Alfie in the Snow

by Rachel Wells

  ‘This reminds me of the Blitz spirit,’ Vic Goodwin said, as he and his wife, in matching Christmas jumpers, started to gather their food to contribute.

  ‘I’m far too young to remember that,’ Jonathan replied.

  ‘Well, so am I,’ Vic said, and we were all uncertain how he knew if that was the case. But Vic did say something useful, he said they should all get torches to take with them in case we all had to come back to houses still without light, so they rounded up all they had to ensure that every family who needed one had one.

  Luckily many of the families had either gone away or had somewhere else to go, but there were a fair few of us as we organised getting everyone to the restaurant. Jonathan and Matt led the way and Polly, Claire and the children got ready to bring up the rear, along with me and George.

  ‘I wish Hana was coming,’ George said, and I realised there was still something left to do. No one had gone to see Sylvie, probably because she had told them that they already had plans, but I didn’t believe her.

  I stood on the doorstep and meowed loudly.

  ‘Oh goodness, look, Claire, we didn’t think about Sylvie,’ Polly said. Everyone stood at the front gate, but George sat beside me at the front door.

  ‘Last night she was really adamant that she had plans but we thought she might be too embarrassed to face us all.’ Claire had told Matt and Polly what had happened with Aleksy last night, so they were up to speed with the situation.

  ‘But she probably hasn’t, has she?’ Polly said, as she opened the gate. ‘Look, it’s Christmas and if Connie and Sylvie are on their own, we need to persuade them to come with us. No one should spend Christmas in the dark, for goodness sake.’

  ‘Of course,’ Claire said, uncertainly, as they unlatched the gate and came to join me at the door. Henry reached up and rang the doorbell as we all huddled like a group of carol singers on the doorstep. After a while we heard footsteps and the door opened. Connie, looking very sweet in a jumper with a reindeer on it, stood before us. She looked a little relieved to see us.

  ‘Hi, is your mum in? Oh, and Happy Christmas,’ Polly said before pushing past her into the house. We all followed. Sylvie was in the kitchen, where George ran up to Hana and they nuzzled like the old friends they were.

  Claire seemed a little taken aback. ‘How are they friends? She never goes out?’ she said. No one answered.

  ‘Hello, and Happy Christmas,’ Sylvie said but she was a little red-faced.

  ‘Look, I know you said you had plans but it doesn’t look like it, and you can’t spend Christmas with no power. We and a few of the neighbours are taking our food and drink to Tomasz and Franceska’s restaurant where we are going to have a lovely, if slightly unconventional Christmas lunch together,’ Polly said.

  ‘That sounds like fun,’ Connie said, hopefully.

  ‘We can’t, I just can’t.’ Sylvie burst into tears.

  ‘Connie, take the children to see your tree in the living room,’ Polly commanded, and Connie, although looking shocked, did as she was told.

  ‘Right, now what’s this about?’ Polly said.

  ‘Apart from the fact that my daughter ran away last night because I’m a terrible mum, I’ve been horrible to all of you who have done nothing but be nice to me, my ex-husband is spending Christmas with his pregnant girlfriend, who he has moved into my house in Japan, what else could there be?’ she sobbed.

  Put like that, it didn’t sound good.

  ‘Listen, your ex, I can’t do anything about. But you and your daughter seem to have built bridges by the looks of it,’ Polly said. Sylvie nodded. ‘And you are not a terrible mum, you were trying hard to protect your daughter, we all understand that, but she doesn’t need protecting from Aleksy, by the way, he’s about as harmful as a houseplant.’

  ‘Well, I’m not sure I’d compare him to a houseplant,’ Claire said.

  ‘First thing that came into my mind. You know I mean a flower … he’s as dangerous as a delicate flower.’ I really had no idea where they were going with this. ‘Anyway, that’s beside the point.’ Even Polly looked as if she’d forgotten what the point was.

  ‘No, the point is that we are all fine, we understand, you’ve had a terrible time and it really hasn’t been easy. We all still want your friendship and want you to have ours, and today of all days we can’t let you two be alone, in the dark,’ Claire said, and we were back on track. ‘So, come with us today and you can start building those bridges.’

  ‘But Franceska must hate me. I was so horrible to her, and her son,’ Sylvie said. Her eyes were full of tears. ‘It’d be so insensitive of me to swan into her restaurant, when I’ve no right.’

  ‘Oh, Frankie couldn’t hate you. All you have to do is apologise and it’ll be forgotten. I mean, she’s about as good at holding grudges as …’ Polly narrowed her eyes as if she was thinking.

  ‘A houseplant?’ Claire suggested. They all laughed. ‘Honestly, Sylvie, she’ll be so happy you’ve come and you know whose Christmas you will really make?’

  ‘Connie and Aleksy’s,’ Polly finished as if there was any doubt. And mine, and George’s, I silently added.

  ‘OK, give me five minutes to clean myself up and put some make-up on.’ Sylvie smiled. ‘I really am so sorry for behaving so badly and I really do hope you can forgive me.’

  ‘Already done,’ Polly said as she went to give Connie the good news.

  ‘I am so glad that everyone’s happy again,’ Hana said. ‘And George says it’s down to you, Alfie.’

  ‘Not entirely,’ I started modestly.

  ‘It really is down to us,’ George countered, immodestly. ‘But now, your family are coming with us, and you will be here on your own. In the dark.’ He raised his whiskers, hopefully.

  ‘Hana, come with us,’ I said.

  ‘But I’ve never been out and it’s been snowing and I didn’t know what snow was until Connie told me last night.’

  ‘Yes, your paws will be cold and it might be a bit slippery but only like a polished floor,’ I pointed out. ‘Listen, Hana, you have to come with us, you need to start going outside. Honestly, you’ll like it, trust me.’ I hoped I was right.

  ‘But I’m scared,’ Hana said.

  ‘But I’ll be right by your side and nothing will happen to you,’ George said.

  ‘Come on, your family need to know that you are still a family and that includes you,’ I stated, nudging her with my nose towards the front door. ‘Not to mention the food we’re about to eat, no self-respecting cat would pass up this opportunity,’ I pointed out.

  ‘Hana?’ Sylvie asked as they came to the front door to see Hana sitting by it.

  ‘She should come with us.’ Claire looked worriedly at the three of us and I nudged Hana again. She couldn’t have been any closer to the door.

  ‘But she doesn’t go out,’ Sylvie said.

  ‘Meow,’ Hana said. It seemed she was learning.

  ‘Maybe she wants to come with us,’ Connie said.

  ‘She definitely does. I can tell, I know a lot about cats,’ Toby said.

  ‘Me too, and yes she absolutely does,’ Summer, not to be outdone, added.

  ‘Right, well you’ll have to carry her then, Con, darling, I don’t want her to get cold paws,’ Sylvie said, uncertainly, as Connie scooped her up. It wasn’t quite what I had in mind but, as I blinked at George and he blinked back, it would have to do for now.

  ‘I am so full I don’t think I can move,’ I said later, as we all rested after our meal.

  ‘Me either, Dad,’ George said.

  ‘Being outside is quite nice,’ Hana said, although she was currently inside.

  ‘Right, well I better get back to work,’ Dustbin said. ‘Those pesky rodents will have taken advantage of my absence.’

  ‘Can I help you?’ Salmon, who was on his best behaviour, asked.

  ‘Nah, no offence but you don’t look like the sort of cat who gets his paws dirty,’ Dustbin replied, but without malice. Salmon
wasn’t, he could probably talk the rodents to death, but that was it. Like cat, like owner, in that respect.

  Although in fairness the Goodwins had been on pretty good form. Seeing them play charades was a sight to behold. Although not as good as Harold, who guessed every single one incorrectly and then accused the person acting the charade of being wrong. All the adults were laughing so much they were nearly crying.

  It had turned out to be a wonderful Christmas Day. The food was delicious – and there was plenty of it as everyone had pooled their resources. The children had a table set up on their own and were behaving beautifully. The younger ones had brought some of their new toys with them. The older ones were supervising, well Tommy was but Aleksy and Connie were staring at each other with dopey expressions on their faces. Tommy despaired, but no amount of teasing would stop them. I even noticed they were holding hands under the table whenever they could. Ah, young love.

  As I’d weaved in between everyone’s legs I felt a warmth in the atmosphere that I relished. The adults were all behaving pretty well. Sylvie had apologised to Franceska, and cried a bit, and Franceska, who was just too lovely, had hugged her and told her that they should forget it. She told her she would never let Aleksy take advantage of Connie or hurt her, and Sylvie had said she did believe her, but that after her husband had hurt her she was so scared of her daughter going through anything like that. It all made sense in a way, because of course heart-break wasn’t rational. I knew that better than most. Sylvie was back to being the woman we’d first met when she moved here and somehow Claire had manoeuvred it so she and Marcus were sitting next to each other at lunch. I had hope they might fall in love, but I didn’t think either of them looked as if they’d be jumping into anything anytime soon. Harold was on good form, though he and Vic Goodwin had a slight disagreement about the reason for the rise in crime, which Jonathan had to diffuse. But other than that, everyone was getting on well.

  I’d felt choked when the Barkers raised a toast to Tiger, and I nuzzled close to George who shook, when they talked about how much they missed her. We both went over to them and rubbed their legs to let them know we felt the same, which they seemed to appreciate. However, I was alarmed when they said they were going to the shelter in the new year to adopt a cat, but an older cat, as the house didn’t feel right without one.

  Replace Tiger? How could they?

  ‘We’re never going to be able to replace Tiger,’ Mrs Barker said. Phew. ‘We had her from a kitten and as we never had children she was our child. We miss her so much but we have a good, warm and kind home and I know Tiger would want us to help a cat who needed a home.’

  They were right, she would. She would have been proud of them, and I would just have to get used to seeing another cat come out of that cat flap. And, as hard as it would be, I would welcome them with open paws. Again, it’s what Tiger would have wanted.

  It was getting late when Marcus, who hadn’t had a drink, drove his dad and the Barkers back to Edgar Road. The clearing-up had been shared by everyone – although Franceska had tried to get them to leave it, the Goodwins insisted and they loved bossing everyone about and giving them jobs to do. I went out to the yard to say goodbye to Dustbin who was busy working.

  ‘It’s been a grand Christmas,’ he said.

  ‘It has. I wish Tiger was here but, apart from that, it’s worked out wonderfully,’ I replied, with a sad grin. ‘And of course I am still tired from the incident last night.’ I was pleased and a little surprised that no one had talked about that today, but that was Christmas for you, it wasn’t a time to speak of anything bad.

  ‘She’d be proud of all you’ve done,’ he said, and I really hoped she would.

  ‘Mewwwww!’ We turned to see Hana tentatively putting her paws outside, with George encouraging her. The snow was slushy now and not deep but she still found it cold. Well, of course it was cold.

  ‘You did it,’ George cheered. ‘You’ve officially stepped outside now!’

  ‘Well, so I have. What a Christmas,’ Hana said. ‘But is it always this cold?’

  ‘No, one day soon it will be warmer and I will insist you try coming out more often,’ George said. ‘So we can hang out.’

  ‘I’d really like that.’ She waved her tail before jumping back inside.

  ‘Incoming,’ Dustbin shouted and dived to catch a mouse behind one of the bins.

  ‘Happy Christmas, Tiger, wherever you may be,’ I whispered, staring up at the brightest star in the sky, and then I turned to go home.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. It’s also the hardest for a lot of people. Among the trees, the happiness, the presents, the food and the excitement , it’s a good time to remember that it’s not all plain sailing for a lot of people – and cats. That was my Christmas message this year, and I told George that. As we said a silent prayer for Tiger, as we rubbed our full bellies, as we yowled together at how much we missed her, as we watched our children enjoy their gifts, it was a very mixed kind of Christmas for us this year. And we were the lucky ones. I drummed that into George until he told me he got it and please would I ‘just stop lecturing me’. Teenage George was back at times. Although perhaps I had laboured the point a bit.

  It was all over for another year. As Jonathan said, it took months to prepare for Christmas and then it was all over in a flash. But although that was true, Claire pointed out that for that flash it was worth it. And this year certainly had been. Everyone pulling together like that, friendships forged, upsets mended, and even the busybody Goodwins involved, that was what life should be about. I was saving that lecture for the new year though.

  The power came back on when we got home on Christmas night, and as the children almost fell asleep the minute we walked through the door, along with George, we tucked them all up and then Claire, Jonathan and I sat in the living room, enjoying the peace and the twinkle of the Christmas tree lights. I fell asleep at some point on the sofa and woke there in the early hours before I wearily made it up to my bed. It had been a bittersweet Christmas, but then life was going to be bittersweet for a long time to come, I knew.

  It was now New Year’s Eve and we were having a party at our house to say goodbye to another year and hello to the new one. Claire had been planning this party for months and even Jonathan was keen. All the children were having a sleepover with us, and Polly and Matt and Franceska and Tomasz would be there. Connie was coming with Sylvie, Harold was going to walk down from his house with Marcus, and even the Barkers had said they would pop in for a sherry early on, though they wouldn’t stay up until midnight. The Goodwins were coming, but they said they had to keep watch because it was a known fact that lots of crime was committed on New Year’s Eve. Jonathan offered them a pair of binoculars and said they could station themselves by our curtains. They were happy to agree to this, but were bringing their own binoculars; they didn’t trust Jonathan’s would be good enough. In actual fact he was joking, he didn’t own any, but luckily they never discovered that. Jonathan had invited a couple of people from his work who didn’t have plans and Claire had asked some of the women from her book group and their partners. It was going to be quite a gathering. And a party was possibly just what I needed, to say goodbye to what had been a good but also a terrible year and welcome a new one, which I hoped would be better.

  George appeared fully groomed and looking smart.

  ‘Hey son,’ I said, giving him a nuzzle.

  ‘Hi Dad, I’ve just been at Hana’s.’ There was no stopping those two, although as far as I could tell they were just friends. Now Sylvie and Connie were back as part of our family, George was in and out of the house more frequently when he saw one of them, and they didn’t mind. Connie had even suggested to her mum that they have a cat flap fitted into the side door, so that George could visit and keep Hana company. We were so excited about this prospect. And I thought that it would be lovely for both of us, especially George, to have another home to a
dd to our collection. You could never have too many, after all. However, they were still not sure that Hana should go out, and neither was she, but George was working on it. It was his New Year’s resolution.

  ‘How was she?’

  ‘Yeah, good. She’s not coming tonight – she said she’s had so much excitement that she needs a quiet night in. I think I understand. Hana is a very quiet cat, who’s used to being calm. I think us Londoners are a bit of a revelation to her.’

  ‘Of course,’ I replied, seriously. It was possibly true, Hana was used to a calmer life than we were. I couldn’t remember what a quiet life was, to be frank.

  ‘It’s been a hard year, well the end has, hasn’t it?’ he said.

  ‘Yes, son, and you have been coping so well. I don’t know how you’ve done it but I am very proud of you.’ I meant every word.

  ‘I think it’s just that thing, really, knowing how Tiger mum would like me to live my life. I hear her talking to me all the time and I also know …’

  ‘What, son?’

  ‘I know she would want you to be happy. At the moment you’re not but you need to be. She would want you to make the most of every minute and not wallow. And you say that you carry those you love around with you in your heart and she’s in mine.’

  ‘Mine too.’ I felt so emotional. My kitten was so wise.

  ‘Well then, we will both be alright. But, Dad?’

  ‘Yes, son?’

  ‘I don’t want you to get another cat girlfriend, if you don’t mind. I think it’s best you stay single and just be my dad.’

  ‘OK son, that’s a deal.’ I was sure I didn’t want another girlfriend either. I’d been lucky enough to love twice in my life and that was quite enough.

  ‘Good, because I don’t want a new mum.’

  ‘You won’t ever have a new mum, you’ll always have Tiger mum, even if I did get a girlfriend, but I won’t. I’m too busy looking after you lot.’ I raised my whiskers.

  Wasn’t that the truth?