Alfie in the Snow

Alfie in the Snow Rachel Wells Can Alfie and George save Christmas?The Sunday Times bestseller returns for a fifth book! Alfie and his mischievous kitten George are back for more adventuresWhen a new family moves onto Edgar Road, Alfie and George can’t wait to welcome them – especially when they discover they have a cat too!Alfie imagines they’ll be the perfect neighbours, but when one little misunderstanding gets blown out of proportion, the street is suddenly at war!As the snow starts to fall, Alfie and George have their work cut out for them to bring the street back together. But can one doorstep cat and his mischievous kitten use their festive spirit to reunite everyone in time for Christmas?A heart-warming novel that is perfect to curl up with this festive season. For fans of A Street Cat Named Bob, Cathy Bramley and Holly Hepburn. Copyright (#ucbee3e5b-6407-5a68-98ed-45f53441eec5) Published by AVON A Division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk) First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2018 Copyright © Rachel Wells 2018 Cover design © www.headdesign.co.uk (http://www.headdesign.co.uk) 2018 Cover photograph © Shutterstock Rachel Wells asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library. This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins. Source ISBN: 9780008295790 Ebook Edition © October 2018 ISBN: 9780008295776 Version: 2018-09-17 Dedication (#ucbee3e5b-6407-5a68-98ed-45f53441eec5) For Becky, Martin, Helen, Megan, Jak and Rory. Contents Cover (#uc000ff31-27e6-5558-bdb6-c08490da989a) Title Page (#u5cf9bac4-2ea9-5f8b-9411-046add8d96f1) Copyright Dedication Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty-Eight Chapter Twenty-Nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-One Chapter Thirty-Two Chapter Thirty-Three Chapter Thirty-Four Acknowledgments Keep Reading … (#litres_trial_promo) About the Author About the Publisher Chapter One (#ucbee3e5b-6407-5a68-98ed-45f53441eec5) I was lying on the sofa, in my favourite spot, the winter sun shining down on me through the window, when my kitten, George, leapt on me. Argh, he wasn’t such a little kitten any more; I was winded and a bit squashed. ‘George,’ I said, trying to squirm out from under his weight. ‘You have to stop doing that, you’re flattening me.’ ‘Sorry, Dad,’ he replied, with his charming grin and his head tilted to one side. As usual, I melted. My boy was just too adorable, even if he was getting too heavy to jump on me. I couldn’t have been prouder of what a fine young tom he was growing into. ‘But I have news.’ He sat next to me and licked his paws. George did like to draw out any announcements. He was a fairly dramatic kitten. Unlike myself, of course. ‘Go on, George, tell me the news,’ I coaxed, thinking it would be about a funny-shaped cloud he had seen this morning, or a similar Georgeism. ‘There’s a big van parked outside so new people are moving in next door.’ He looked very pleased with himself, as well he might. I pricked up my ears. New people! On Edgar Road! Well, was there anything better for a doorstep cat like myself? Only a van full of pilchards could beat that. My name is Alfie, and I’m a doorstep cat. Which basically means I have different families and homes I visit. I do live in one main house, here with my kitten George, in Edgar Road. Our humans are Claire and Jonathan and their children, Toby and Summer. But there is another family on this road we spend time with, Polly and Matt and their children Henry and Martha, and yet another family, who live a few streets away, Franceska, Tomasz and their children Aleksy and Tommy. Phew, it’s a lot of families and friends to keep track of. I met them when I moved to Edgar Road after an arduous journey, having been homeless after my old owner, Margaret, died, but that does feel like another lifetime. They say cats have nine lives, well I reckon I’ve used a few of those up to get to where I am today, although I still have plenty left. I do credit myself with bringing all my families together and now they love each other the way I love them all. We even have a holiday home together, Seabreeze Cottage, which is in Devon, and we spend time there when we can. But London is our main home, on Edgar Road, where we spend most of our days. There’s always something going on here. Never a dull moment. Or if there is, it doesn’t last. Up until now we were experiencing quite a quiet time. Winter was upon us, the nights were drawing in and the air had started biting. I was becoming a bit of a fair-weather cat, preferring not to spend too much time out in the cold and rain. However, my kitten, George, loved being out in all weathers. That’s youth for you. Just don’t seem to feel the cold. But I did take my constitutional every morning and evening, and I would brave the cold to seek out my friends, the neighbourhood cats and my cat girlfriend Tiger. But now it was cold and darker in the evenings, I preferred to stay in the warm as much as was possible. But not now. This removal van I had to see. It was still exciting to see new people. Once a doorstep cat, always a doorstep cat, after all. So George and I bounded out to see what we could discover. We made our way next door. I knew the house well – not too long ago my first girlfriend, the one before Tiger, Snowball, lived there. She was my first love and it wasn’t the easiest of starts but after many attempts to woo her she came round to my way of thinking eventually. Don’t get the wrong idea, I’m not exactly a cat lothario, I’ve only been in love twice, once with Snowball and now with Tiger, who is a mum to George. And George is adopted; he’s not my natural kitten but he, Tiger and I are a family. Because I’ve learnt through the years that family comes in all shapes and sizes and no one is the same. But as long as you have love then you have family. ‘Look, Dad,’ George said, his eyes as wide as saucers. We stopped on the pavement and looked at the large van. The back door to the van was open and men were unloading boxes. I gestured for George to follow me and we snuck into the back garden where I knew we would find big patio doors to look through. My first thought whenever I saw new people was, were they in the market for a part-time cat? My second was that I sincerely hoped they didn’t have a dog. We peered through the glass door, making sure not to be too visible in case we upset anyone (or dog). I could see activity. In the kitchen a woman, perhaps a similar age to Claire who, I believe, was in her forties but didn’t like to talk about it, was unpacking. Near her was a younger girl; she was tall and slim, perhaps a teenager? She was attached to a device, a phone. Aleksy had one and didn’t tear his eyes away from it for a minute if he could help it. His mum despaired. Tommy, who was younger than Aleksy, had one too but he was more interested in sports, so he was a whole different kettle of fish. Yum. Suddenly, my excitement increased as I spotted what looked like a cat bed. ‘Oh George, I think a cat lives here,’ I said. Which of course meant the owners probably wouldn’t want another two cats but this cat could maybe be our new friend, which was even better. You could never have too many friends. We craned our necks a bit further and I spotted a tail. Quite an interestingly patterned tail. As the cat turned to face us, we both gasped. This cat’s fur had white, black and light brown markings, a pretty tail, pointed black and brown ears and exotic features. It was fairly small and sleek and I had never seen a cat quite like it, definitely unusual. I guessed she was female as she looked far too pretty to be a male, and she was a good few years younger than me but perhaps a similar age to George. ‘Wow, she looks lovely,’ George said. I raised my whiskers. I didn’t want him getting a crush on her just yet, not until we knew her character. George had developed quite a thing for a cat when we’d spent our first summer in Devon. Chanel was the meanest cat I’d ever met, but George had been smitten and he’d pined for her all summer. His crush had also led to the near drowning of her, him and Jonathan, but thankfully they’d all survived. I wasn’t sure I was ready to cope with that again, just yet. ‘Perhaps we’ll wait until we meet her, eh George,’ I said. ‘You can’t keep falling in love with just looks you know, personality matters.’ ‘Oh don’t worry, Dad, I’m not planning on falling in love with her. After Chanel I’m pretty much off girls for good.’ If only I could believe that. We watched for a while longer, but there wasn’t much to see. Boxes being unpacked. The girl putting her phone down and petting the cat. They seemed serious and perhaps a bit sad too; being quite an intuitive cat I picked that up. We weren’t spotted and, after a while, George got bored and begged me to take him to the park. I reluctantly tore myself away, I was curious and I wanted to know more. They say curiosity killed the cat but not this one, no, curiosity is my middle name. Although not literally. George went to play with Summer and Toby upstairs after the children had their tea. It was like having three children in the family. Toby and George had a special bond; Toby was adopted, like George in a way, and they both slept in the same bad every night, and had done since Toby came to live with us when George was tiny. Summer was younger, bossier and a ‘madam’, according to Claire, but she could pretty much do no wrong in my eyes. I loved all the children and part of my job was taking care of them. I padded into the kitchen to see if there was any sign of dinner. Claire was cooking, and Jonathan had just got home from work. He was sitting at the kitchen table with a beer. My food bowl was still empty. ‘Oh Jon, can you feed the cats?’ Claire asked. ‘I think Alfie’s after some food.’ ‘Meow.’ I was. ‘Sure, I’ll give them some left-over roast chicken,’ he replied as I licked my lips. ‘You really do spoil them,’ Claire said, almost chastising him but not quite. Thank goodness he did, otherwise we had to settle for food that came out of pouches. There was nothing wrong with it, but it wasn’t quite the same. For a cat I did have a pretty sophisticated palate and a love of fine dining. I started eating, knowing George would be down later, but I was hungry. As I lapped my food, I listened to the easy conversation between Claire and Jonathan. ‘I was talking to Frankie and Polly about Christmas earlier,’ she started. ‘Already?’ Jonathan pretended to be not the biggest fan of Christmas, but deep down he loved it, especially with the children. We all loved it, and I pricked my ears as it sounded like news. ‘Jon, it’s less than two months away and you know how quickly it’ll come round. Anyway, we were saying that perhaps this year we can spend the day together, here.’ ‘We were saying?’ Jonathan raised an eyebrow. ‘OK, I was. I was thinking about Devon, but then Matt has to work between Christmas and New Year, so they literally only have two days off and Frankie said it would be very nice to have Christmas in London.’ When Tomasz and Franceska had first arrived from Poland they had very little, but they worked hard, especially Tomasz and now he owns four restaurants. Not on his own – he has partners and Franceska works with him now the children are older. They are doing very well and I am incredibly proud of them. They also introduced me to sardines which remain, to this day, my second favourite fish. ‘I haven’t even spoken to work about time off yet, but I’m happy for Christmas in London.’ ‘And Frankie said they would do all the side dishes, I’ll do the turkey and Polly will make the pudding.’ ‘You mean she’ll buy it,’ Jonathan replied. ‘Well yes, we know Polly’s not much of a cook, but at least it’ll be from Waitrose.’ I licked my lips. Christmas dinner was one of my favourite meals. I even liked some vegetables, which Claire said was very unusual for a cat. I think cats, in my experience, like a far wider variety of food than anyone gives them credit for. ‘And it’ll be nice to be together,’ Claire said wistfully. Her parents went to Spain every year for Christmas now, where her brother lived, and Jonathan wasn’t close to his family, so our friends were our family. It wasn’t a bad family at all. ‘The excitement levels of Summer and Toby will be cranked up this year.’ ‘Oh, Summer is already talking about what she wants. Although I ought to warn you, she wants a baby.’ ‘A doll?’ ‘No, for us to have another baby.’ Jonathan choked on his beer, his face turning a funny colour. ‘What did you say?’ ‘I said that we had a lovely family already and, as Santa knew that, he’d probably not be able to send us a baby, and she then said perhaps a talking doll would do instead.’ ‘Thank God for that.’ Jonathan started to return to a normal-ish colour. ‘It’s not just beyond Santa’s remit, it’s way beyond mine,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry darling, our family is perfect and I don’t want to change a thing,’ Claire said, going over to kiss him. Warmth flooded me as I let the feeling of happiness wash over me. Then I went to tell George it was time to wash his paws in time for dinner. A parent’s work was never done. Later that night, when George was tucked up with Toby and Summer was fast asleep, I set out to see my girlfriend Tiger. She lives just down the road and we usually met up most evenings, weather permitting – she’s even more of a fair-weather cat than I am – to watch the moon and chat about our day. We would also bring up any worries we had about George. We were parents first, which is what had prompted our friendship to develop into something more. I sat on her back doorstep and meowed, which normally means she comes out. But she didn’t. I pushed the cat flap with my nose then waited but nothing. I couldn’t go in, her humans weren’t too keen on other cats in their house, although they tolerated George but not me. I guessed she had probably fallen asleep. Tiger wasn’t always the most active of cats. I was about to give up and head home but I couldn’t resist going for one last look at our neighbours. As before, I found myself peering through the back doors, the house was fairly dark. But sitting at the table in the kitchen was the woman, in front of her was a glass of wine, and on her lap was the cat. The cat had her back to me, so no one noticed as I watched. The woman picked the glass up slowly and took a drink, before carefully placing it back on the table, and pushing her hair out of her eyes. I saw her head fall as she stroked the cat, and I saw what I thought were tears glistening in the darkness. Even from outside it was as if I could feel her sadness, her pain. I went home wondering what her story was, their story, and why she was upset. But I knew that somehow and at some point I would get to the bottom of it. That was the kind of cat I was. Chapter Two (#ucbee3e5b-6407-5a68-98ed-45f53441eec5) ‘I fell asleep,’ Tiger said the next morning when George and I called on her. I hadn’t even opened my mouth. ‘I thought so.’ ‘It was quite cold and I snuggled up with my human on the sofa, and the warmth from the fire, you know.’ ‘Tiger, it’s OK, you don’t need to explain.’ Normally she didn’t offer explanations, but I didn’t say that. ‘Mum, Dad, can we go for a walk to the park?’ George asked. He had boundless energy this morning. I wished I did, but I was feeling the cold. I had an old injury which I had suffered when I first moved to Edgar Road. It was a long story involving saving Claire from a horrible relationship, and eventually bringing all of my families together, but it did leave me with a slightly bad leg which seemed to get worse and stiffen up in the cold or the rain. I mainly got on with things, I was pretty used to it by now. However, at the start of every winter I would be reminded of it. ‘Of course we can, George,’ Tiger said, nuzzling him. ‘It’s not raining, and hopefully it’ll stay dry.’ We set off and, as George hopped in front of us, I told Tiger about the new people. ‘So this cat is very pretty, is she?’ Tiger narrowed her eyes. ‘She’s unusual-looking but nearer George’s age than mine,’ I replied. Tiger did have a jealous streak, so I needed to tread carefully when talking about other cats. ‘What does George think?’ She immediately switched from sounding jealous to maternal. ‘He told me that after Chanel he’s sworn off girls for life.’ I grinned. ‘Good, because no one is good enough for my boy.’ I couldn’t have agreed more. The park was pleasantly empty. We trailed around after George who bounded from one activity to the next. He stared for ages at his reflection in the small lake – I urged caution because when I was younger I’d done the same and nearly drowned. Then we made piles of leaves which were browning and a little soggy, but still quite fun to play with nonetheless. There were no butterflies to chase at this time of the year but George did manage to climb one of the smaller trees. By the time we headed back for lunch I was hungry, Tiger said she was tired – I swear she was getting lazier by the second – and George was still full of energy. He would only come home when I promised he would be allowed out later to the other end of Edgar Road, on his own. It had been a hard decision to let George out alone, and I know that human parents had the same dilemma as Franceska had been through it with Aleksy and Tommy. Aleksy was a teenager now and wanted more freedom, a bit like George, but at the same time we, as parents, knew there were dangers out there. Letting go was possibly one of the hardest parenting lessons we had to face. When George first went out alone, although he promised he wouldn’t go far, I was a bag of nerves until he came home. When he did come home I almost smothered the poor lad but I had never felt relief like it. Well, apart from the time he was catnapped and I found him, or the time he ran off after Chanel and we found him … But this was different, it was the first time he had gone out with permission. Now he went out alone a fair bit, but never at night and never for too long. I tried to make him tell me where he was going as well, although to be fair he didn’t always seem to know. Sometimes he said he was going to the park, sometimes to see if any of the other cats were around. So far I had resisted the urge to follow him, but only just. Instead I would pace up and down or watch out of an upstairs window for his return. And thankfully he always came home and never stayed out too long. Otherwise the worry would probably have turned my fur even greyer than it already was. So, this afternoon I thought I would catch up on some of my personal cat business. I enjoyed time alone to have a thorough grooming session – after all, when you’re a parent you always seem to be having to rush your ablutions, and then I would enjoy some thinking time. It’s hard to think when you’ve got youngsters always wanting your attention. So, as much as I worried about George, now he was more independent I was beginning to enjoy some ‘me time’ as well. I settled on Claire and Jonathan’s bed – Jonathan didn’t like me being on there, Claire didn’t mind – because it was incredibly comfortable and one of my favourite places to muse. The front door opened, and the rush of voices and children interrupted my thinking time. I stretched, yawned and then headed downstairs where to my joy I found my families all together in the kitchen. George was hopping among them. ‘Oh hi, Alfie,’ Tommy said, coming over to pet me. I saw a number of fat pumpkins on the kitchen table. Ah, of course, it was the weird thing that humans celebrated called Halloween. ‘I want to carve my pumpkin all on my own,’ Summer said. Claire looked terrified and I agreed. The idea of Summer with a knife was not good. ‘Sum, let me help you and Martha,’ Tommy suggested kindly. ‘It’ll be better than letting the adults take over.’ She considered his offer and agreed. ‘And Aleksy, maybe you can help Toby and Henry?’ Franceska suggested. ‘Do I have to?’ Aleksy answered, sounding surly which wasn’t like him, although it was lately. ‘I’m too old for all this.’ ‘Yes you do,’ Franceska snapped and she, Polly and Claire exchanged glances. ‘We’d be very grateful if you would,’ Polly said, trying to calm the situation. ‘Fine.’ Aleksy made it sound as if it was anything but. Claire made drinks for the grown-ups as the children sat at the table in the kitchen and began carving their pumpkins. ‘Hey,’ Henry said. ‘Let’s have a competition to see which one is the scariest.’ They all seemed to like this idea, although I knew from experience the only one who would end up liking it was the child who won. ‘What costumes are everyone wearing this year?’ Franceska asked. ‘I miss my boys dressing up.’ ‘We’re too old to dress up,’ both Tommy and Aleksy said at the same time. ‘Summer wants to be a witch, and Toby is insisting on being a superhero,’ Claire said. ‘And I’m going to be a superhero too,’ Henry said. Toby and Henry were quite close and often copied each other. ‘I’m going to be a cat,’ Martha announced. This news surprised me; after all, there were two cats here. ‘Oh, you can be Summer’s cat,’ Franceska said. ‘And George,’ Summer piped up. ‘Sum wants me to dye George black,’ Claire explained. My whiskers twitched and George looked terrified. Imagine, my lovely kitten being dyed black! ‘Don’t worry George, it won’t happen. But I had to promise to make you a little witch’s hat to compensate.’ ‘So, Summer, Martha and George will all share a broomstick,’ Henry explained. I wasn’t sure about George and a broomstick but we’d have to see. ‘Where are we getting a broomstick from?’ Claire asked, worriedly. ‘I’ve only got a kitchen broom.’ ‘We need a proper broomstick,’ Summer shouted. ‘Don’t worry, I’ve ordered one from the internet,’ Polly said. Halloween was a lot of work, it seemed. George was on the kitchen table and I could barely watch as he dodged the knives, seemingly unaware of the danger he faced. I heard him make a funny sound, which worried me. ‘Ahh,’ Toby cried. ‘George spat pumpkin over me.’ We all looked and Toby had a splat of pumpkin on his face. George glanced over to me as if to say, ‘I didn’t know it wouldn’t taste good.’ I raised my whiskers again. My curious son would never learn, it seemed, as he tried to lick Toby’s face. The rest of the carving passed without incident. As the four children proudly presented their finished pumpkins, it was up to the adults to choose a winner. As Aleksy and Tommy had done most of the work it didn’t seem fair but then the older boys didn’t seem to mind as Aleksy wandered off to do something on his phone and Tommy went to the fridge to find a snack. ‘It’s a draw,’ Polly announced diplomatically. ‘Absolutely,’ Claire agreed, ‘they are all far too good.’ Thankfully the children all seemed to accept this. Summer and Toby’s pumpkins were placed on the front doorstep, with a lit candle in each – I warned George to stay away – so that Jonathan would be able to admire them when he got home. As everyone said their goodbyes, Henry and Martha proudly clutching their pumpkins to their chests, they arranged to go ‘trick or treating’ the following day after school. ‘I can’t wait to go trick or treating,’ George said to me when we were alone. ‘Well, you know Claire said you had to wear a hat,’ I pointed out. ‘Yeah, I’m not pleased about that but at least they’re not going to dye me black,’ he replied. And I had to agree. ‘Oh, and George, no more eating the pumpkin.’ ‘No Dad, it tasted really weird.’ Chapter Three (#ucbee3e5b-6407-5a68-98ed-45f53441eec5) Even I had to admit to being excited. George had been unbearable today; he was so keen to go trick or treating, that from the morning he was badgering me about the time. It was a very long day until I bundled him off to find Tiger, telling him how much she would love to hear about the pumpkin carving and the evening ahead. It did buy me a little bit of peace and quiet and I would apologise to Tiger later. What I was most excited about was the fact that when trick or treating we would definitely go to the new next-door neighbour’s house and hopefully meet them. Despite not having a costume or being given a specific role I would join them, as the other parents did. While the children got ready upstairs, I groomed myself in the living room. I was sad that Aleksy, Tommy and Franceska wouldn’t be joining us, but the boys refused point blank to go on the basis that they were too old. Growing up was hard, but it was definitely difficult for parents, I knew that with George. They became more independent, needed you less, wanted you less even, which could be hurtful. It was something that I was having to learn to accept and Franceska and I were in a similar situation on this one. The children emerged giddy with excitement. Toby was in a Spiderman costume and Summer was dressed in a black cape with a tall pointed black hat and a false nose. She looked a bit scary in a very cute way. George, being carried by Summer, had a little black hat on and he looked adorable. I was sure he would earn the kids extra sweets this year. Claire picked up the broomstick, and we all headed out to meet Polly, Martha and Henry. All assembled, they decided to start at the end of the street. I was slightly disappointed by this. Edgar Road is a long road and it meant I would have quite a wait before we reached next door. We approached the first house. Summer, Martha and George were all at the door, trying to balance on the broomstick, when it tipped and George fell off. ‘Yowl.’ He landed on his tail. ‘Martha, that was your fault!’ Summer stormed. ‘No, it was yours,’ Martha bit back, and Martha never got cross. Polly picked George up and petted him, Claire picked the broomstick up and as the girls glared at each other with their arms crossed, a kindly woman answered the door, and thrust sweets at them. They soon forgot to argue and were happy to get back on the broomstick. However, Toby took George from Polly and offered to carry him, which seemed the safest bet. We crossed the street to a house opposite which was a real mess. The garden was overgrown, the house had peeling paint, and it looked sad, if it was possible for a house to look so. I saw Polly and Claire exchange a glance. ‘Maybe we should give this one a miss?’ Claire suggested, but the kids were already half way up the path. We all followed, reluctantly. There was a light on in the front room and Toby knocked on the door, George still in his arms. The children all stood expectantly on the front doorstep, discussing what sweets they might expect. A man came to the window. He was old, moving slowly. He looked out at us, then, to our surprise, he raised his fist at us, shouted, ‘Get lost’, and pulled the curtains closed. ‘Why doesn’t he want to see us?’ Martha asked, her eyes full of confusion. ‘Maybe he forgot to buy sweets. Come on, we’ve got lots of houses to visit,’ Claire chivvied them up. As we made our way back down the path I glanced back at the house. I didn’t understand why he didn’t want to see us either. Finally, with weary legs – me – and full bags of sweets and chocolate – the children – we reached the house next door to us. I could barely contain my excitement as I waited with everyone on the doorstep. The woman who opened the door didn’t look sad, not like the crying woman I’d seen last night. She had short-ish blonde hair which fell over her face, and was tall and slim. She looked composed, smiling, her head tilted to one side questioningly as she stood in front of us. ‘Trick or treat,’ the children chanted. ‘Oh my goodness, Connie, come here,’ the woman shouted and the teenager I’d seen joined her at the front door. ‘Hi, I’m Claire and this is Polly.’ Claire beamed as the children held their bags out hopefully. ‘I live next door, Polly is down the road. We would have come round properly to introduce ourselves, but with it being Halloween …’ ‘Hi.’ Polly held out her hand and the woman took it. ‘I’m Sylvie, and this is Connie. Lovely to meet you.’ The woman paused for a moment, then she said, ‘I’m sure I’ve got some chocolate inside, why don’t you come in for a moment?’ The children didn’t need to be asked twice, but Polly swiped George out of Toby’s arms and put him next to me on the doorstep. ‘Oh, who are these two?’ Sylvie asked. ‘Our cats,’ Polly and Claire said in unison. They both laughed. ‘You guys wait here,’ they said as they followed the children inside and the door was closed on us. ‘Oh well, Dad, I guess when they come out we’ll hear all about it.’ ‘Yes.’ But I was impatient. I wanted to know about the new family, and the cat. And was there a man? Because we’d only seen Sylvie and the teenager. So many questions. We waited patiently by the front gate and it wasn’t long before Polly and Claire and the children emerged. They were laughing and Sylvie was smiling. ‘Oh how sweet, your cats waited for you.’ ‘They enjoy trick or treating,’ Polly said. ‘It’s funny, so different for us. My Hana is a house cat, she’s never been outside – but that was normal in Japan.’ ‘Hana is such a pretty cat,’ Claire said, and I agreed from what I had seen. ‘She’s a Mikeneko, which is Japanese of course. Cat with a coat of three colours. The English name would be a tortoiseshell.’ ‘But Hannah is an English name?’ Polly asked. ‘It’s actually H-a-n-a, it’s Japanese for flower.’ ‘That’s lovely, a sweet name for a sweet cat,’ Claire said. Bingo, I already had more information at my paw tips than I thought I would. A house cat, and what was Japan? A coat of three colours. Oh, this was most interesting. ‘Right, well we’ll see you soon. I’ll text and we’ll have that dinner,’ Polly said as she gave a wave. I was delighted, it seemed the women were already the best of friends. But how we were going to befriend a house cat? Later, when the children were upstairs having managed to sneak a number of their sweets up there, despite being told not to, and Polly and Claire were sitting on the sofa with a glass of wine, I learnt more about Sylvie. They both seemed to like her so far. She was English, but she and her daughter had moved back from Japan which was a place quite far away, by the sound of it. They had lived there with her husband, who had left her for another woman and they were now getting divorced and she was very upset about it. Already things were beginning to make sense. Claire had been divorced when I first moved in with her, before she met Jonathan of course, so they had that in common. Anyway, it was difficult because not only had Sylvie split up with her husband but she’d also had to move away from the country that had been her home for many years. Her daughter, Connie, who turned out to be the same age as Aleksy – fourteen – was also upset about leaving her school, her friends and her dad. I guess that explained the late-night wine drinking in the kitchen and crying. Claire had done that a lot too. As I listened to them talk about how they would make Sylvie feel really welcome and how they would also introduce Connie to Aleksy who would be at the same school in the same year, I began to feel excited. New friends. Now I just had to figure out how to get their cat, Hana, to come out so we could meet her. Either that or we’d have to find a way to go in. It was just a minor hiccup; after all, I’m a pretty resourceful cat, if I do say so myself. I heard a clatter of footsteps on the stairs and Toby burst in with Henry at his heels. ‘George has been sick on my bed!’ he cried. ‘He ate lots of our chocolate, by accident,’ Henry explained. ‘Great, right, well I better go up and clear up. And you guys, I already told you no more sweets,’ Claire shouted. ‘I feel a bit sick too, Mummy,’ Toby said. We all did what I call a parenting eye roll, and rushed upstairs to sort it out. I would be having stern words with my kitten later. ‘So, I missed the trick or treating,’ Jonathan said, not exactly sounding disappointed. ‘Yes, funny how you had to work late tonight,’ Claire bit back. ‘I did, honestly. Anyway, the kids had a good time?’ ‘Yes, I took photos.’ Claire handed him her phone. ‘But there was one house which was a bit of a nightmare, at the end of the street, overgrown, peeling paint. There was a light on but when we rang the bell, an old man glared at us then drew the curtains. Who would do that to a bunch of kids?’ ‘Oh, I know. That’s the guy who Vic and Heather Goodwin were moaning to me about. Apparently they have been trying to talk to him about tidying the place up, even offered to do the garden for him, but he told them to go away. Although I’m not sure he was that polite. They said he’s a bit of an ogre and they think he might be dangerous. All bulging eyes and shifty behaviour, according to them.’ ‘Great, so I took our kids to a nutter’s house?’ ‘Oh I wouldn’t worry, you know how the Goodwins exaggerate. He’s probably just a grumpy old man who doesn’t like people. I understand, after all I’ll probably be one one day.’ He was right, he definitely would. Chapter Four (#ucbee3e5b-6407-5a68-98ed-45f53441eec5) After breakfast, as the children all went to school, George and I headed out to see the other neighbourhood cats. Sometimes I felt as if I was far too busy, so many people – and cats – to see that it was hard to fit it all in. I was hoping to see Tiger as well, as I made my way to near the end of the road, where we often convened on a patch of grass we called our recreation space. It was quite isolated from the main road, and there were hedges to play in – George still loved a bit of hide and seek – and even a couple of trees. Best of all, our friends knew to go there. I had made many cat friends since being on Edgar Road. We had new ones coming in, and had lost one or two of our members, but the core group remained the same: Elvis, who was pretty much an old man now, Rocky and Nellie, but there was no sign of Tiger. ‘Alright, Alfie, George,’ Rocky said. ‘What’s going on?’ I asked. ‘Nothing much, you?’ ‘We’ve got a new cat next door,’ I said, too excited to keep the news to myself. ‘But she doesn’t go out, or she didn’t in her old home, so we haven’t been able to meet her yet.’ ‘Claire and Polly said they lived in another country,’ George said. ‘What’s that then?’ Nellie, Rocky, Elvis and I all looked at each other. We were cats, after all, and not experts in geography. ‘It’s very far away,’ Elvis said, finally as if he knew. ‘We live in London, and other people live in other places which are countries.’ None of us, including him, knew if that was true. ‘Like Devon?’ George asked. ‘Exactly,’ I said quickly. After all, it didn’t really matter, did it? ‘So Japan, which is where they come from, is another country,’ George said. ‘And there, cats don’t go out, apparently,’ he added. I was surprised and pleased that he’d paid so much attention. He went off to hide under a hedge. ‘You can pretend to look for him today, Nellie,’ I said. She was like an aunt to George and also had more patience than I did. After all, George always hid in the same place and it did get a bit tiresome pretending that we didn’t know where he was. ‘OK.’ She grinned. ‘Has anyone seen Tiger today?’ I asked. ‘Nope. She’s been a bit elusive lately if you ask me,’ Rocky said. ‘I said the same to her but she said she just didn’t like the cold any more. Though I thought she might be here this morning.’ ‘Nah, not so far. Although it’s still early.’ We settled down to our activities, gossiping, watching George play and watching the world go by, and before long Tiger appeared. I was relieved to see her, and I’m not sure why I was worrying. It was just something I always did. I am a worrier by nature. And when, like now, life was coasting along very well, I tended to worry more. ‘Hey,’ I said, greeting her excitedly. ‘Calm down Alfie, you’re acting like you haven’t seen me for ages.’ ‘Well, you weren’t out last night.’ ‘No, sorry, I fell asleep after dinner again, and when I woke up, I thought it was probably too late. Honestly, I am not a fan of winter,’ she declared, examining her paw. ‘I love winter, I hope it snows,’ George said excitedly. He’d had his first experience of snow the previous year and he was a big fan. I was not; it was cold, wet and you sank into it, a bit like sand actually, which I also wasn’t too fond of. ‘Yes, well, George, you might not say the same when you get older,’ Tiger said, but indulgently. ‘Right, come on and we can go and climb a tree if you’re good.’ They set off together to the nearest tree. All was normal as I watched George jump about with Tiger, then Nellie went to join them and they started a game of tag. Rocky, Elvis and I watched and caught up on more local gossip. ‘Salmon tried to tell us about your neighbours as well,’ Rocky said. ‘Of course, his owners will have gone around already, won’t they?’ I replied. Salmon was a pain and used to be my arch nemesis, but we were civil now. He lived across the street from me with the Goodwins who were the self-appointed neighbourhood watch coordinators on Edgar Road. Translation: they were incredibly nosy busybodies who annoyed most of us. But Jonathan had to admit that, with them around, Edgar Road was a low crime street. No one got away with anything. ‘What did he say?’ ‘Oh, he was doing his usual, acting as if he knew more than he did, being cagey, but we’re used to it now. He didn’t even mention the fact they’d lived in another country, so my guess is that your humans found out more than his.’ ‘Well that makes me happy,’ I said. I was still curious though. Our chat was interrupted by a commotion and we rushed to see George perched precariously on a high branch. My heart sped up. ‘Oh my goodness, George,’ I said. ‘Get down at once,’ Tiger was shouting. ‘He’s ever so high,’ Rocky exclaimed. ‘And that branch don’t look too secure,’ Elvis yowled. ‘Oh no, poor boy, what’s going to happen?’ Nellie asked. We all started panicking, running around in circles and yelping. As we came to a halt I noticed that George had started his descent. My heart was in my paws as I watched him climb down. I had discovered my fear of heights a long time ago, whilst being stuck up a tree. Not only that, but I’d had to endure the humiliation of being rescued by the fire brigade. It was all for love, but that was another story. Trees had not been one of my favourite things ever since. ‘What were you all shouting about?’ George asked innocently as he reached the ground. ‘Oh thank goodness,’ Nellie said, sitting down and looking exhausted. ‘George, you were so high, too high,’ Tiger chastised. ‘No I wasn’t. Look, I got down, didn’t I? Sometimes you adults panic about the most ridiculous things.’ Unfortunately no one could argue with that. Tiger and I decided we’d had enough excitement for one day so we took George home. He was reluctant, having had so much fun. But while we were on our way I saw the next-door neighbour, Sylvie, and her daughter, Connie, in the street. I couldn’t resist making myself known to her. ‘Oh Connie, here are the next-door cats again.’ ‘They’re cute,’ Connie said, bending down and petting us. ‘We’ll meet them properly later as we’re going over.’ Sylvie smiled in the way that people did when they weren’t really very happy. A fake smile, or putting on a brave face as I thought of it. We all did it, us adults. ‘Great,’ Connie said but I noticed how her shoulders sagged and she dragged her feet. Her voice definitely lacked enthusiasm. ‘Come on, if we get your school uniform sorted quickly then I’ll buy you some more exciting clothes.’ Sylvie was trying hard. ‘Fine,’ Connie said as they walked off. ‘I think those two need a lot of cheering up,’ I said. Tiger nodded her agreement. ‘Well, they’ve come to the right street,’ George finished. They really had. My slumber was disturbed by one of my favourite noises: my families. From my place on Claire and Jonathan’s bed, I heard the loud cheery greetings. I stretched and rushed downstairs where George was, as usual, centre of attention. I meowed loudly to make myself heard and Aleksy and Tommy came over and took turns fussing me. I nestled into them enjoying the warmth. Our house, which wasn’t quiet at the best of times, became louder, more crowded, and heaps of fun. Claire and Jonathan’s was the biggest house which was why we all convened at ours, but Tomasz and Franceska came in loaded with food from the restaurant, Polly and Matt always had wine and beer with them, and the adults – which included me – would all go to the kitchen to prepare food and drinks while the children, with George in tow, went into the living room. The older children would set up games for the younger ones. I had noticed that lately Aleksy hovered a bit before joining the kids; he thought himself too grown-up and I had been warned what that meant. He was a new creature now, something called a teenager. I had heard about teenagers, notably from Tiger whose humans didn’t have one but knew one who visited, and I’d had first-hand experience of one when I was in love with Snowball and she lived with a teenage boy who spoke monosyllabically and never smiled. Well, my Aleksy, who I had known for years, since I first moved to Edgar Road and before he even started school, was now one. He had had his thirteenth birthday last year, and everyone had made a big deal about him becoming a teenager, but I didn’t know why because as far as I could see there was nothing to celebrate. It seemed that turning fourteen hadn’t improved things at all. It was about losing my sweet best friend – although he was always still lovely to me, I didn’t know if the real him would ever come back. Teenagers were not an exact science though, apparently, but this one, hovering in the hallway, looking at the phone clasped in his hand, ignoring everyone around him, had definitely become one of them. Eventually he went into the living room. ‘Aleksy, help me make a den,’ Tommy said. ‘I’m busy,’ Aleksy mumbled and sat on the sofa doing something with his phone. Toby looked disappointed. ‘But Aleksy, you make the best dens,’ Henry complained. ‘Please,’ Summer asked, looking at him with her big blue eyes. ‘OK, but just for a minute,’ he sighed, as he started gathering the sofa cushions. I went to the kitchen where Polly had just finished telling Franceska about Sylvie. ‘She’ll be here in a minute, but remember, guys, it’s been hard for her,’ Polly reminded them. ‘Hey, I lived in Singapore, remember,’ Jonathan said. ‘And I wasn’t exactly thrilled when I moved back here, so I’ll be able to properly sympathise.’ ‘God, he’s right,’ Claire said. ‘I hadn’t thought of it before, but at least you and her can talk about expat life if needed.’ ‘And also how, if you hadn’t left that sunny, fun-filled life, you’d never have met Claire, or had the kids,’ Matt joshed. ‘Hey, he is so lucky he got fired from his job in Singapore,’ Claire said. ‘Meow,’ I shouted. ‘Of course, you’d never have met Alfie either,’ Tomasz said and thankfully everyone seemed to agree what a terrible thing that would have been. Throughout dinner, Sylvie and Connie were quiet. The younger children had been fed earlier, Tommy insisting on eating with them, and they were in the living room watching a DVD while the adults, Aleksy and Connie ate. Claire, Polly and Franceska talked about the local area, schools, and the men were polite, but no one wanted to ask too many questions. Aleksy and Connie sat next to each other but they weren’t exactly chatting either. It was fine but it did feel a bit awkward, rather than the usual conversation and bickering and teasing. I paced around the table, wondering what I could do to bring this evening to life, and then I had an idea. I knew I’d be in trouble, but I jumped on the table. ‘Alfie, get down!’ Claire screeched. Aleksy burst out laughing and then Connie looked at him and did the same. ‘Bloomin’ cat,’ Jonathan huffed, lifting me off the table and trying not to laugh. ‘He is such a naughty cat sometimes,’ Claire huffed. ‘But so cute.’ Tomasz grinned. ‘You two will be going to the same school when Connie starts on Monday,’ Claire said, the ice having been broken. ‘Really? What year?’ Aleksy asked. ‘Year Nine,’ Connie mumbled, but then she looked up. ‘I haven’t been to school in England before,’ she said. ‘So I don’t know much about it.’ ‘I’m in the same year. Hey, listen, I can meet you and walk there with you if you want, I mean on your first day.’ ‘Would you?’ She looked relieved, as did her mum. ‘Sure, I mean I know nearly everyone in our year and school’s OK, so I can help you meet people.’ Aleksy blushed; this was the most I had heard him say in ages. ‘That’s great, thank you Aleksy,’ Sylvie said. The teenagers looked as if they had said too much and glanced back at their plates. Things got easier after that. Sylvie seemed to relax as she and Jonathan chatted about Asia; they both had been to lots of the same countries although Jonathan admitted never having been to Japan. At one point Polly went to check on the children, then Aleksy asked to be excused and Connie and he left, both grabbing their phones from the kitchen counter on their way out. I spent a while listening to the adults, satisfied that although it wasn’t quite there yet, Sylvie would make a nice addition to the group. I could still feel her sadness and she was guarded but when she smiled, or laughed, I could see that she was lovely. I followed Aleksy to where he and Connie sat on the stairs. ‘I’m actually really nervous about school,’ Connie admitted. I looked at her properly for the first time. She had shoulder-length dark hair, big eyes and pale skin. She was almost as tall as Aleksy and slim, although she wore baggy trousers and a hooded sweatshirt, which was pretty much what Aleksy wore too. They both had trainers on their feet as well. It was, I believed, the teenage uniform. ‘I guess it might be different to your school in Japan. Do you speak Japanese?’ Aleksy asked. Connie said some words which neither of us understood. ‘Yes, I do.’ She smiled. She was pretty when she smiled. ‘But now that we’re here I’m not sure how useful it will be. I didn’t want to come home,’ she admitted. ‘You know, I lived in Poland when I was born,’ he said. ‘Do you remember it?’ ‘No, but we do visit. And I speak a bit of Polish.’ He said some words again which I didn’t quite understand, although I recognised it a bit as I’d heard Franceska and Tomasz speaking Polish over the years. ‘But I think of here as home now.’ ‘I still think of Japan as home. I miss it,’ she said, sounding sad. I was surprised at how open she was; it seemed that perhaps teenagers only knew how to speak to each other. ‘It’ll be alright. Hey, is that the iPhone 7?’ he asked, looking at her phone. ‘Yes, it’s the same as yours,’ she replied and they both grinned. Family evening came to an end soon after that. Tired children were either taken home or upstairs to bed, George was tucked in with Toby, Aleksy and Tommy bounded off, still full of energy, with their parents, and Connie and Sylvie went next door. Once everyone was settled I went to see if Tiger was out, but it was raining so I was pretty sure that she wouldn’t be. I was right: there was no sign of her. As the raindrops dampened my fur, I thought about going home, snuggling into my warm bed but, before I did, I couldn’t resist sneaking next door. I saw Sylvie sitting at the kitchen table, this time with lights on, Hana the cat on her lap again, and in front of her was a computer. She was talking to someone and I knew from experience that she was probably talking to a friend through the screen – I was quite technologically savvy for a cat. I was pleased to see she was smiling and I hoped that being with us had cheered her up a bit. The rain started coming down much heavier and, in danger of turning into a drowned rat, I went back next door to the warm, dry home that was always there to welcome me. Chapter Five (#ucbee3e5b-6407-5a68-98ed-45f53441eec5) I was thinking about how to get to meet Hana now the weekend was over. Connie had started school and Sylvie told Claire she had some job interviews, and now I had spent a bit of time with both Connie and Sylvie I really, really wanted to meet this exotic cat. Not only was I keen to let her know that she had friends around if she wanted them, but I also was interested to get her opinion on how her family was coping. Connie had told Aleksy that they’d had Hana since she was a kitten and she had never been outside, she’d always been a house cat which was customary in the Tokyo suburb where they lived. I could understand that in some places cats didn’t go outside and I also knew it suited some of them, but I couldn’t imagine being a house cat. Although, after some of the trouble we had got into in the past, it probably wasn’t a bad idea. And in George’s case it would make life much easier for me … No, being a house cat, on reflection, sounded terrible and I needed to rescue Hana from this life of incarceration now she was in England. These were my thoughts as I hung around outside Tiger’s house – George had gone off for a stroll with Nellie – when I saw her owners come out with her in a cat carrier. I narrowed my eyes and wondered where she was going. Her owners were older than any of mine and didn’t go out very often. But they got into a car, a taxi, and drove off. Tiger hadn’t been looking so she didn’t see me. I forgot all about Hana and fretted about Tiger, where was she going? What was she doing? Was everything OK? I calmed myself down as I went to find the others. Her owners didn’t have luggage with them so they couldn’t be going away. Perhaps they were taking her to visit a friend. I found Elvis and Rocky at the recreation ground, grateful that I could take comfort in their routine. ‘The lad and Nellie have gone to the other end of the street,’ Rocky said. ‘Yeah, and Nellie never says no to him,’ Elvis added. ‘No one says no to George,’ I pointed out. ‘But I wanted to ask you, I just saw Tiger going out, does anyone know where she’s gone?’ I asked. I doubted they did but, before they could answer, Salmon loomed over us. He had a habit of doing that, almost appearing from thin air. ‘Are you wondering about Tiger?’ he asked. He sounded his usual smug self. But I wanted information, so I needed to play along. ‘I was, I saw her go out with her owners, I had no idea what she was up to,’ I said, trying to sound nonchalant. ‘Well, my owners went to see hers this morning, important neighbourhood watch business. Apparently they are taking her to the vet.’ ‘The VET??!’ I immediately panicked. ‘Calm down Alfie,’ Salmon said, almost sounding kind. ‘It’s just a check-up. Tiger probably didn’t even know she was going but they said they’d locked the cat flap so she couldn’t go out this morning.’ ‘Thank you Salmon, it’s really kind of you to let me know.’ I wasn’t used to him being so helpful. ‘That’s alright.’ He tried to sound cool again. ‘No fur off my nose.’ ‘Hey, I was just thinking about Hana, the cat who’s moved in next door to me,’ I said, thinking I owed him. ‘Oh yes, have you met her?’ he asked. He couldn’t hide his interest now. ‘No, but her owners came to our house last night. She doesn’t go out, ever. She’s a house cat. Something common in her country of Japan apparently.’ ‘Well I never,’ Rocky said. ‘A house cat?’ ‘Yes, she’s never been out, ever,’ I said, enjoying having the authority on something. ‘That’s a shame,’ Elvis said. ‘It means we’ll never meet her.’ ‘Oh we will,’ I said. ‘What do you mean?’ Salmon narrowed his eyes at me. ‘I don’t exactly know, but I will figure something out.’ ‘I can’t stand around here all day chatting, things to do, people to see.’ Salmon grinned before stalking off. ‘Gosh, he’s almost going soft in his old age,’ Rocky said as we watched him swinging his tail behind him. I didn’t tell George about Tiger. Salmon had said it was just a check-up but I wanted to talk to Tiger and get some reassurance before involving George. He was surprised as I actively encouraged him to go out on his own after lunch, but he was quick to take advantage as he rushed off with my blessing. I sat by Tiger’s back step and it wasn’t long before she appeared. ‘Thank goodness,’ I said, nuzzling her. ‘I was worried about you.’ ‘I know I’m sorry, they sprang the vet on me. This morning I went to go out and I bashed my head against the cat flap, which hurt.’ She paused to rub her head with her paw. ‘They closed it without telling me, and they shoved me, well not shoved, but put me in the carrier and off we went.’ ‘You poor thing.’ No cat I knew was a fan of the vet, they had a habit of poking around where it wasn’t their business. Well, actually it was their business but it was still very personal and intrusive. ‘What did the vet say?’ I took a long, hard look at Tiger; she seemed fine to me. ‘Oh nothing really, it was just a check-up. They poked and prodded and ran some tests but I’m right as rain. You know how my humans fuss. I heard them say that at my age we needed to check more often. I mean the indignity!’ ‘God, I hope it doesn’t occur to my family. I’ll have to make sure I always appear in the best of health in front of them.’ ‘Good plan, Alfie. Although the vet was nice, she was very kind, but still. Where’s George?’ ‘Off playing somewhere. To be honest, I wanted him to go off so I could talk to you. You know, in case anything was wrong. Hopefully he’ll be back soon.’ ‘Oh Alfie, what will we do with you? Come on, I’ll come with you, let’s go find our boy.’ We set off, the wind in our fur, the cold air whipping around our legs as we set off. We walked in companionable silence and I couldn’t help but think how lucky I was to have so many cats around me that I’d known for years, and that I cared so deeply about, and that cared about me. It made me return my thoughts to Hana, I really had to figure out a way to see her and make sure that she wasn’t too lonely. Loneliness was the worst thing and although it had been so long since I had experienced it, I had never forgotten. George and I walked Tiger home and then went back to our place, where we bumped into Aleksy who was with Connie. ‘Hey guys,’ Aleksy said, petting us. ‘Meow?’ Aleksy didn’t normally come to our house on his own. ‘I just walked Connie home, but I better go, Mum will worry if I don’t get back soon. Not to mention that we have a mountain of homework, right Con?’ he grinned. I was startled, Aleksy hadn’t been this chatty for quite a while, or looked so animated. He wasn’t even staring at a screen. Was being a teenager over now? I certainly hoped so. I wanted my sweet Aleksy back. ‘Yes, and it’s only my first day,’ Connie giggled. I stared at them both, raising my whiskers. It looked as if they had become friends already which made me very happy. So, as I took George home for tea, all seemed right once again. Chapter Six (#ulink_7fe43d2d-b7e4-5cdf-9f6d-2d0355e9d7ed) ‘So, I got a job,’ Sylvie said as she arrived at our house a few nights later, a bottle in her hands. ‘I know you might be busy, but I wondered if you fancied a drink to celebrate with me?’ She shrugged. She looked so attractive, with her eyes, which were a bit like Connie’s, sparkling. ‘What, already? The job, I mean.’ Claire said. ‘It’s nothing fancy but I got it through a friend of my sister’s, so total nepotism. But, you know, I haven’t worked for years, I’ve been an expat wife, so I was lucky to get anything, I think.’ ‘Congratulations, come in, of course we can celebrate. The kids are in bed, Jon’s at the gym, so you’ve picked the perfect time.’ Claire ushered her in and I followed. Claire led her to the kitchen, pulling some glasses out of the cupboard and opening the bottle which was fizzy. ‘I really hope you don’t mind.’ Sylvie chewed her lip nervously. ‘I don’t normally go anywhere without arranging it …’ ‘Don’t be silly. Honestly, I would rather you felt like you could pop round whenever you want, if we’re busy I’ll say, and you won’t take offence. That’s how it is with us, you know Polly and Frankie,’ Claire said. ‘That’s so kind, I can’t believe how lucky I was moving in next door to you!’ Sylvie said. ‘I moved to London years ago without knowing anyone so I understand how daunting it is. And, Sylvie, I moved here after my first marriage broke down in a horrible way. I made a friend from work, Tasha, she basically saved me from loneliness,’ Claire explained. ‘I’ve been away so long that I’ve pretty much lost touch with my friends from the UK. My sister lives in Bristol with her husband, but I gave my life up for my ex-husband, basically. Moving back here, well, it made me realise how much my life was tied up with his and that’s so sad. Thank goodness I got Connie out of it.’ ‘What happened, exactly?’ Claire asked, putting two full glasses in front of them. ‘Total clich? … Um, that’s nice,’ Sylvie replied, taking a sip of her drink. ‘My husband met a younger woman through work, and I now know they were having an affair, but then he declared himself in love with her and asked for a divorce.’ ‘Wow, that’s awful. Is she Japanese?’ ‘No, actually American, beautiful of course and young. Only in her twenties.’ ‘Oh God, that’s so horrible. I am so sorry Sylvie.’ Claire’s eyes glistened with concern. ‘I’m sorry.’ Sylvie wiped a tear away. ‘I’m not good at celebrating yet. I felt as if my life was over, does that make sense? I’d devoted it to him. I gave up my career to follow his, I brought up his daughter for him, I didn’t really have anything but my family. Looking back that was very stupid of me but …’ ‘Hey, no one knows what’s going to happen. He’s, well, I won’t say what he is, but I am so sorry.’ ‘Then he gave me the option of staying to watch him with his new woman, so he could see Connie, and I just couldn’t. I was too humiliated, so I moved Connie back here, but I know she misses her dad and I feel so guilty about pulling her away. But Japan was about my marriage, I couldn’t stay there without it. There was nothing there for me but humiliation and I had to get away.’ ‘You did what you had to do, honey,’ Claire said. ‘Look, don’t for one minute ever think it’s easy. I moved here after splitting from my ex-husband, as I said, but I only moved within this country, not from a million miles away. You must miss your friends.’ ‘I do, and I Skype them, but it’s not the same. Anyway, sorry I’m being so maudlin – but I have to admit worrying about Connie settling in here is giving me sleepless nights.’ She lifted her glass. ‘And that’s understandable. But, cheers to your job – oh, what is it?’ Claire laughed. ‘I almost forgot to ask.’ ‘It’s in a clothes shop, a gorgeous boutique in Clapham. Lovely clothes actually, quite expensive, but I did work in fashion in my old life, and I have a bit of a passion for it. I know I’m just a shop girl but it’s not too far away and it’ll just give us a bit of income.’ ‘Well, I think it’s great. I’ll come and have a look but of course don’t tell Jonathan if it’s really expensive.’ ‘Promise I won’t. Anyway, my sister’s friend, Jessica, she said if it works out, she’ll let me help with buying and display down the line, and so it will be quite fun. It’ll get me out of the house while Connie’s at school and it’s a good, positive move, I think.’ ‘It’ll just do you good to have routine.’ ‘Yes, I need to feel that I have a purpose. For so long now I’ve just been a wife and a mother.’ ‘You’re never just a mother. But I do understand. I used to work long hours but I’ve been part-time since Summer and Toby, but to be honest I don’t miss it as much as I thought I would.’ ‘I can’t pretend I don’t miss my old life although I wasn’t exactly a modern woman. I organised the house, my husband’s social life, took care of Connie and spent a lot of time with friends. But now being home … well, it’s different and the older Connie gets the less she’ll need me. I think it was the whole expat thing. I didn’t work, most of us wives didn’t. I made sure that Philip, my ex, that his life ran like clockwork. If he was home I cooked for him, made sure his laundry was done, packed for his business trips, arranged holidays, basically ensured his life was relaxing, and I kept most of the stress away from him. I dealt with any problems with Connie, he got the fun bits, but he had a pressured job so I thought it was important and in return I got to lunch with my friends, travel, buy pretty much what I wanted, and for so long I thought it was enough for me, I thought it was enough for us.’ ‘But it wasn’t?’ ‘Not for him. And of course I worry about Connie. He’s still her father and she loves him.’ ‘Oh God.’ Claire and I both shuddered. ‘I couldn’t cope with that, poor Connie.’ ‘Anyway, time to rebuild. I might have been married for sixteen years but it’s time for me to look to the future. And to ensure that my little girl, who isn’t so little, isn’t too badly damaged by all this.’ She spoke with purpose. ‘Did Connie get on OK at school?’ ‘She seemed happy enough. It’s very difficult because she’s used to her very nice international school. I think it’s a bit different from a comprehensive in London. I did think about trying to make my ex pay for private school but the fees are eye-watering, even for him, so I decided to try this first. If she’s unhappy, though, I would find the money somehow, or I would make him pay. I should make him pay.’ ‘Hey, we’re not going to talk about him, remember. Positive. Aleksy will make sure Connie’s OK at school, you have a job, your ex is a … a word I shouldn’t use and, one day soon, you’ll see there’s a future.’ ‘Gosh, Claire, I’ll say it again: we were so lucky to move next door to you.’ ‘Meow!’ I said. ‘And Alfie of course.’ Claire winked. ‘Oh for goodness sake, Claire, give it a rest,’ Jonathan said later as they were in bed. ‘What?’ she asked. ‘I just asked if you knew anyone.’ One of my skills is matchmaking. I bring people together, both romantically and in friendship, and Claire has learnt from me. She is an enthusiastic student. ‘The last time I set one of your friends up with mine she ended up moving to Dubai.’ He was talking about Claire’s best friend Tasha, who was also a very good friend of mine. We both still miss her. ‘OK, yes, but I just thought it might help Sylvie get settled if she had a bit of a social life.’ ‘I agree, but she’s probably not ready for a man yet, she’s been through a huge upheaval, Claire, and I think the best thing is for us to offer friendship. Honestly, not every woman needs a man.’ Jonathan shook his head. ‘I can’t believe I actually said that. I almost sound like a feminist.’ I grinned, Jonathan wasn’t exactly a ‘new man’. He said he tried it but he liked being lazy and looked after. I had to agree with him. I respected women, as did Jonathan, but I didn’t mind if they liked taking care of me. Although I took care of everyone, so I might have been a ‘new cat’ after all. ‘Hell will freeze over before you’re a feminist. But, OK. For now,’ Claire said. I did agree with Jonathan, Sylvie didn’t seem ready for a new relationship at all. But friendship was good. I fell asleep thinking about that. How Sylvie went from happy to sad in an instant, the way Claire had when she first moved here. I understood, I really did, she wanted to move on with her life, but it was never that easy. I had been there myself. I had lost people I loved, lots of them, and I’d been through my fair share of heartache, so when I saw Sylvie, I understood how she was feeling as if I could see right into her heart. Chapter Seven (#ulink_88fa451c-0965-5ba7-bcf2-6ab4fafd680a) It seemed like ages before I actually got a chance to see Hana properly. I cased the house, looking for a way to break in, because it was clear that Hana wasn’t going to be coming out. When my old girlfriend, Snowball, lived in the house they didn’t have a cat flap, but if the family were all out, they would leave a window open in the kitchen for her to come and go as she pleased. Otherwise she would wait at the glass doors to be let out and in. It worked well for her, although I preferred the freedom of a cat flap and I also found that having to climb on windowsills could be a bit tiresome. As Hana was a house cat, there was not only no cat flap but also, as it was cold, no windows appeared to be open. It was frustrating me, and the more I found I couldn’t get in, the more I wanted to. This morning, George had refused to go out as it was raining hard, and he suddenly decided to develop an aversion, so I decided I would take the opportunity of knowing he was safe at home and go and see if I could find a way in. The rain seemed to cling to my fur as I made my way round the back of the house, but there I struck gold, or maybe silver, as one of the kitchen windows was slightly open. Unfortunately it was a small, narrow, high-up one, but I was determined. I jumped onto the windowsill – so far so good – and then I made an attempt to jump for the window. My first one failed; it was higher than it looked. I rebalanced myself and tried again. This time I managed to hook my paws over the open window and, with great effort, pulled myself up. It was only open a bit and I soon found the gap was narrower than it looked. I began to squeeze my way through it and soon realised that perhaps I had misjudged. I was about half way through, but my bottom was a bit stuck as I wiggled and squirmed and regretted eating quite so much breakfast. ‘Yowl,’ I cried out in frustration as my body moved only a tiny bit at a time; at this rate I’d be here all day. ‘What are you doing?’ a voice said. I looked down and saw Hana on the floor, looking quizzically at me. ‘Oh hi, I’m Alfie, your next-door neighbour, and I’ve been wanting to come and welcome you to Edgar Road. But it hasn’t been easy as you don’t go out by all accounts, and so I thought I would have to come in. And that’s what I am trying to do.’ It wasn’t the introduction I had envisaged. Hana hopped onto the kitchen counter. She was even prettier close up, with sweet light green eyes. I had never seen a cat quite like her and I also really would have liked her and George to become friends. She would make a great companion for him; he didn’t have anyone his own age in Edgar Road. ‘That’s nice, I haven’t met another cat before,’ she said, looking at me with interest. ‘What, really? Never?’ I couldn’t believe it as I gave my bottom another wiggle. ‘No, well I must have done when I was born, not that I remember, but then I came to live with my family, in Japan, and I didn’t get to go out, and no cat ever came to visit me like you’re trying to do.’ She was sweet and warm, if a little bit confused. ‘I always had lots of humans to play with though, so that was nice,’ she added. ‘We have many friends on this street. Honestly, if you did go out you might like it,’ I said. Huffing a bit as I tried to squeeze myself to a smaller size. ‘I don’t know if I’d even be allowed. Anyway, it’s very nice to meet you.’ ‘How did you get here?’ I asked. I felt myself easing forward a bit, I was making progress, thankfully. ‘I was in a carrier and we went on an aeroplane. Connie, my human, she said it was like a giant bird that flew in the sky. I had to go into a special place but slept mostly and then suddenly – well, it wasn’t sudden, it was a very long time – we were here and then I had to have a check-up with a vet before I was reunited with my family.’ ‘It sounds exhausting.’ I wondered if I would ever get to go on the giant bird, but it was doubtful. When we went on holiday it was always to our house in Devon and we went in the car. ‘It was a very long time and I did feel a bit strange for a few days, but then that might be because we moved so far. The man of my family, he didn’t want them to bring me but Connie refused to leave Japan without me, which I am thankful for, as I love her very much. I miss my home, but I think I would miss Connie more.’ I was going to reply when, with a final squeeze, I found myself almost sliding through the window. In my surprise I ended up falling, landing on my tail, in the kitchen sink. ‘Ow,’ I said, trying to regain my composure and thankful that the sink was empty. ‘Oh well, at least I’m in.’ Always look on the bright side, that’s my motto. ‘Um, yes but I’m not sure how you’re going to get out again.’ I turned my head to where Hana was looking and saw that not only had I managed to get through the window but I’d somehow knocked it closed. Not that I would have had the energy to get back out that way again in any case, but still it did leave me with something of a problem. I would like to say that this hadn’t happened to me before but that wouldn’t be true. I had been known to get trapped in places on occasion – especially cupboards. But I couldn’t worry about that right now, I was here, in front of Hana, and I wanted to make a new friend. ‘Why don’t you give me a tour of the house?’ I asked, thinking I would come up with a plan to get out later. After all, I was a cat who was known for being very good at plans. By lunchtime, I was beginning to panic. Although spending time with Hana had been pleasant and we had managed to cover quite a lot of ground. Not only had I toured her entire house, but I’d explained all about Edgar Road. I told her about George, who I thought would make an excellent playmate for her, and she told me all about Japan, specifically her house in Japan, and the strange language they spoke, the raw fish she ate, and how happy her family had been. Since coming to London they had all been very sad – which I knew of course. But Connie was trying hard to get used to it, as she didn’t want her mum to worry, and vice versa. Hana was the confidante of both her humans the way I was with all of mine. She listened to Connie before she went to sleep and then had late-night chats with Sylvie. It kept her very busy. ‘What about the husband/father?’ ‘Oh yes, you see I thought he was lovely,’ Hana said as we stood in Connie’s bedroom. It was painted a bright yellow, and she had put big pictures of pop stars on the wall. There were lots of photos of her and other girls on a pin-board – they were her friends in Japan, Hana said, which was one of the reasons she was upset; she missed them. I understood all about that. ‘But then one day he said to Sylvie that he was in love with someone else, and that he wanted a divorce. Sylvie was so devastated, she still is, and I don’t think she’s coping as well as it seems.’ ‘It’s very sad,’ I said. Then I turned my attention back to the problem at hand. ‘But you know, if I don’t go soon, George might start worrying about me.’ ‘I feel terrible, you came around to make me feel welcome and now you’re stuck.’ ‘Oh no, I’m still glad I met you, I just wish you could come out, and then you could meet the others, our cat friends.’ That would be my next plan. As soon as I came up with one to get myself out of her house, I would come up with a way of getting Hana out of the house too. We both looked around for any sign of being able to leave, but it was hopeless. There were no windows open, or anything that I could use to get outside. As I was beginning to despair we heard a sound, like a key in the door. ‘That’s the front door,’ Hana said and we both bounded towards it. The door opened and I saw my chance. Without hesitation I ran as fast as I could through Connie’s legs and outside. It was only when I was on the front path that I stopped, turned around and saw that Connie and Aleksy were both looking at me with bemusement. ‘How did Alfie get in here?’ Connie asked. ‘Hana, are you OK?’ I took offence at that, what did she mean? What did she think I had done to her? Hana mewed, softly. I hadn’t even stopped to say goodbye to her but I raised my whiskers and she raised hers back. ‘I’m sure he was just being friendly and, after all, Alfie is one clever cat, he would have found a way,’ Aleksy replied, and I bounded off to get home to George, as they closed the front door. Not feeling that clever – after all, it had taken hours to get out. When I told George all about my adventures next door, he went into a sulk because I hadn’t taken him with me. When I reminded him of his refusal to go out because of the rain, he still took umbrage. I promised him the next time I would take him with me but of course I wasn’t sure how there would be a next time. After the hazard of getting in and out, it just might not happen. I wasn’t ready to cope with that again. It was only much later, when I was alone, about to take a short nap, that I thought about it all again and realised I hadn’t stopped to wonder what on earth Aleksy and Connie were doing at her house in the middle of the day. Weren’t they both supposed to be at school? Chapter Eight (#ulink_02bd492e-fc8a-5893-9b75-60ded0d3b425) Word about my visit to Hana got around quickly. I was surprised. I had thought that if Connie told her mum she would have had to explain not being at school, but that only goes to show how wrong I was. It turned out Connie had gone home at lunchtime because she’d forgotten one of her text books. She obviously hadn’t mentioned Aleksy, because when Claire was telling Jonathan, in front of me, his name didn’t crop up. ‘Did Sylvie mind about our mad cat being in her house?’ Jonathan asked. I waved my tail, I wasn’t mad. ‘She was a bit surprised at first but when I explained that Alfie always liked to make friends with other cats she didn’t seem too upset. She said she always worried about Hana being bored, she wasn’t alone very often in Japan.’ ‘Maybe we can persuade her to put a cat flap in so Alfie can visit more often,’ Jonathan laughed. ‘Yelp!’ I jumped onto his lap; that was a very good idea. ‘Alfie, I think Jon was joking,’ Claire giggled. ‘Anyway, I invited her to lunch on Sunday at the restaurant. I checked with Frankie and she didn’t mind.’ ‘Great. Hopefully she’ll start to settle in a bit more.’ I was excited at the news. Not that Sylvie and Connie were joining us, although that was nice, but mainly about the fact that we were having lunch at the restaurant. It would give George and I a chance to catch up with Dustbin, the restaurant cat who was a very, very good friend. He lived outside and was a bit feral, but he liked it that way, and he might have been rough around the edges but he had a heart of gold. I hadn’t seen him for a bit, probably because life in Edgar Road was keeping me busy, so we were due a visit. In the meantime I had to find Tiger. She was still being a bit elusive of late, and I did want to see her. I missed her. George had seen more of her than I had, but that was because he went into her house. I wouldn’t go because if I got caught by her owners they threw me out. They didn’t mind George quite as much, but nor were they laying out the red carpet to welcome him either. He assured me she was fine but I still wanted to see for myself. I went to Tiger’s house and nudged the cat flap. As I waited on the doorstep I was anxious, but Tiger appeared after a short time. ‘Hi stranger,’ I said. ‘Don’t start,’ she replied, giving me a quick nuzzle. ‘I’ve had my family all keeping me in, it was to do with the vet. I thought I was fine but it turned out I had some kind of infection, and I had to take some medicine, which is why I haven’t been out. It’s all gone now and I’m allowed out again.’ ‘But George said you were staying in because of the weather.’ ‘I didn’t want him to worry, or you. I was only allowed dry biscuits to eat for days, can you imagine?’ ‘No, frankly I can’t. But you say you’re all better?’ ‘Yes. The tablets, which my family thought they were being very clever in hiding in small bits of chicken – which I ate because it was the only respite from the biscuits – have all gone, and that means I am back to normal.’ She grinned. ‘Oh thank goodness.’ ‘You know, Alfie, you worry too much. Tell me, what’s been going on in the world while I’ve been stuck in.’ ‘Walk with me and I will do.’ I grinned. It hit me how much I’d missed her. I was a softy after all. As we took a stroll, I told her about Hana and being stuck in the house. ‘It’s a shame, you know, she’d make a perfect companion for George,’ I said, not for the first time. ‘Stop trying to matchmake, Alfie,’ she replied. ‘George will make his own friends.’ ‘I know, I was just saying, they aren’t that far apart in age and she’s lived a very sheltered life.’ ‘That sounds like an understatement,’ Tiger pointed out. One of the many things I loved about her was the fact that she paid such good attention to everything I told her. ‘Yes, right, so I thought her sweetness would be great for George. Anyway, I don’t see it happening, she doesn’t go out and there isn’t an easy way for us to get in …’ ‘Don’t tell me you’re going to give up that easily.’ We both stopped and I looked at her. She knew me so well. ‘Of course not,’ I replied, with a grin. When I got home, feeling lighter than I had for a while, probably because of seeing with my own eyes that Tiger was fine, Claire was at the kitchen table with Polly and Sylvie. After establishing that George was outside, playing in the small back garden, I joined them, sitting myself on Polly’s lap and enjoying the sensation as she ran her fingers lightly through my fur. ‘So, the job is good?’ Polly asked. She had a big bag with her, which meant she had been working herself. She was an interior designer and although she tried to work part-time she could sometimes find herself very busy. Luckily, Claire was always able to help out with the kids if necessary, that was how we all did things on Edgar Road. ‘Yes, it’s strange though. I haven’t had a “job” since we moved overseas.’ ‘That’s a long time to be out of the workplace,’ Polly said. ‘It is. And, you know, getting out of the house is good, the hours aren’t too long so I can be there for Connie … Not that she seems to want me to be.’ Her brow wrinkled. ‘Is everything OK?’ Polly asked. ‘If you ask Connie, it is. She says she likes school, she’s getting good grades already, she even has a sleepover with a couple of friends on Friday, so it seems she’s settled in pretty well. But, well, she’s very quiet and when I try to talk to her she gives me one-word answers, then makes any excuse she can to be in her bedroom with her phone or iPad.’ ‘I think, from what Frankie says about Aleksy, that that is being a teenager,’ Claire laughed. ‘I hope so. I know it sounds strange but it’s like she’s gone from being this chatty little girl who loved to tell me about her day, who seemed to love me, to someone who acts as if I am torturing her by asking her if she’s alright and can barely stand the sight of me. I’m worried that she’s just putting a brave face on everything.’ ‘Does she speak to your ex?’ Polly asked, gently. ‘Yes, he Skypes, or FaceTimes her a couple of times a week, and she’s pretty surly with him, but of course he doesn’t have to deal with her moods on a daily basis.’ ‘Listen, I honestly think it’s just the big upheaval, but hey, you said she’s doing well at school?’ Claire said. Sylvie nodded. ‘She’s not got an eating disorder or a drug problem?’ ‘Oh God, I hope not. No, she still seems to eat like a horse and she isn’t losing weight. I’m pretty sure she’s not on drugs,’ Sylvie replied with a slight grin. ‘Right, as far as I can tell that means you’re winning parenting her. I said the same to Frankie about Aleksy. He’s the sweetest kid, always has been, sensitive, caring, but he has started acting as if he’s a bit too cool for all of us, especially his parents.’ ‘Meow!’ I shouted. ‘OK, apart from Alfie then.’ The three of them laughed. ‘Actually, even Alfie at times,’ Polly whispered but I heard and narrowed my eyes at her. ‘I need to stop worrying so much,’ Sylvie said. ‘Yes. My dad, he was a social worker and pretty good with children and teens, he told me that he got through me and my brother’s teenage hormonal phase by not pushing us too much. He said he gave us space and one day we started being pleasant again,’ Claire explained. ‘Oh God, I was a nightmare,’ Polly said. ‘I drank, smoked and was boy crazy, but then I started modelling when I was fifteen so I guess that explained it a bit.’ ‘Was modelling a bit wild?’ Sylvie asked. ‘Yes, it was, but after a while I rebelled against the bad behaviour.’ ‘Oh God, you know also, we didn’t have all the pressure of social media when we were growing up,’ Claire pointed out. ‘I know, I didn’t want Connie to have any, but she said that she didn’t want to be the only girl at school without Snapachat or whatever, so I had to give in. I can’t make her feel different, that’s the worst when you’re a teenager.’ ‘Trust her – as much as you can anyway. She seems pretty good to me,’ Polly said, giving Sylvie’s hand a pat. ‘Meow,’ I said again. Polly was pretty good as well, all my women were. ‘I will do my best to give her space, but I can’t help worrying.’ Sylvie’s brow was furrowed. ‘None of us can, really,’ Polly agreed. ‘Meow,’ I thirded. That was what us parents did best: worry. Chapter Nine (#ulink_b159b818-b984-518d-94c3-6a28c4e4de76) ‘The cats are coming?’ Sylvie asked as we all set out to lunch on Sunday. ‘Yowl,’ I replied. Of course we were. ‘You’ll soon learn that our cats go pretty much everywhere with us,’ Claire explained, as if it was perfectly normal. Over time, I have learnt that it’s not. Dogs, they go to many places with humans, cats not so much. But for George and I things were different. And we liked it that way. ‘It makes me feel sorry for Hana,’ Connie said. She wasn’t being surly at all today, she had a big smile on her face. She really was very pretty, a bit like her cat; they matched. ‘You know, at home on her own so much of the time.’ ‘Meow,’ I said. Good, it seemed the seed had been planted. ‘Yes, but darling, Hana doesn’t go out, I’m not sure she’d cope very well.’ Sylvie sounded worried. ‘I know, but seeing the freedom Alfie and George have, well it got me thinking. I really am worried that she’s lonely here.’ ‘Ah, well maybe we’ll get her a treat later, some fish maybe, just in case.’ Sylvie gave Connie’s shoulder a squeeze. That wasn’t what I had in mind. George and I kept up with the humans, although at one point Toby picked George up and carried him for a while. No one thought to offer me a lift. But Franceska and Tomasz didn’t live far away, so it wasn’t so bad. I was used to the journey, it was one of my regular routes. The family used to live in the flat above the restaurant, which was nice but small, so when Tomasz became more successful and the boys got bigger they bought the house next door. They still had the flat, but a couple of the members of staff lived there. Thankfully they’d knocked down the back wall so the yard to the restaurant and the house was adjoining, which meant when George and I stayed with them – which we did if Claire and Jonathan and the children went away without us – I could see Dustbin whenever I wanted. ‘Hello, welcome,’ Tomasz said, standing at the door, and scooping me up as he ushered everyone in. They had a rule that the place was always closed on Sundays, to make sure everyone could have a day off, so when we had family day here we had the place to ourselves. As hugs and kisses were exchanged, Toby and Henry went to find the boys, Martha and Summer took their dolls over to the table which had been set for the children, whilst the adults all chatted and sorted out drinks. Connie stood, looking slightly awkward, but as soon as Aleksy spotted her he bounded over. I was offended that he didn’t even say hello to me. ‘Let’s go and find Dustbin,’ I said to George, affronted, and we made our way through the kitchen – where we normally weren’t allowed – to the backyard. ‘I heard you were coming,’ Dustbin said as he greeted us affectionately. ‘Hi, how are you?’ I asked, pleased to see my very good friend. ‘Yeah, not bad. Got a few mice yesterday, the blighters keep coming back for more, it’s like they never learn.’ He gave his head a small shake. I shuddered, I hated all talk of hunting. In fact for a cat I was a pretty poor hunter. I had done it out of necessity, when I was homeless, in order to survive, but I didn’t like it and since becoming so pampered I had lost my knack. George showed an interest in it, disappointingly, but more for the thrill of the chase than anything. I tried to discourage it but it was his instinct, so I had to accept that. ‘Dustbin, can we go and find some mice?’ George asked, looking hopeful. ‘Maybe later, lad. They’ve all scarpered for now.’ He gave me a ‘look’ and I thanked him silently. ‘Anyway, they’ll be bringing us some lunch soon,’ I said. When we visited it was the only time we ever ate outside because Dustbin didn’t like to come inside. Which reminded me to tell him about Hana. ‘Well, I never heard such a thing. A cat who doesn’t go out? I wouldn’t like that.’ ‘But if you didn’t know any different you might,’ George said, sagely. He was a chip off the old block. ‘True, George, true. And what suits some cats doesn’t suit others, eh Alfie?’ I nodded my agreement. ‘Anyway, Alfie, you might want to know this: Franceska was on the phone out here last night, talking to one of your ladies no doubt, and she said she was worried about Aleksy.’ ‘Oh no, what about?’ My fur stood on end. I couldn’t bear it if anything was wrong with my Aleksy. ‘He’s acting all secretive apparently, home late from school, spending all his time in his bedroom on his phone, only coming out for meals – and you know how close he and Tommy were. Well, apparently he basically ignores his little brother, these days.’ ‘Oh,’ I said, a bit relieved. ‘I know what this is, the women were talking about it the other day: hormones. All teenagers get it, it’s like an illness I think, you know, makes you not a very nice person for a while, but they all said it passes eventually.’ ‘That’s good to know. Poor Franceska’s very upset, she misses how close she and Aleksy used to be.’ It was the same conversation that Polly and Claire had with Sylvie. ‘Thanks Dustbin, and I will keep an eye on things, but our new next-door neighbour, Connie, is suffering from it too. Thank goodness us cats don’t get it,’ I said, raising my whiskers at George. ‘Oh no, we are just lovely and fun and sweet all the time,’ George said as he pounced on a mouse which seemed to appear from thin air. ‘Good catch,’ Dustbin said, proudly. I shook my tail. I bet the mouse didn’t think George was sweet. We dined on sardines and as always it was delicious. We had a very pleasant time with Dustbin before we left him to go back to our families. In truth I was cold, chilled to my bones actually, and George was tired. Dustbin didn’t seem to get either cold or tired, he was a super-cat. As we said a reluctant goodbye to him, I said I’d see him soon. I would put visiting more often on my to-do list. Back inside, I began to warm up as I let the human chatter wash over my fur. A good meal had been eaten, dishes were piled up, but Franceska and Tomasz refused to let anyone clear up, saying they would do it when everyone had gone home. The children were playing in one part of the restaurant; Tommy had set up an elaborate obstacle course and the younger children were enjoying it, along with George who quickly joined in, easily shedding his tiredness, it seemed. Aleksy and Connie were watching them, but set apart from the others. Both had phones in their hands. They were talking though, laughing, and they seemed happy. The adults were enjoying drinks, and talk turned to Christmas. ‘I have so much to do,’ Franceska was saying. ‘Not only for the boys but for work too.’ ‘I know, but I love Christmas.’ Claire sounded dreamy. ‘It costs a fortune,’ Jonathan huffed. ‘Bah humbug,’ Matt teased. ‘It’s going to be nice this year, all together,’ Tomasz said, then the table fell silent. ‘Are you staying in London for Christmas?’ Claire asked Sylvie. ‘Yes, I think so. My sister has invited us to go away with them, but well, Connie and I aren’t used to being here yet, so I think staying might be best. I just don’t …’ Her voice cracked and I went to rub her legs. ‘I haven’t really thought about it,’ she said. Then she tried to smile. ‘You must come to us,’ Claire suggested. ‘Only if you want to, of course,’ Jonathan quickly added. ‘We’re all having lunch together, it’ll be loads of fun,’ Polly said. ‘Well, I hate to impose.’ Sylvie sounded uncertain. ‘Why would you be imposing? The more the merrier I say,’ Matt said. ‘And you can bring something,’ Franceska added. ‘Claire and Jonathan will do the turkey, we will bring potatoes and vegetables, Polly brings pudding.’ ‘That doesn’t really leave much,’ Claire pointed out. ‘I’ll bring champagne,’ Sylvie said. ‘How about that?’ ‘Well we never say no to champagne,’ Polly laughed. She was right, they didn’t. They didn’t say no to wine either, to be frank. ‘Great, that’s settled,’ Tomasz said. ‘We’ll have a proper traditional Christmas.’ ‘An Edgar Road family Christmas,’ Jonathan added. ‘Let’s drink to that,’ Claire said and I licked my lips. I was thinking already about turkey and all the lovely left-overs that George and I would be treated to. I really did love Christmas, it’s my favourite time of the year. Chapter Ten (#ulink_2d471ef5-8cda-5252-956d-3e9dda54031a) Конец ознакомительного фрагмента. Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес». Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию (https://www.litres.ru/rachel-wells-2/alfie-in-the-snow/?lfrom=688855901) на ЛитРес. Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.