Well, you gave me the idea. You know, when you said you wished we could adopt a new girlfriend for Alfie,’ Claire said.

  ‘Yes, but I was joking and I certainly didn’t mean this.’

  Oh boy! I couldn’t move. Had they got me a new girlfriend? That was crazy. But it made sense with the smell I could detect. Although it didn’t exactly smell like a female cat but, yes, there was a definite scent. There was another cat in this house! Oh, what had Claire done now?

  ‘Well, of course we couldn’t get him a new girlfriend, you don’t just get over love like that,’ Claire snapped.

  Phew! I was relieved, but if it wasn't a female cat, what was it?

  ‘No, but I’m not sure this is going to help him – or us, for that matter,’ Jonathan snapped back.

  ‘Oh, ignore him. It was fate. I saw an advert on the local Facebook “for sale” page. So we went to see him,’ Claire said.

  Went to see who?

  ‘It was just such brilliant timing. He was supposed to go to a family who had paid a deposit and everything but then changed their minds, so he was ready to go.’

  ‘How old is he?’ big Tomasz asked.

  ‘Fourteen weeks.’

  I felt my fur stand on end.

  ‘It does sound like fate, and he’s very, very beautiful, little kochanie,’ Franceska said. I heard a tiny little mewing sound.

  ‘Where’s Alfie?’ Jonathan asked.

  I was full of trepidation as I finally walked into the kitchen, terrified as to what I would find. And there, my worst nightmare was confirmed. OK, maybe not my worst nightmare – I mean, it wasn’t a dog! But still I shuddered. Claire was cuddling a bundle of fur. A small, orange-and-black striped bundle with grey eyes. Oh, what had she done?

  ‘Alfie, kitten,’ Summer said, pointing at it.

  ‘Alfie’s kitten?’ Aleksy asked, coming up beside me. ‘Wow, look at him, he’s so cool, I love him!’ We all looked at the kitten. The kitten stared at me. He was tiny, and he was in my kitchen, in my house.

  ‘Yes, darling, that’s right. Everyone, meet George. Alfie, he’s your kitten.’

  Chapter Nine

  My paws were rooted to the spot as Claire bent down to bring me nose to nose with the kitten. My kitten. I felt a wave of panic, as he, George, eyed me suspiciously. He really was incredibly small, and somehow also mesmerising. The children were all so excited by him, but I didn’t know what to do.

  ‘Can I see?’ little Tomasz said, saving me, as the three children crowded round and took turns having a cuddle. George made these quiet and very cute mewing sounds, and I wanted to both take care of him and run away in equal measure.

  I used the distraction of the children fussing over him to head to the back door. I needed some fresh air, time to breath and think. Yes, that was what I should do, just take a few moments to clear my head and then I would come back and deal with the situation. What on earth was Claire thinking? How was I supposed to cope with George when I couldn’t cope with myself?

  At times like this, I couldn’t help thinking that Jonathan was infinitely the more sensible of the two. How on earth could Claire think that getting me a kitten would help me in any way, shape or form?

  I needed to get out. I wanted to go and see Tiger and tell her about this terrible turn of events, so I ran to jump through my cat flap.

  ‘Yowl.’ I hit the cat flap with force, but it didn’t move and bounced me backwards, taking me by surprise as I landed on my tail. Ouch, that hurt.

  ‘Oh goodness, sorry, Alfie.’ Claire rushed forwards.‘We had to close the cat flap because of George. It’s not forever, only until he’s allowed out.’ She looked a bit guilty at this, at least.

  ‘So how is Alfie going to go out?’ Aleksy asked, echoing my thoughts. He was holding George and cuddling him. Normally I might have been put out by the fact that they all seemed far more interested in this striped kitten than me, but I didn’t have the energy to be jealous. Especially as I now had a sore tail and no idea how to escape.

  ‘Well, we’ll just have to kind of figure it out I guess,’ Claire said, looking as if she hadn’t thought this through. ‘We’ll let him out if he stands by the door and then when he wants to come in, he can miaow loudly so we hear him. He is a clever cat after all.’ She sounded as if this was the most normal thing, which for me it certainly was not, and Jonathan rolled his eyes. I wished I could do the same; it seemed I was to be a prisoner in my own home. On top of everything else, I had lost my freedom.

  ‘And anyway, he’s been out all day. Alfie, you need to stay in and bond with George,’ she said. Great. I’d had a lovely weekend away and now I was trapped with a kitten. He might be adorable, but still … This was not what I wanted, not at all.

  However, showing my displeasure would have taken energy and, despite the fact that Claire had just managed to make my terrible life even worse, I still loved her. I guessed she was trying to do the right thing. I could hear Franceska saying what a great idea it was and even big Tomasz seemed to agree. It seemed only Jonathan and myself had any reservations about this George. And anyway, what kind of name was that for a kitten?

  As we saw my friends out, I nuzzled the boys, wishing in a way that I could go back with them. How simple my life had been that morning: just me and Dustbin, playing with the boys, sardines on tap, heartbreak. But now … Now I had a kitten and no idea what I was supposed to do with him.

  I went to the living room and Summer came bounding in after me. She cuddled me, a little roughly, as she always does, b
ut I knew she meant well. I worried fleetingly for George. Summer wasn’t the gentlest child and he was so small and fragile.

  ‘Sum, you have to be really careful with George,’ Claire said. I felt immediately relieved. She carried George in and put him on the floor. He stood up, not quite as tiny as he had first seemed now that he was on four legs. I tried to remember being that young but my memory failed me. I remembered when I went to my first home, feeling scared, and then having to face the formidable Agnes, my owner’s other cat. Though she didn’t like me for a few weeks, she eventually became like a sister to me. But that was all I could recall. As George came right up to me, sniffing me, I looked kindly at him. It wasn’t his fault. He was just a helpless kitten. Oh goodness, he was my helpless kitten now. I nudged gently at him with my nose. I didn’t have it in me to be anything but kind to the poor little thing. As he looked at me with those eyes, waving his little tail gently, I knew that, somehow, I had to take care of him. He was my kitten.

  ‘Look, Jonathan, look, Alfie already loves him. I knew it!’ Claire sounded triumphant. George looked at me questioningly. Although Agnes had eventually come round, it had been difficult and scary for me at first, and I couldn’t do that to George. I wouldn’t do it to anyone, but especially not this little chap. But then I’m a tom and we are typically far less difficult than women. Well, I think so anyway! George came closer to me and then Summer approached with a piece of ribbon in her hands. He was wide-eyed as he bounded over to play with it.

  As Summer giggled and George chased the ribbon, Claire looked on happily. Even I couldn’t stop a smile finding its way onto my face.

  ‘I knew it would work out. Adding to our family isn’t a bad thing, Jonathan. In any way we can,’ she said pointedly, giving his cheek a kiss.

 

‹ Prev