Caroline bounced up and down on the sofa, her cheeks all pink with excitement.
‘But…’ Sarah had gone a bit pink too. ‘Mr Smythe, honestly, you can’t…’
‘Julian, for goodness’ sake, and yes I can. I want to. It’s the least I can do, to make up for being so unsociable and rude.’
‘But what about food, Julian?’ Laura asked, looking worried. ‘It’s such short notice. I mean, I’ll help, but there’s not much time for shopping or cooking.’
‘Hmm, that’s a point. Might be too late to organise caterers,’ he said, frowning.
‘Perhaps we should leave it until after Christmas,’ Laura suggested.
‘But I’d like to make it a Christmas party,’ Julian insisted. ‘Where’s your sense of fun, Laura?’ He laughed. ‘It’ll be great – spontaneous! I’ll just have to drive into town and load up with lots of party food.’
‘No!’ Sarah stood up now, shaking her head. ‘Absolutely not. If you really want to do this – and honestly, I agree it’s a bit rushed! – we certainly can’t let you go to the trouble and expense of providing food. There are too many of us. We’ll sort it out together, like we’ve been doing, with notices on the notice board, and with phone calls, emails, and notes through people’s doors, and we’ll all bring something along. Plates of sausage rolls, sandwiches, cakes – everyone who comes will rustle up or buy something quickly.’
He started to protest, but Laura stopped him.
‘It’s actually a good idea, Julian,’ she said. ‘People won’t feel so embarrassed about coming, if they contribute.’
‘Oh, I suppose that’s a point. All right, then, but please tell them the contributions are voluntary. And I’ll provide drinks. Soft drinks for kids, wine and beer for the adults who want it. I insist! It’s the first thing I’ve contributed to village life, and not before time.’ He grinned at Laura. ‘I’m looking forward to this. It’s…’ He coughed, and took a deep breath. ‘It’s the first thing I’ve looked forward to for a long while.’
‘Perhaps the first of many,’ Laura said quietly, and they gave each other that long look again.
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, Daddy, why don’t you just kiss her?’ Caroline said. ‘It’s been obvious for ages that you want to.’
And everyone burst out laughing.
* * *
When Sarah was ready to leave, I decided to go with them. Grace and Rose lingered over their goodbyes to Caroline, while I followed Julian and Sarah out into the hall.
‘Just a thought,’ Sarah said very quietly to Julian. ‘If you do decide to get Caroline a cat after Christmas, we happen to know someone whose cat’s having kittens soon. We’re actually getting one ourselves. We went to see the couple last night, and they’ll be wanting to re-home all but one of the kittens. If you’re sure about this party, and they come, I’ll introduce you.’
‘Thank you. Yes,’ he said, ‘I think, now I’ve got over the shock of seeing Oliver with her, it would be very good for Caroline. And I like the idea of having a kitten from someone in the village.’
‘I’m glad. You know, a lot of what’s happened here seems to have come about because of Oliver. Since he’s been with us, things seem to have … fallen into place, somehow.’ She laughed. ‘My neighbour thinks he’s got magical qualities.’
‘Maybe he has. People used to believe that about cats, didn’t they, in medieval times? Thought they were associated with witches or something.’
I have no idea what witches are, little Charlie, or whether I’d want to be associated with them. All I knew was, I didn’t particularly feel magical. But I was, after all, beginning to feel like I really could be the Cat Who Saved Christmas.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
Those next few days, there was such a flurry of activity everywhere, I felt like wherever I went, people were tripping over me. Everyone in the village seemed to be shopping in a hurry, cooking in a hurry, wrapping things up in a hurry. And at the Big House it was even worse, with Julian and Laura and Harry rushing around putting up decorations and balloons and big tables and another big Christmas tree in the huge empty room they called the ballroom. I couldn’t quite work out why it was called a ballroom when there wasn’t a single ball in there to play with, but what did I know?
And then it was Christmas Eve, and everyone was even busier. The children were beside themselves with excitement. Almost every time Sarah opened her mouth it was to tell them that if they didn’t calm down and behave themselves, Father Christmas wouldn’t be coming. I tried to keep out of her way, as she ran around the kitchen with pots and pans, getting flustered and red in the face. But finally it was time to get ready for the party, and to my delight, Sarah told me I was invited too.
‘You’re one of the guests of honour,’ she said, tying a piece of red Christmas ribbon round my neck, over my collar.
I normally hated wearing fussy things like that, but I was too excited about the party to care.
And then, just as everyone was getting their coats on ready to leave … George turned up.
I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, do I, Charlie, how overjoyed I was! When I saw him come into the hallway I went a little bit crazy, walking round and round his legs, and rubbing my cheek against him madly to show him he still belonged to me. I know some cats treat their humans with disdain if they feel they’ve been neglected – walking away from them, twitching their tails – but I’ve never been able to hide my feelings like that. When George bent down and picked me up, I must have been the happiest cat in the world. I blinked so many kisses at him, I made my eyes hurt. Grace and Rose were shrieking with laughter at how loud I was purring.
‘I’m sorry I haven’t managed to get down here before now,’ he was saying. ‘I’ve been so busy in the new job. But I’ve brought all of you a few treats for Christmas, to make up for it – and another payment for Ollie’s board and lodging of course, for you and next door.’
He put some bags of exciting-looking gift-wrapped parcels down on the table, then turned and looked at us all again – the children with their coats zipped up, me in my silly bow, Sarah with containers of food ready to take with us.
‘Oh, I’m so sorry. You’re just going out.’
‘It’s fine, George. Stay and have a coffee or something. There’s no rush,’ Martin said, giving a warning look to the children, who were shuffling their paws impatiently.
‘Oh, Daddy,’ little Rose said. ‘Everyone will be there before us.’
‘It’s just a village party,’ Sarah explained apologetically. ‘A last-minute thing, actually.’
‘Really? That’s nice. Whose party?’
‘You’ll never believe it.’ Sarah laughed. ‘It’s at the Big House. Julian Smythe has invited the whole village.’
‘Never!’
‘Yes!’ She glanced at Martin and then added, ‘Actually, George, why don’t you join us? Nicky and Daniel next door are coming too – they’ll be calling for us any minute now. We can tell you the whole story on the way there.’
‘Oh, no. I couldn’t. I haven’t been invited.’
‘Yes you have,’ Martin said. ‘You’re part of the village – everyone’s invited. We’re all taking food with us. Come on, mate, it’ll be great to have your company. Everyone’ll be really chuffed to see you.’
So, together with Nicky and Daniel, we all set off up the hill. George even carried me the whole way – not because I couldn’t walk, of course, but because I couldn’t bear for him to put me down, even for a minute. I knew he’d soon be going back to London again and it might be a long time before he came back.
* * *
I can’t tell you too much about the party, Charlie, except that the music was very noisy, all the children were very noisy, and lots of people seemed to be hugging each other and eating and drinking a lot. I’m afraid I put my paws over my ears and fell asleep on George’s lap, and when I eventually woke up, I’d been put on a chair in a quiet corner of the hall, with one of the children’s c
oats over me to keep me warm. I was happy to let George carry me home again.
I think it was quite late by the time the children had been tucked up in bed. This, by the way, was a longer process than usual, with strange rituals being carried out involving a glass of sherry and a mince pie being left on the fireplace, and stockings hung at the ends of both their beds, and a lot of giggling – none of which I could make any sense of. Then, after a last cup of coffee and chat with Sarah and Martin, George had to say goodbye to us all again. I went off to bed and tried not to cry. This time I felt a little more certain that he’d be back again.
* * *
When I woke up, it was quite obvious it was Christmas morning. The girls were shouting their heads off about the new toys they’d got, and next to my bed was a little red stocking full of cat treats, a catnip toy with jingly bells and feathers on, and a squeaky toy mouse.
‘It’s from George, Ollie,’ Grace said when she came into the kitchen and saw me poking my nose into it. ‘But we’ve bought you some presents too. They’re under the tree. Happy Christmas!’
Dear George. And there was I, thinking Father Christmas must have been real after all.
* * *
Just after breakfast, a big car stopped outside Nicky and Daniel’s house. I sat on Sarah’s windowsill and watched as a male, a female and two quite large human kittens got out of the car carrying a lot of bags between them, and went in through the front door.
Sarah had been watching too. ‘Nicky’s parents and brothers are here,’ she called out to Martin. ‘Oh, I do hope it’s all going to go smoothly for them.’
But of course, we had no idea whether it was going smoothly or roughly – not until much later, after everyone had opened more presents, eaten their Christmas dinner and pulled apart some really horrible things called crackers. They made a loud bang which sent me scuttling out to the kitchen and set the children off in fits of laughter. I really couldn’t see what the point of that was.
It seemed a long day. They watched a lady called Queen on television, who did nothing but sit in a chair and talk, so I didn’t know why it seemed so important, then they played games and ate chocolate, and later ate sandwiches and cake, and finally Grace and Rose looked like they were going to fall asleep where they sat, so they were packed off to bed.
* * *
I’d had my own dinner and was just thinking about going to settle down for the night, when there was a little light tap on the door, and Martin let in Nicky and Daniel, followed by their whole family. I immediately scarpered behind the sofa, anxious about the strange males.
‘Oh, is this the cat you were telling us about?’ one of the young males asked Nicky – and she laughed, and came to pick me up. She introduced me to everyone at the same time as introducing her family to Sarah and Martin.
‘Ollie’s our good luck cat,’ Daniel said, quite seriously. ‘All the good things that have happened recently – well, he seems to have been involved somehow.’
‘We must get to know him, then,’ the female said, giving me a little stroke. She seemed quite nice. I wondered what all the fuss had been about. ‘And you, of course,’ she added to Sarah and Martin. ‘We’ve heard so much about you both. I understand from my daughter that you’ve been extremely kind to them since they moved in.’
‘We’re enjoying their friendship, that’s all,’ Sarah said.
‘Well, I can’t thank you enough for offering to put us up overnight like this. But we’ve brought some presents for your little girls, and a couple of bottles of wine.’
‘You didn’t have to do that,’ Martin said. ‘Please, sit down, everyone, and I’ll get you all a drink. Have you had a good day together?’
‘Yes. Definitely!’ Nicky’s mum smiled. ‘We’re thrilled to hear Nicky and Daniel’s news, of course.’
Nicky was grinning like a Cheshire cat. Not that I’ve ever seen a Cheshire cat, Charlie, but apparently they grin, which is rather strange, as most cats can’t.
‘At first we were worried,’ her dad said. ‘I mean, they’re so young, and, well, they haven’t had a very good start, which was partly our fault.’
‘No it wasn’t, Dad,’ Nicky said, but he held up a paw and went on:
‘Yes. Our fault for not trusting the pair of you to make a go of it – not believing in you. To be honest, we didn’t think it would last. We underestimated you both.’
‘We’re not out of the woods yet,’ Daniel murmured.
‘Maybe not, but we can see now that you’re both doing your best, that you’re committed to making it work. Perhaps it is a bit soon to be having the baby, but from what we’ve heard and seen today, if anybody can make a go of it, you two will. With Nicky’s new job…’
‘That’s such a relief,’ her mum said quietly to Sarah. ‘I’d have been so worried at the thought of her travelling up to London every day with a tiny baby.’
‘Yes. And Daniel getting all these recommendations for work in the field he was always cut out for – well, we can only hope things are going to steadily improve for you both now, and good for you. You deserve it.’
‘They certainly do,’ Sarah agreed.
‘So, now we’ve seen how hard they’re both working, and with the baby on the way – it’s so exciting, our first grandchild,’ the mum went on, ‘the next step will be for them to buy a home of their own.’
Nicky and Daniel were beaming at each other.
‘If we can find somewhere suitable – something small, of course, but with a little garden for when the baby’s growing up – Mum and Dad are going to lend us the deposit,’ Nicky said. ‘Isn’t that wonderful?’
Nicky’s dad winked at Martin. ‘We won’t be expecting them to pay us back in a hurry. Perhaps when we’re old and grey and we need help ourselves.’
‘And,’ Nicky’s mum added, ‘we’re going to help them plan their wedding. If we’d realised they were only putting off getting married because they couldn’t afford it, we’d have offered to help sooner.’
‘We only want a quiet affair, Mum,’ Nicky said. ‘It won’t have to cost the earth.’
‘But you’ll need a bit of help with the cost, whatever. And if we couldn’t do that, for our only daughter, it’d be a poor show, wouldn’t it.’
‘Well,’ Sarah said, raising her glass. ‘I think this all definitely calls for a toast. To Nicky and Daniel – and the baby.’ They all took a sip of their drinks. ‘I hope you won’t move too far away, though,’ she added. ‘We’d miss you.’
‘No. We need to stay in the village. We’ve both got work here now,’ Daniel said. ‘Any idea if there are any houses for sale?’
‘Oh!’ Sarah suddenly sat up in her chair. ‘Yes, of course, I do know of one. It’s Barbara Griggs’s cottage. You know she’s moving in with Stan Middleton when they get married next month? The For Sale sign has only just gone up. It’s not much bigger than your place next door, but there are two bedrooms, and yes, a little garden. And between you and me, it will need a bit of work. Just decorating, mainly.’
‘I’d be happy to do that,’ Daniel said immediately.
‘I’d come over and help you,’ Nicky’s dad said. ‘You’ll be busy with your motor business.’
‘I could give you a hand too,’ Martin said.
‘The point is, I suspect they’ll take an offer, because it needs doing up. Why don’t you see if you can go round and have a look after the holiday?’ Sarah suggested.
‘Oh, yes, we will, definitely. If we like it, it’d be perfect,’ Nicky said. ‘A bedroom for the baby. And a proper little garden.’
Everyone seemed so happy and excited, I didn’t think they’d notice me creeping up to the little low table where Sarah had placed some very tempting dishes of snacks, including my favourite – little cubes of cheese. I stretched up with my two front paws on the table and was just about to grab a bit of cheese when the smaller one of the boys started giggling. Everyone looked round and to my embarrassment, I was caught in the act of trying to scamper
off with the cheese in my mouth.
‘Oh, Ollie!’ Sarah laughed. At least she wasn’t cross. ‘I shouldn’t have left all this food within your reach, should I? Are you hungry, boy? Or could you just not resist the cheese?’
‘I think he’s earned a few extra treats, don’t you?’ Martin said.
‘Yes, I agree.’ Daniel nodded, looking quite serious. He waited until Martin had got my food dish from the kitchen and started putting some cheese in it especially for me. ‘Whatever you all say, I still believe Oliver’s somehow helped turn things around for us,’ he went on. ‘I might have saved him from being stuck up the tree that day, but in return, it’s like he’s pretty much saved our lives.’
‘Saved your lives? Exaggeration, or what, Daniel?’ piped up the bigger of the two boys.
‘All right,’ Nicky said, ‘let’s put it this way – if nothing else, there’s no denying he’s certainly saved Christmas – for us, and probably for the whole village.’
‘Definitely for young Caroline at the Big House,’ Sarah added, and everyone murmured their agreement.
‘So I’d like to suggest another toast,’ Daniel said, topping up Nicky’s glass with more lemonade. ‘Here’s to Oliver – our very special shared house guest. The Cat Who Saved Christmas!’
And they all raised their glasses, smiling at me, and joined in: ‘To Oliver!’ ‘Here’s to Oliver!’
If I’d been a human, I’d have been crying with happiness. But even if they did think I was very special, at the end of the day I’m still just a little cat. So I just finished my cheese, blinked kisses at them all and washed my whiskers before taking myself off to bed.
I’d done it, Charlie – they all said I had. Who’d have thought it? A little cat like me – after everything that had happened to me. I really was the Cat Who Saved Christmas.
EPILOGUE
Of course, the story doesn’t end there, Charlie. Not quite.
Through all the freezing cold weather that came after Christmas, even when the snow came and I had to scamper through it with icy paws, I kept going back to the Big House to see Caroline. I saw her lovely golden fur grow back thick and shiny, her skinny little paws grow plumper and stronger, and her pale cheeks starting to turn a healthy pink. By the time the weather began to warm up again, she’d turned into a proper little girl, running around the house, laughing and shouting and playing with her friends. And with me.
Oliver the Cat Who Saved Christmas Page 19