Alfie and George

by Rachel Wells

  ‘Tiger, it’s working already!’ I exclaimed.

  ‘But where’s George?’ Tiger asked.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Well, I told you I’d check the coast was clear at home, but when I came back out, George was gone. I looked everywhere and couldn’t find him, so I assumed there’d been a change of plan and he was with you.’ Tiger sounded slightly panicked.

  ‘You mean he’s not with you?’ I felt fear bubble up in the pit of my stomach.

  ‘No, he wasn’t there when I came out of the house, nowhere to be seen. So I assumed he was still with you and the plan had somehow changed! I was literally gone for a flap of a butterfly wing!’

  ‘Oh God, Tiger, no. I left him on the doorstep so I could get home before everyone woke up, and that was the last I saw of him. I thought he was with you! I told him to wait and he said he understood.’ Now I sounded hysterical.

  ‘Right, OK, let’s stay calm. He’s definitely not in my house, so shall we check yours?’

  ‘We can pop back there but Claire’s there and she checked everywhere.’ I was finding it hard to catch my breath.‘When I got home, I went straight to bed. I dropped off, but it wasn’t for long, and that’s all I can tell you.’

  ‘So George really is missing?’

  ‘Oh no, my boy is missing!’ It dawned on me. ‘Jonathan and Matt are looking for him and now we’re going to have to really look for him.’ I felt terrified; I couldn’t quite comprehend what had happened.

  ‘Oh no, Alfie, this plan has gone wrong before it’s even started.’

  ‘And I never even saw it coming.’

  As we quickly ran to my house to see if he’d gone home, I felt increasingly worried – but also a bit angry with George. I had explicitly told him to wait for Tiger, he had only been left alone for a matter of minutes, and he knew not to go off. But I was angrier with myself. I should have waited with him, or told Tiger to risk taking him into her house. We had specifically chosen the back of the house in case there was a lamppost cat snatcher – after all, they wouldn’t have known George was there would they? Unless they’d been watching us. No, it couldn’t be that, that made no sense.

  Oh goodness, all he’d had to do was stand there, why couldn’t he have done that? Where could he be? I felt as if my mind was running round in those circles George was so fond of. Oh, little George. I tried to breathe calmly, despite feeling as though my life was spiralling out of control. I wanted my boy back!

  He wasn’t back at ours and I heard Claire on the phone to Tash. She sounded as upset as me. The plan was so simple, but it had fallen apart from the moment it started and I only had myself to blame.

  ‘Alfie,’ Tiger said, as we checked every inch of our back garden. ‘Beating yourself up really isn’t helpful. We need to think about this. Let’s round up all the cats and get them to spread out. We need to check his favourite places.’

  ‘He’s not at our house, if he was at Polly’s we’d know and Tash is looking out for him. So the park, or the end of the street? But then if he goes there the other cats will see him …’ I couldn’t think of anywhere else.

  ‘Right, I think you need to stay central and also keep an eye on the humans, and I’ll keep checking my house, because he might remember he’s supposed to be there. How does that sound?’

  ‘I have no better ideas. I wish I did.’ I felt like lying down and yowling but then that wouldn’t find my boy, would it?

  ‘Look, come with me to find the others and you can help me organise them. Oh, Alfie, we have to find him, where on earth could he have gone? Why did I take my eyes off him?’ Tiger seemed to feel the same as me.

  ‘I just don’t know where he’d have gone. And, Tiger, it’s not your fault – you had to check the coast was clear. I mean, I know I keep saying it, but he was supposed to sit on the step and wait for you! Why didn’t he do that? I was sure he understood.’

  ‘I didn’t take long, Alfie, I promise I just ran in, checked downstairs and was out again.’

  ‘I know. I mean it, Tiger, it’s not your fault. I should have waited with him.’

  ‘But then you might not have been home before your family woke up and that was a crucial part of the plan.’

  ‘OK, let’s stop going round in circles and just find him then.’ I turned to run off and saw Dustbin appear. I’d never been so pleased to see him.

  ‘Oh, thank goodness you’re here. George is missing,’ I said.

  ‘What? Not the lad?’

  ‘Yes.’ I explained the plan to Dustbin.‘It was still dark when I left him in Tiger’s back garden. Oh, what have we done? What if I’ve lost him for good?’ I yowled.

  ‘Right, Mr B is on the case, honestly he’s the best cat in the business. I’ll go to him right now and tell him of this latest development. Don’t worry, Alfie, if I’ve got anything to do with it, he’ll be found safe and well.’ I tried but failed to feel reassured.

  Rocky was the first cat we saw. He went to get Elvis, who went to find Nellie, who rounded up Tinkerbell, and we all met at the end of the street. I outlined the situation.

  ‘So you want us to pretend to find him?’ Nellie said. Honestly!

  ‘No, contrary to our plan he is actually missing.’

  ‘Oh my word, the gorgeous little baby is actually missing?’ Nellie started yowling and Elvis had to calm her down. Although I could see all my friends had panic in their eyes.

  Once roles had been allocated, Tiger headed back to hers. I went with her to check but there was still no sign of George. I felt as if I had a paw missing, I missed him so much. I hoped he wasn’t scared or in danger.

  I went back home and slipped through the cat flap.

  ‘Have you found him?’ Claire, who was still not dressed, rushed up to me. I just looked at her, my eyes full of sorrow. She picked me up.‘Don’t worry, Jon and Matt will find him. Oh, Alfie, I’m sorry I shouted at you.’ She hugged me close before putting me down. I purred sadly. The doorbell went and Claire opened it to Tash.

  ‘Where’s Elijah?’ Claire asked.

  ‘With Granny today. She picked him up really early, so it means I can help. What should I do?’

  ‘No sign of him on the way here?’ Claire asked without hope.

  ‘No, I looked the whole way, on both sides of the road. I read somewhere kittens like to hide though, so he could just be hiding.’

  We had checked all the usual places more than once, so I knew that he wasn’t hiding.

  ‘Has Summer had her breakfast?’ Tash asked.

  ‘NO!’ Summer shouted. Tash grinned.

  ‘Claire, go and get dressed and I’ll make Summer some toast.’

  ‘Oh, thank you, Tash.’ Claire had tears glistening in her eyes as she made her way upstairs.

  By lunchtime everyone was in our kitchen. Claire, Jonathan, Polly and Matt sat at the table. Tash had set up a sort of playgroup in the living room for the children. The doorbell went again and I hoped it was someone with George, but we opened it to find Tomasz standing there.

  ‘Right, I am here now, so let’s make a plan,’ Tomasz said, sitting down.

  ‘Aren’t you supposed to be at work?’ Claire said.

  ‘Some things are more important. Don’t worry, my Alfie, we will find him.’ As he stroked me, I felt reassured, Tomasz was so big and comforting. I felt a slight sliver of hope.

  ‘I don’t know what we’ll do if we don’t find him.’ Claire started crying and Jonathan wrapped his arms around her.

  ‘We will find him,’ he said, but I heard his voice crack. He was such a softy underneath the bluster, but he sounded determined.

  ‘We have to,’ Polly said, her beautiful face ashen. Matt hugged her. Somehow the fact that everyone was being brought together didn’t make me feel any better.

  ‘I think I’ll call Max,’ Tash said, her cheeks reddening. The others looked at her. ‘He might be able to help, he’s quite practical.’

  ‘Good idea, Tash,’ Jonathan said, and I saw Tash
brighten. I followed her into the other room, and when I heard her speak to him, I knew that she was letting him in. By asking for his help she was trusting him, and although I felt as bad as I ever had in my life, I felt a little better for that.

  It was decided that Tash would stay with the children and Claire and Jonathan would go on foot to the park at the end of the street, stopping at the Goodwins first – if anyone could find George it would be those nosey parkers, Jonathan said. Matt and Polly would go to the other end of the street and Tomasz and Max would drive around looking at the surrounding area. The plan was that if we hadn’t found him by nightfall they would put alerts on the local Facebook and then maybe even make posters … My baby might become a lamppost cat! But we all hoped it wouldn’t come to that. I prayed and prayed it wouldn’t come to that.

  I did actually see the flaw in my plan then. Even if it had worked, I had planned on George staying away overnight, but the amount of worry that that would have caused was unfair. No matter how much my humans needed to have their eyes opened, it wasn’t worth this distress. But now he really was missing, and it was all my fault.

  If anything happened to my kitten, I would never, ever forgive myself.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  It was nearly teatime and I had had enough. I still cared about my humans, but not as much as I cared about getting George back. The adults were still looking for him, to no avail, so I went to round up my cat friends in the hope that they might have some leads. As I set off though, Salmon loomed over me.

  ‘Right, Alfie, what is going on?’ he demanded, narrowing his eyes. ‘I’ve seen the neighbourhood cats running around like headless chickens, your family have been to see my family and I heard them say they had to go and look for George before dashing out.’

  ‘So you know exactly what’s going on then. George is missing. It’s a long story but the fact is we need to find him.’ ‘I was afraid that was the case. I was actually hoping this was just one of your hair-brained schemes.’

  I wanted to be affronted, but for once Salmon was right. ‘Well, he’s missing, and I’m frantic, we’re all frantic. What if he’s become one of the lamppost cats?’

  ‘My family said they were afraid that that might have happened to George. Look, they’re looking for all the cats, George now included, and with so many of us we’re bound to find him. And I’m off now, so if there’s any news I’ll report back.’ Salmon sounded kind, which was a first for me.

  ‘You will?’ I was wide-eyed.

  ‘Yes, the boy is very cute and, well, I’ve got a soft spot for him. Don’t worry Alfie, we’ll find him.’

  ‘But what if he’s with the other lamppost cats?’ I asked.

  ‘Then at least he’ll be among friends. Alfie, try not to worry.’

  I watched in amazement as Salmon bounded off. My kitten had bewitched even him.

  I was sure now that George was lost, not hiding, and the idea of him being afraid was almost too much for me to bear, especially now that night was falling. My cat friends had paired up to search the area: Nellie had gone with Tinkerbell, Rocky with Elvis. Tiger and I were sticking together – I needed her more now than I ever had. It was as if her physical presence was keeping me in one piece. Or almost. I wanted to curl up and yowl but I had to try to keep going until he was found. Not finding him was not an option.

  When we met up, all the cats reported where they had looked so far, and we all shared our frustrations that no one had come close to finding George. Despondency filled the air around us; I didn’t know how much more of this I could take.

  ‘I’ll go home and see if the humans have any news,’ I decided.‘You wait here for Dustbin, and I’ll be back as quickly as I can. They all nodded solemnly. Nellie had said that my plans brought them together, but this was a step too far. We were all distraught: for Pinkie, because of the fear that someone might be out there to hurt cats, and especially for George, who we all loved.

  My legs felt heavy as I made my way inside. I saw, to my dismay, all my humans at the kitchen table. Why weren’t they out looking?

  ‘Miaow,’ I said angrily. They all turned to look at me: Jonathan, Claire, Matt, Polly, Tomasz, Tash and, surprisingly, Max. I saw that Max and Tash were holding hands – what was that about? I then saw that on the table were posters, just like the lamppost ones, only these had a picture of my George on them. I felt my heart tear in two.

  ‘Hi, Alfie. No luck?’ Claire said. She looked terrible, as if she had been crying. In fact, none of my humans looked good. I just looked at her. I didn’t have the energy to even wonder where the children were.

  ‘Thanks for doing these posters so quickly, Max,’ Jonathan said.‘We can’t risk wasting any more time.’ He issued instructions to everyone on where they should put them up. I climbed onto Claire’s lap, and looked at George’s beautiful face.

  ‘You are such a star, Max,’ Tash said, and I saw her cheeks were again pink. It seemed they had resolved their issues, but I didn’t have any energy to be happy for them, not now at least. I jumped down and headed back out. We weren’t any closer to finding out where George was.

  ‘Dustbin?’ I asked hopefully as I approached Tiger, who was waiting by my gate.

  ‘Sorry, Alfie, he’s not here yet. The others have gone to do another search, no one has any idea what else to do.’

  ‘And for once I’m all out of plans. Tonight will be the first night I’ve spent away from George since he came to live with me. I’m not sure I can bear it.’

  ‘Alfie, look, why don’t we wait here until Dustbin comes? We’ll stay all night if we have to. And if either of us need to go inside then the other will be here.’

  ‘That would be great,’ I said.‘I just feel so useless.’

  ‘Alfie, we’ll get him back, I just know it.’ Tiger and I snuggled together by a bush, although I didn’t think sleep would visit that night.

  We saw Matt, Jonathan and Tomasz emerge from the front door, armed with posters.

  ‘Right, guys, meet you back here when they’ve all been put up,’ Jonathan said. They headed off, Matt and Tomasz in one direction, Jonathan in the other.

  ‘They’re putting up pictures, on the lampposts,’ I explained to Tiger. She looked distraught as the reality of what was happening hit us once again.

  ‘If only I hadn’t insisted on that stupid plan,’ I lamented.

  ‘Oh, Alfie, it’s not your fault. You only left him for a few minutes.’

  ‘I know, but I shouldn’t have left him at all. I should have waited with him until you came back. No matter what the plan was, he should not have been left alone.’

  ‘Well, we can’t turn back the clock, and blaming yourself isn’t going to help anyone. Come on, Alfie, let’s try to be positive. You’re the most positive cat I know.’

  ‘I just don’t feel it right now.’

  ‘I know, it’s horrible. I didn’t think I could miss anyone the way I miss George.’ Tiger looked sad.‘But we will find him. We have to.’

  ‘I just wish Dustbin would turn up.’

  The front door opened again and Tash walked out carrying Elijah. Max was next to her.

  ‘Are you sure I can’t carry him for you?’ Max asked.

  ‘I’m used to it,’ Tash replied.

  ‘But, Tash, you don’t have to. Look, I promised you we’d take things slowly, and I mean it, but let me help you.’ He sounded so genuine; I really liked this guy.

  ‘You’re right. I guess I’m so used to doing things myself. Max, you have to be patient with me.’

  ‘Hey, Patience is my middle name.’

  I really hoped it wasn’t.

  Tiger and I watched them walk off towards Tash’s flat, with Elijah now in Max’s arms. It was very sweet and had I not been so worried about my kitten my heart would be full of joy.

  ‘George needs you, Alfie,’ Tiger said, suddenly. ‘He needs us both. We sort of promised him we were his parents now and we have to protect him. No matter what.’

&nbs
p; ‘Tiger, you’re right. We need to be strong; no time for moping.’ We were going to find him. I closed my eyes and wished it with all my heart.

  Chapter Thirty

  I woke with a start. I was still lying under a bush; obviously I’d fallen asleep at some point, but it was still dark. Tiger slept beside me, looking so peaceful I almost forgot the turmoil we were in. I stretched out and took a look around. Still no sign of Dustbin, or any other cats for that matter. I paced around a bit, to loosen my legs up and also for want of something to do. I was just about to lie down next to Tiger again, when to my surprise I saw big Tomasz walking down our street. What was he doing? Had he found George? I barely dared to hope. I ran out onto the street to intercept him, and as soon as he saw me he scooped me up in his arms.

  ‘Alfie, is the middle of the night,’ he said as he sat on the garden wall, still cradling me. I miaowed – I knew that. But what was he doing here? ‘I have been thinking a lot. Seeing how lost you are without George makes me see how lost I am without my family – my wife and kittens. Alfie, I am coming to look for George tonight, while everyone else sleeps, but I feel so useless.’ I nestled into his neck; I felt the same. ‘Alfie, I’m sorry, but as worried about George as we all are, I know what I need to do. Tomorrow I am going to fly to Poland to get my family back. I hope we find George by then but if not I have to go. I hope you understand.’

  Tomasz was such a big, solid man but he sounded so sad. I did understand. After all, part of my grand plan had been to get him to go to Poland. I thought of the miserable irony of my life:Tash had opened herself up to Max and Tomasz was going to get his family, yet here I was having lost my kitten. There was no triumph, only pain, and I tried to ignore the horrible feeling that I would rather have George back than any of this. It was selfish of me, wasn’t it? I was suddenly realising that my kitten was more important to me than anyone, and his happiness and safety came above all else. I loved my humans, and I wanted their happiness, but not at the expense of George. I nestled into Tomasz again; I wanted to feel a bit of warmth because suddenly my fur was freezing, and so was my heart.