Then he frowned, said ‘OK. Yes. See you in a bit, then.’ And, turning to me, he added, ‘She can’t even talk to me right now, because she’s at the checkout. Honestly, Charlie – women! What a time to choose to go shopping.’
I agreed. I mean, I realised it was obviously necessary to stock up on my cat food, but I’d have thought it could have waited till the morning. Julian made himself a cup of coffee and we both settled down to wait. And I tried not to wonder whether Laura had taken Caroline shopping to cheer her up – because they’d had bad news.
CHAPTER
TWENTY THREE
It was only a little while before we heard Laura’s car pull up outside. Julian got up and went to the front door. He was so agitated, he was doing a little dance from one foot to the other on the doorstep, and I walked round and round his feet, feeling exactly the same.
‘Hello!’ Laura called out cheerfully as she carried Jessica out of the car.
She didn’t sound at all upset. Or was she just pretending to be cheerful for Caroline’s sake? But then Caroline came bounding up to the door behind her, smiling and saying she was hungry. That was a good sign, surely? I never looked forward to the arguments and sulks at dinnertime, or Laura’s sighs and downturned mouth when Caroline left half her dinner on the plate. Perhaps if she was saying she was hungry, she might eat it all up and everyone would be happy. Just as long as she wasn’t ill.
‘What took you so long?’ Julian asked as we all went through to the kitchen. ‘I’ve been on edge here for ages, waiting to hear what the doctor said.’
‘Sorry. We needed a few bits of shopping,’ Laura said, putting a bulging carrier bag on the kitchen table. ‘Have you got the other bag, Caroline?’
‘Yes, here you go.’ She deposited another bulging carrier bag next to the first one, and they smiled at each other.
‘What’s going on?’ Julian said, looking bewildered, and I didn’t blame him. It was beginning to look like the shopping was more important than the visit to the doctor.
‘We’ll explain in a minute. Just put the kettle on first, would you? I’m gasping for a cup of tea. And Jessica’s nappy needs changing. I’ll do that while you make the tea.’
She carried Jessica off upstairs, and Julian, shaking his head, turned to put the kettle on and get out mugs and tea bags, while Caroline rummaged in the cupboard for a biscuit.
‘You know Laura’s rules,’ Julian warned her. ‘No snacks just before dinner. You leave half your meals, as it is.’
‘I won’t tonight, though,’ she said, grinning.
Julian sat down opposite her at the table, staring at her.
‘Is there some kind of secret going on that I’m not being allowed to share?’ he asked her, a bit crossly. ‘All I want to know is what the doctor said about the blood tests, and whether you’re OK.’
‘Sorry, Dad.’ Caroline reached across the table and touched his paw. ‘I know you’ve been worried. So have I. But it’s OK. I don’t need another bone marrow biopsy. It’s nothing serious.’
‘So what is it?’
‘Anaemia,’ Laura said, suddenly reappearing in the kitchen doorway. ‘That’s what’s been wrong with her, Julian, and it’s all my fault.’
‘No it’s not,’ Caroline said. ‘It’s my fault, Laura. If I didn’t want to eat meat, I should have researched it myself, shouldn’t I, to find out what I should eat, instead of just having tantrums about it like a baby.’
‘It’s because she hasn’t been eating meat?’ Julian said, looking from Caroline to Laura and back again, his eyebrows right up to the top of his head. ‘That’s why she’s been so tired and unwell?’
‘No. Not exactly.’ Laura sighed and sat down at the table next to him. ‘It’s not the lack of meat in itself – Dr Pearson says a vegetarian diet can be very healthy if it’s done properly. No, it’s the lack of anything sensible in her diet instead of meat. And that is my fault. I’ve been too busy trying to get Caroline to eat what I wanted her to eat, to think about what nutrients she might be missing. And I’m a nurse! I feel so stupid.’
‘Laura, you’ve been really busy since Jessica was born,’ Caroline said quietly. ‘And I know I was being difficult about it. The thing is, I just really hate the whole idea of eating dead animals! I’d been feeling like this about it for a long time, ever since I was ill I suppose, but I didn’t really want to be awkward and difficult. I did keep trying to eat some meat, but then it started making me feel really sick.’ She shrugged. ‘Perhaps you’re right, Laura – it might just be a phase, maybe I’ll get over it.’
‘It doesn’t matter anymore, Caroline,’ Laura said. ‘I’m just glad we’ve found out what’s wrong.’
‘So what does Dr Pearson suggest? Iron tablets?’ Julian asked.
‘Not unless we can’t correct it ourselves with diet.’
‘What sort of diet?’
‘Look in the bags, Dad!’ Caroline said, sounding quite excited as she started to unpack the two carriers, describing each item as she put it on the table ‘Lots of green veg. Dried apricots. Lentils. Soya beans. Tofu. Oatmeal. Cashew nuts. Sunflower seeds—’
‘And lots of oranges, strawberries, blackcurrants and so on, for vitamin C,’ Laura put in.
‘Because, did you know? We need vitamin C in order to absorb iron,’ Caroline said, sounding quite excited about it.
‘And plenty of cheese of course, and yoghurts and eggs. For protein.’
All this sounded awful to me, but Laura and Caroline were grinning away to each other happily.
‘Caroline has really taken it on board,’ Laura said. ‘She wanted us to go straight to the supermarket and stock up on all the right food, so that we can start today.’
‘Are you sure you’re up for this?’ Julian said, sounding worried again now. ‘It sounds like a lot of work, Laura – two different meals every night? I mean, you know I’d help, but I normally get home a bit late …’
Laura laughed. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not expecting you to learn vegetarian cooking, Julian.’
‘But I’m going to,’ Caroline said, sitting up a bit straighter. ‘That’s only fair, if I want to eat differently from you, isn’t it? And anyway I think it’s really interesting. I can cook stir fries with lots of nuts, and make lentil bakes, and …’
‘We picked up a recipe book in the supermarket too,’ Laura told Julian.
‘And I’m going to start on tonight’s dinner as soon as I’ve changed out of my school uniform,’ Caroline said, running off towards the stairs.
‘I do realise the novelty of cooking for herself will probably wear off after a while,’ Laura said, smiling at Julian. ‘And I’ll supervise anyway. But it won’t do her any harm. We can both learn, together. I don’t think it’s going to be as difficult as it sounds. We might even decide to join her, a couple of days a week. Too much meat is bad for you, you know,’ she added.
Really? I found that hard to believe. I couldn’t imagine how anyone could survive without eating meat. Even when I was living in such reduced circumstances with the feral cats, it was the scraps of horrible burgers and sausages from the bins, together with the occasional treat of fresh fish of course, that kept us alive. But to be honest I was just so very, very happy to hear that Caroline wasn’t really ill after all, I didn’t care what strange things she wanted to eat, as long as they made her feel better.
‘Dr Pearson also reminded me that she’s approaching puberty,’ Laura added quietly, ‘which, as well as the anaemia, would account for her having been so tired and emotional.’ She paused for a moment, and then smiled and said, ‘And moody, and bad-tempered!’
I was glad poor Caroline wasn’t in the room to hear that.
‘Really? She’s at that stage already? She’s only eleven!’
‘Coming up for twelve,’ Laura said. ‘It’s not at all out of the ordinary, Julian. I should have realised that myself, but I kind of expected that she’d have a slightly delayed adolescence, if anything, after going through her illne
ss and the chemotherapy. But the doctor said that doesn’t necessarily happen.’
‘The trouble is, we’ve both been seeing all the signs, but thinking they meant something else. Something much worse. So we couldn’t see the wood for the trees.’
‘Yes, you’re right. Well – thank God, she’s going to be fine now.’ Laura reached out and touched Julian’s paw. ‘It’s such a relief, isn’t it?’
A relief to me too, of course. In fact I felt quite weak with it. I was going to have to have a lie down. But first, I needed to wind myself around Caroline’s legs until she picked me up, so that I could give her face a really good licking to show how happy I was.
Later that night, after Jessica had gone to bed and Caroline had gone back upstairs to do her homework, Nicky came round. Apparently she’d been desperate to hear how the doctor’s appointment went, too.
‘I’m so glad it’s nothing serious,’ she said after Laura had told her all about it. ‘So it’s nothing to do with the new school, either? I was a bit worried she was finding it too much.’
‘No, she absolutely loves the school,’ Julian said. ‘And we’re both completely certain now that we’ve done the right thing, aren’t we, darling?’
Laura nodded. ‘She’s so happy at Great Broomford High, going off on the bus with all her friends, and being in the same class as Grace. And it is a good school, so I’m sure she’ll do well there. Thank goodness there was still a place available for her there when we changed our minds.’
‘Yes,’ said Julian. ‘If only we’d sat down and talked to her about it properly, instead of just insisting we knew what was best for her. The private school might have a wonderful reputation, but what’s the point, if she was going to be miserable and resentful? Now she’s got her circle of friends here, after all that time of being lonely, it’s quite understandable that the most important thing for her is to be with them. No wonder she felt so cross and upset with us.’
‘But she’s happy now, and she’s going to be fine, that’s what matters,’ Nicky said gently. ‘What about the concussion, though? Did the doctor say that wasn’t causing her any of her symptoms?’
‘Oh, he did say it might be adding to the problem, yes,’ Laura said, ‘although the anaemia is the real issue. But I must say, he agreed with what they told us at Mudditon Hospital – if Caroline hadn’t been taken to hospital, it could have been a different picture altogether. Can you imagine what might have happened if she and Grace had carried on wandering off on their own like that – while she was suffering from concussion, not to mention the bleeding from her wounds? It could have been … well, a catastrophe,’ she finished in a very quiet voice.
‘Thank God she went to hospital. So it looks like Charlie really did save her life,’ Nicky said.
‘Yes.’ Laura looked at me and smiled. ‘He did.’
‘It feels like we’ve got our Caroline back now, in more ways than one,’ Julian said, and I thought I could hear a funny wobble in his voice. Laura must have heard it too, because she put her paws round him and hugged him. He smiled at her and added, ‘And you’re so much happier too, darling, aren’t you? Now the baby’s started to settle down.’
‘Poor Laura was tired out, Julian,’ Nicky said. ‘What on earth did you expect?’
‘You were worried I might have had postnatal depression, weren’t you?’ Laura said, turning to Julian. ‘But Nicky’s right, I was just completely exhausted.’
‘Men just don’t get it,’ Nicky said, shaking her head. ‘Dan was absolutely useless too, after I had Benjamin.’
‘I know, I know,’ Julian said, smiling. ‘Well, we don’t like to admit we’re worried, you see …’
‘Excuses, excuses.’ Nicky laughed. ‘You’re all the same. If you don’t like us being tired and ratty, you should be looking at how you can help us. And honestly, Julian – I’m glad we’re close enough friends that I can say this to you now – it really wasn’t the most wonderful idea in the world, taking the family to Mudditon for a whole month and leaving them there to get on with it.’
Oh, at last, somebody was saying what we’d all been thinking right from the start! I rubbed my head against Nicky’s legs and purred.
‘I know,’ Julian said. ‘I think I realised I’d messed up, even before we got there, but I was trying to convince myself it was going to somehow make everything better. Instead, I’ll admit it, it was just a bloody disaster!’
‘Oh, come on, there were some good things about the holiday,’ Laura said, nudging Nicky and doing that thing with her eyes that humans call winking. ‘It was quite fun really apart from the girls running away, Charlie going missing, Caroline getting herself concussed and carted off to hospital, and … oh, well, none of us being able to relax on the beach because of the seagulls. But that pales into insignificance compared with the rest!’
‘Next year,’ Julian said, when they’d all stopped laughing, ‘you choose the holiday, right? That’s a promise.’
‘And Charlie can stay with us,’ Nicky said firmly. ‘Wherever you go, you’re not going to risk taking him with you again and letting him get lost.’
‘You’re on,’ Laura said. ‘Thank you. The cattery is supposed to be very good, though.’
‘No!’ I meowed. ‘I want to stay with Nicky. I’ll be really, really good! I won’t mess up her washing or get inside Benjamin’s cot or anything.’
‘I think he’s saying he’d rather stay with us,’ Nicky said, stroking me. Perhaps she actually did understand a bit of Cat!
‘Well, next summer’s a long way off,’ Julian said, ‘but we might take you up on it if Laura wants us to jet off somewhere exotic and expensive.’
‘Good idea!’ Laura said, and she did the winking thing to Nicky again. ‘Although to be honest, I can’t imagine exotic holidays being quite so easy with a baby in tow. And it’s funny, but despite everything, I’ve developed a kind of affection for Mudditon-on-Sea.’
‘You’re joking!’ Julian said.
‘No, I’m not. But we’re only going back if they’ve got a grip on the seagull problem. And as long as it’s only for a week or two, and you stay with us.’
‘Perhaps we could stay in a hotel next time instead of self-catering,’ Julian said. ‘And we’ll see if Grace can come along for Caroline.’
Nicky was laughing at them both as she got to her feet. ‘Well, I’d better get back or Dan’s going to start complaining that I leave him on his own too much with Benjamin! I’ll leave the pair of you to mull over your plans for next year, then – although I can hardly believe you’re already talking about going back to Mudditon again.’
And neither could I. After everything that happened, here they were already discussing going on another holiday! What on earth is wrong with humans? Why can’t they just enjoy playing in their own safe territories all the time, like we do? Although I must admit, just for a tiny moment, I allowed myself to imagine going back to Mudditon and somehow being able to catch up with my friends, the feral cats, again. But sadly, I knew it wasn’t really going to happen. I’ll never forget those boys, but they’re not part of my real life, my life here in Little Broomford with my family and friends. I’m a home-loving domestic cat at heart, and always will be.
After Nicky left, I took myself off to my bed in the kitchen to settle down for the night, but I couldn’t sleep for thinking about all the things I’d overheard. Suddenly there was a rattle of the cat flap and there was Oliver looking through it. I jumped up at once and dived outside to join him.
‘What have you been doing?’ he complained. ‘I’ve been meowing outside for you for ages, but you’ve obviously been too busy to hear me.’
‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘It’s been a very worrying day. Caroline went back to the doctor to find out whether she’s ill again.’
‘Oh yes! What happened?’
‘She’s OK.’ I felt almost too tired to explain. ‘But she has to eat strange things like nuts and eggs and oranges.’
‘Yuck. Poor Carolin
e.’
‘I know, but we’re all really happy because she’s going to be fine.’
‘Of course. I’m happy about it too.’ He rubbed his face against mine. ‘It’s really good news. Thank goodness she’s not ill. So – now we know that, if I come back tomorrow perhaps you’ll finally tell me your story?’
‘Yes. And I didn’t tell you the other day about the television people coming—’
‘What?’
‘They want to put me into everyone’s televisions again. They’re calling me a hero.’
He gave me a funny look. ‘Really? Don’t start getting big ideas about yourself, Charlie. You’re still just a little kitten to me, you know.’
And although it usually annoys me now, there was something quite comforting then about Ollie calling me a little kitten ‘Don’t worry. I won’t get big-headed. But it turns out they’re saying I saved Caroline’s life.’
‘Wow. Really?’
‘Yes, and in Mudditon where we went on holiday, the humans think I was a hero because I saved an old female from being attacked by seagulls.’
‘I can’t wait to hear about all this. And of course, Charlie, we’re both heroes for saving Nicky and Daniel’s marriage as well.’
‘Yes. I’m getting a bit tired actually, doing all this heroism and saving. I was just about to go to sleep before you turned up.’
‘Oh, well, if you’re too tired to talk to me …’
‘Of course I’m not. Anyway, I couldn’t get off to sleep. I was too excited about Caroline not being ill. And too busy puzzling about things my family have just been saying, as well.’
‘Tell me about it!’ he meowed. ‘Humans puzzle me all the time. They’re just not like us, you know.’
‘I realise that. But whatever possesses them to want to go away on holidays? It’s crazy. Once you start wandering away from home, trust me, Ollie, I’ve discovered life is fraught with dangers and difficulties. Personally, nothing will ever tempt me to do it again. Oh, unless, of course, I should ever be needed for another rescue of Caroline.’
Charlie the Kitten Who Saved a Life Page 20