ALFIE THE CHRISTMAS CAT
Rachel Wells

Copyright

Published by AVON

A Division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

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London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2020

Copyright © Rachel Wells 2020

Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers 2020

Cover photographs © Shutterstock.com

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: 9780008411978

Ebook Edition © November 2020 ISBN: 9780008411985

Version: 2020-09-22

Dedication

To my niece Claire, who loves cats as much as I do.

Contents

Cover

Title Page

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

Chapter Thirty-Five

Alfie’s Guide to Helping the Homeless

Acknowledgements

Keep Reading …

About the Author

Also by Rachel Wells

About the Publisher

Chapter One

We prepared for noise and chaos to fill our house on what can only be described as one of my favourite days. It was family lunch day, and we have a big family. What I have learnt, as a doorstep cat, is that family isn’t just about blood. As George and I groomed ourselves, ready to greet all our favourite people, we were more than a little bit excited.

I’m Alfie, if you haven’t met me before, and George is my kitten, although he’s not exactly a kitten anymore. As most parents know, there is a reluctance to acknowledge that our children are growing up, getting older and more independent. I have to admit, looking back, I miss when George was younger and needed me more than he does now. Thinking about how I used to moan about lack of sleep, no time to myself, constantly being on guard for danger … But I’d turn the clocks back in a heartbeat. Of course, George still needs me at times, but he is so independent, with his own life and even a girlfriend, Hana. Oh how he’s grown into a fine tom. But I digress.

I am a doorstep cat, which means I have more than one home, more than one family that I spend time with. George and I have our main home with Claire, Jonathan, and our children, Toby and Summer. We live on Edgar Road. It’s a big street with lots of different types of houses. We often gather at ours as it is one of the bigger houses, and we have a lot of people, pets and children to fit in.

‘Hey guys!’ Matt, who is one of the most laid back of our adults, approached the doorstep with his wife Polly, and their children, Henry and Martha. Oh, and on the lead was a very excited Pickles, their pug who spends a lot of time with us. I am not only a cat who looks after humans, but also dogs, it seems.

Pickles tries to eat everything in sight, and likes to lick whatever he can’t eat. He’s still a puppy, albeit quite a chubby one! I am often charged with Pickles sitting; have been since he was tiny. Now, as I said, he’s far from tiny – as the time he got stuck in the cat flap proved – but he’s part of the family. He might have taken a bit of getting used to, us cats and dogs aren’t natural friends after all, but we love him very much. Although … George took longer than me to come around to having him in our lives, and he can still sometimes be a bit cutting with him.

‘Meow,’ George and I greeted them, along with a friendly nuzzle. As they stepped inside, Pickles licked us both then licked Jonathan’s feet. Thankfully, he was wearing slippers. The children shrieked as they all went upstairs to play. Toby, Summer, Henry, and Martha are the best of friends, which is lucky as we all spend so much time together. As Polly and Matt went off to help with drinks and food, we waited to see who our next arrivals would be.

The doorbell rang again and Sylvie, Marcus, their teenager Connie, and their baby Theo were there. They’d also brought their cat, George’s girlfriend Hana. They made such a cute couple.

Claire practically trampled us to get hold of Theo, before they even set foot inside. Theo was our latest addition; he was only a few months old and ever so popular. It was the same when George was a kitten and Pickles a puppy. People liked babies.

‘Come in out of the cold,’ Jonathan said as Claire walked into the living room cuddling Theo.

‘I’m just going to pick Dad up,’ Marcus said, before leaving to get his dad, Harold, who lived at the end of the street.

It was largely down to George that Harold became part of our group and, in turn, his son Marcus and Sylvie – our next door neighbour – fell in love. We can actually pretty much take credit for baby Theo, thinking about it.

I grinned and raised my whiskers at George and Hana. We could hear the children laughing upstairs, the adults in the kitchen – Jonathan and Claire were cooking, and Polly now had hold of baby Theo. Pickles was running around in circles, Sylvie was enjoying a much-needed sit down and Connie hovered anxiously. We all knew who she was waiting for.

The sound of the doorbell heralded our final guests. As well as Harold, who brought his cat Snowball, my girlfriend and first love – it’s a long story so I’ll tell you about it later – Tomasz, Franceska, and their teenagers Aleksy and Tommy stood on the doorstep.

There were more hugs and kisses and nuzzles and strokes before we were all finally in one place. Our family lunch was about to start. And I couldn’t have been happier.

George, Hana, Snowball and I snuck into the garden. We should have known that Pickles wouldn’t like to be left out and watched as he emerged through the cat flap, which was actually a doggy door. He got stuck in the cat flap so it had had to be replaced with a bigger door.

‘What are you doing?’ Pickles asked. He might not be tiny anymore but he was only a year old, so still a baby. He’d also spent most of the first year of his life trying to be a cat. It’s a hard lesson every non-cat has to learn, that not just anyone can be a cat. It takes a lot of skill.

‘Just getting a bit of fresh air and a bit of quiet,’ I said.

‘It is so noisy in there, isn’t it?’ he said.

‘I love it when we’re all together but we are a lot aren’t we?’ George stated. There was no arguing with that. We were a lot.

Lunch was in full swing. We didn’t have a dining table big enough for everyone, so the children sat at one table and the grown-ups at another. I, obviously, was with the grown-ups, but I hovered by the chairs – it was frowned upon for cats to be on the table, although sometimes that didn’t stop me. George and Hana were with the children and Pickles was under the table, trying to catch any food that had been discarded. He really liked his food. Snowball was curled up in my bed, taking a rest. I noticed that Connie and Aleksy were sat with the adults, but Tommy, Aleksy’s younger brother, was at the children’s table and he didn’t look happy as he pushed his food around his plate. I made a note of that. If people were unhappy, it was my job to sort them out.

I padded over to him and tried to get his attention, but he ignored me. I was put out – I’m not used to being ignored – but then, Tommy really did look thunderous. I made my way back to the safety of the adults.

‘We have this school project; it’s about homelessness,’ Aleksy said.

‘God, that’s heavy, in my day we just did Geometry,’ Jonathan said with a laugh.

‘Showing your age, Jon,’ Matt teased.

‘In my day we wrote with quills not pens,’ Harold added, then laughed loudly. I had no idea what he meant but as Harold was quite fond of being grumpy, it was nice he was laughing.

‘So, what is the project?’ Marcus asked.

‘We’re learning about awareness campaigns. We have to design a campaign to highlight the problems facing homeless people today and make people aware that it’s a problem,’ Connie explained.

‘Goodness, that sounds very serious,’ Claire said.

‘We wanted to go to the local shelter and meet people who are actually homeless to find out what it’s like,’ Aleksy said. ‘So that when we do our project we will have direct experience to draw on.’

‘And then we thought we might come up with ways to raise money for them,’ Connie added with a blush.

‘You are very good and kind, Aleksy and Connie,’ Franceska said. ‘I’m proud of you both.’

‘I’ll come with you,’ Tomasz said. ‘We give food from the restaurant to the local place so I know them; I can take you both.’

‘Oh that would be great!’ Connie’s eyes lit up.

‘But it will be hard,’ Sylvie said. She was very overprotective and I knew she would be worried about Connie.

‘Yes, but these two will be fine,’ Polly cut in. ‘They are tough and have big hearts. I think it’s wonderful that you’re learning about these things at school.’

‘In my day—’ Jonathan started, but then laughed.

‘So, we’ll visit the shelter and then think of a way to raise money and awareness,’ Aleksy said. I nuzzled him. I was very proud of him too.

After lunch, the children all went to play again and Connie and Aleksy snuck away, which just left Tommy.

‘Can we go home now?’ Tommy – who had barely said two words to anyone – asked.

‘No, if you don’t want to go and set up games for the little ones, then you can just sit there on your own,’ Franceska snapped. It wasn’t like her. But then, Tommy wasn’t normally so unpleasant either.

‘Go into the living room and put the TV on,’ Jonathan suggested.

Tommy scowled but he went. I glanced at Snowball; we knew all about teenagers. They could be problematic but Tommy was also fun, and he loved setting up assault courses and competitions for the others. I knew he felt left out when Aleksy and Connie started going out together but he normally invited one of his friends to come to our family events. I wondered why he hadn’t today.

‘He’s been nothing but trouble, lately,’ Tomasz said quietly once Tommy was out of earshot.

‘He’s grounded and I said he couldn’t have a friend here today, because of his behaviour,’ Franceska added. Ah, that explained it.

‘What’s he done, Frankie?’ Claire asked.

‘Being rude, answering back, not doing his homework. He even took money from my purse the other day. It’s like my lovely little boy’s been taken and replaced by someone else.’ She sounded upset so I went to nuzzle her.

‘Oh God, teenagers; I am not looking forward to that,’ Matt said, shaking his head. ‘But it’s not like Tommy,’ he added.

‘Do you want me to have a word with Connie? Ask her if she and Aleksy could be more inclusive?’ Sylvie suggested.

‘No, thank you. He and Aleksy are at odds all the time – they can barely stand to be in the same room at the moment. Aleksy said that Tommy is acting like a jerk, Tommy says Aleksy is a goody-goody. Honestly, we are hoping it’s just a phase, because otherwise …’

‘I could give him a good whack with my walking stick. That’ll soon sort him out,’ Harold offered. I wasn’t sure if he was joking; he didn’t look as if he was.

‘Dad, we don’t do that anymore,’ Marcus replied.

‘National service, that’s the answer. He should go into the army.’

‘Um, he’s only fourteen,’ Claire pointed out.

‘Make a man of him it would,’ Harold began one of his favourite tirades, and there would be no stopping him now.

If they really needed to punish Tommy they should make him listen to one of Harold’s lectures.

Chapter Two

It was another one of my favourite days of the week – Sunday – and George and I were patrolling Edgar Road. It was freezing, and winter was definitely knocking on the door, but that didn’t stop us from popping into homes where the Sunday Lunch Club was in full swing. To explain, the idea of the club was that people opened their homes to someone who would otherwise be on their own, and gave them a lovely Sunday lunch. Simple but brilliant.

And, it was a doorstep cat’s dream.

Harold wasn’t being grumpy for once and came up with the idea to help ease loneliness by setting up The Sunday Lunch Club. George thinks it was his idea initially, which it probably was. George and I are known for our brilliant ideas – he gets it from me. A chip off the old paws. The club helps lonely people feel less lonely and it also means a lot to those who host the lunches, so it helps the community as a whole. A wonderful idea and one which has now grown beyond Edgar Road. I am very proud of George and Harold. They did have my help, of course, but I’m not one to boast … Although they could not have done it without me.

Anyway, I digress. Today we popped in to see all our neighbours who were hosting lunch on our street – and not just to get treats, although both George and I had very happy tummies by the end of it. But most importantly, it warmed our hearts to see people who would otherwise be on their own enjoying food and company. The host families got to meet new people and widen their social group as well. It was a winning situation for all. Harold was at Marcus and Sylvie’s house with a couple of other people. Snowball was there and I had popped in to see her briefly. I would love to see more of her, but we are always surrounded by people these days – it’s hard to get time alone. We’re lucky that we’re older and not in that teenage kind of love that George and Hana have where they want to spend every moment together.

‘It was such a brilliant idea that me and Harold had, wasn’t it?’ George said. He said this every time.

‘Yes, son, such a wonderful idea and getting to see how happy people are is such a huge credit to you.’ I was proud of him, despite the fact that he liked to inflate his little ego at times. But who could blame him? He deserved it. And I had often been accused of the same thing, although I’m pretty sure my ego is fully in check … most of the time.

‘And Harold and I really are genius, aren’t we?’

‘You are.’

‘And I might be the cleverest cat who ever lived.’

Hang on, that was my title. ‘Well, maybe the second cleverest cat,’ I purred with a smile. We both grinned. ‘Right, son we better head home.’

The days were becoming darker as well as colder. I could feel the chill in my fur, announcing we would soon be facing the coldest part of the year. We had to brace ourselves for it. I loved to go out, and was reluctant to become a fair weather cat like some of the others, but I still preferred the warm.

We went through the cat flap of our house. Today, we had hosted our lunch with Doris, a lady who always knitted, even while eating, and Clive, a very smart ex-teacher who liked to debate politics and scared Jonathan by asking him questions he had no clue how to answer. They were both lonely, and having that in common was enough, but they still bickered with each other. Jonathan said they should just get married, as they were like an old married couple, but Claire told him that wasn’t funny. Claire and Jonathan were still young but had been married for ages now, and they did bicker quite a bit, but they also laughed a lot too. We didn’t see Clive and Doris laughing, so I was pretty sure even my matchmaking skills would be pushed to the limit trying to get them together. Didn’t mean I wouldn’t try though! I put that thought on my ‘save for later’ list.

I had got many couples together in my time, Claire and Jonathan being my biggest and first success. But there was always so much to do keeping my cats and my families under control, I had little time for much else these days. I certainly had my paws full.

‘Look,’ Summer said when we went into the living room, where all the family, along with Doris and Clive, were sat drinking tea. ‘Doris knitted a cat bonnet.’

‘Meow?’ What on earth is a cat bonnet?

Doris proudly held out a knitted red hat, which she then proceeded to put on George’s head. He tried to squirm away but he was too slow. He looked furious – us cats do not like being dressed up, thank you very much; we have lovely fur and that’s enough for us. As he tried to pull it off with his paw, the others admired him.

‘Oh Doris, it’s so cute,’ Claire said, beaming.

‘Perfect fit,’ Clive said.

‘It’s adorable. Doris, will you teach me to do knitting?’ Summer asked.

‘Of course I will, my dear.’ Doris’s cheeks flushed with pleasure.

My eyes widened. I couldn’t believe it. It was terrible. It made his head look like a tomato. Thank goodness I didn’t have one.

‘Don’t worry, Alfie, I’ll have one for you next time I’m here, but your head is a bit bigger, so I need to get more wool. And thinking about it, green might be your colour.’

I had no words as I slunk off to see if there were any more leftovers.

That night, when George and I took our last steps outside before bed – without his cat hat, I may add – we looked at the dark sky and saw the brightest star blinking at us.

‘There’s Tiger mum,’ George said, lifting his paw.

‘Yes.’ I gulped. Despite the fact that it had been quite a while since we’d lost Tiger – George’s adopted mum and my last partner – it still floored me whenever I thought of her not being here anymore. We have both moved on in many ways, the way life forces you to, but although I am happy and with Snowball now, I will always have a place in my heart reserved for Tiger. She was my best cat friend on Edgar Road before we fell in love.

I’ve loved and lost a lot in my life, both humans and cats, and you never stop missing them, a lesson I have learnt the hard way. But on the flip side, a heart is a wonderful thing. It’s big and has the capacity to love many people and many cats. I even managed to love Pickles, who is a dog, and I never thought I’d hear myself saying that. Despite the fact I’m now reunited with Snowball – who was my first love, before Tiger – I miss Tiger. And that’s fine, because as I said, the heart is a miracle and it’s big enough for all it needs to be big enough for. It allows you to miss those you’ve lost and still love those who are with you.

‘She’d be so proud of you, son,’ I said, because it was true. She would.

‘I know, Dad,’ George replied.

I think he gets his modesty from me.

‘Right, lad, let’s go to bed.’ I started to make my way inside, giving the star one last glance. It seemed to blink at me. I blinked back.

We probably had a big week ahead of us, we had a lot of people and cats to check on so there was always a list of things to do. Especially as I worried about Tommy; I had to be on alert.

‘Before we go to bed, Dad, what am I going to do with that awful bonnet that Doris gave me?’

‘Well the polite thing would be to wear it when she is here, at least for a bit.’

‘But it’s scratchy. I was thinking I could bury it in the garden, blame it on Pickles.’

‘George, that’s not nice.’

‘But the hat isn’t nice.’

‘I know, but we do these things to make people happy and if you have to wear it for a short time, every now and then to make Doris smile, is that so terrible?’

He glared at me and then he raised his whiskers.

‘I guess not, especially as you’ll have one as well next time.’ I could hear him laughing as I followed him into the house.

Chapter Three

Humans will never cease to amaze me. In the morning, our house springs to life in a very dramatic way. There’s shouting, jostling, arguments, and occasionally tears. Jonathan gets ready for work – normally with maximum fuss as he seems unable to find anything. Claire rouses the children from their beds (the tears are usually theirs), then she feeds us cats and prepares breakfast for everyone before going to get dressed. Toby rushes downstairs as if there’s a fire, and Summer sulks as she hates mornings these days. Claire fires questions at everyone: ‘Have you got much on at work today? Have you done your homework? Do you need your PE kit? Why won’t you eat your toast …’ You get the idea. George and I eat our breakfast and then attempt to escape before the madness of trying to get everyone out of the house begins. Trust me, it’s chaos. Jonathan leaves first, rushing out, often moaning about where his keys are even though they are always in the same place. Summer takes forever getting her shoes on, Claire gets exasperated as she repeats the same thing over and over, and Toby gets cross about being late, because he hates being late. The thing is, this happened every single weekday morning. Every single one. You would think they would learn, but no. Humans! Who’d have them?

If only they could be more like us. George and I get up, have a good stretch and a quick wash before we have our breakfast, then we have a more thorough clean up and we’re ready for the day. Totally fuss free.

I know that our house isn’t unique. Polly and Matt, with Henry and Martha, have the same situation. George says that our next door neighbours, including Hana, are far more organised than our family, and definitely not as shouty. But Sylvie has just had baby Theo, so she doesn’t go to work, and her partner Marcus is actually very calm. As for Connie, she’s more sensible than any of the grown-ups put together, so she manages to get herself to school. The main noise is caused by Theo, who basically ensures none of them get enough sleep – I can vouch for that as I remember when Summer was a baby. We were all sleep deprived and grumpy in the mornings as a result. But like Summer, Theo will grow out of it and start sleeping at some point. When George was a tiny kitten it took him a while to learn to sleep at night as well, actually, thinking about it.

Back to ours. George and I gave them a wide berth until they were all safely out of the house. After snatching a few moments’ peace and quiet after they were gone, our day could begin.

‘I’m going to Hana’s,’ George said. Since the baby, Hana had been happier to go for walks than normal. Hana was from Japan, and she was a house cat when she moved with Sylvie and Connie next door to us on Edgar Road. After trying for ages, we managed to get her to go outside but she only liked it when it was warm. However, since Theo’s arrival, she seemed to prefer the cold to staying at home all day long. I didn’t go with George and Hana on their morning walks because it was the cat equivalent of a date for them and who wanted their parents to go on a date with them? No one, that’s who.

Despite the fact it was a cold and breezy day, I decided to go and visit Tomasz, Franceska, Aleksy and Tommy. They lived in Edgar Road when I first moved there, but for a few years now, they’d lived next door to one of the restaurants they’d opened. They had come over from Poland, worked hard, and now had a number of popular restaurants, which provided great food. And I should know, as I am sometimes one of their chief tasters.

I assumed that Aleksy and Tommy would be at school, and Tomasz and Franceska would probably be working in the restaurant, so I hoped I might get a snack, and could see my cat friend Dustbin who worked for them. He was a bit of a feral cat, with a big heart and we had been friends for years. He kept the rodent population by the restaurant under control – not a job I would like by the way, but he loved his work. He was totally dedicated. I was still a bit worried about Tommy. He wasn’t himself on family day – understatement – and Franceska and Tomasz were obviously upset, so I wanted to see if I could gather as much information as possible about the situation, before I came up with a plan to sort it out.

I felt the wind in my fur as I ran through the back alley to the yard. Dustbin was there, licking his paws – probably after another successful rodent control – with his friend Ally, whom he was loath to call his girlfriend, although she was.

‘Hey Alfie,’ he said as he spotted me. His whiskers were raised and he sounded pleased to see me.

‘Dustbin, Ally,’ I said in greeting.

‘What brings you here in the cold?’ Ally said. She always teased me, calling me a spoilt cat with my warm homes and numerous humans to pamper me. Who was I to argue? I loved my life. But I wasn’t that fair weather, as I’ve already said. I even went out in snow. I felt my fur shiver at the thought of snow, but it might not be too far away now. Snow made me think of Christmas, and Snowball, who was as white as snow – hence her name.

‘I thought I’d brave it in order to see my two good friends,’ I replied, with a grin. I liked Ally, but she had taken a bit of winning over. She wasn’t used to being friends with ‘pampered’ cats.

‘Good to see you, Alfie. Here to catch up on the news?’ Dustbin asked. He kept me abreast of the goings on with my third family, as he saw them far more often than I did.

‘Is there news about Tommy?’ I raised my whiskers.

‘Well, yes, I’m afraid there is,’ Dustbin said, sounding serious.

‘Oh no.’ I felt my heart sink. Whereas Aleksy – who happened to be my first ever human child friend – was sensitive, serious, and a hard worker, his younger brother Tommy was the opposite. He was a good kid but he did get into trouble. Once, when George was a kitten, he sneaked him to church with the family, another time he snuck him into the younger children’s Nativity play and put him in the manger, replacing the doll that was supposed to be the baby Jesus. That even made the local newspaper. But you get the idea. He was mischievous rather than bad, I liked to think. Although, if family lunch had been anything to go by, he was now transitioning to bad.

‘He’s still not doing his homework, he’s had so many detentions, he’s getting bad grades, and being rude to his teachers. He stays up late – we see his light on, playing games and he even fell asleep in class the other day. The school have called in his parents this week to have a serious talk about him, I’m sorry to say,’ Dustbin explained.

‘Oh dear.’ I knew that this would be very stressful for Tomasz and Franceska. And, although I adore Tommy, he can be his own worst enemy. His parents work so hard and are such good people, I wasn’t happy at the idea of him worrying them so much. I didn’t want him in trouble either, it never ended well. I realised that I would need to get involved.

‘Franceska said he’s still grounded and he’s mad because you know how he likes to go hang out with his friends. Aleksy is trying to keep the peace but he can’t really say anything to his brother right now, and Tomasz even said that Tommy was going off the rails and needed taking in hand.’

‘What are they going to do?’ I asked. I had taught Dustbin well. When we first met he was more interested in rodents than people. Look how far he’d come.

‘They don’t know. Tomasz has said Tommy has to start working in the restaurant, washing dishes to keep him out of trouble, and Tommy said that is unfair, but I have a feeling it might get worse before it gets better, Alfie.’

‘Poor Aleksy is trying,’ Ally added. She had also become an asset. ‘But he doesn’t know how to get through to Tommy either. You hear the two of them arguing quite a lot. Tomasz was supposed to take him and Connie to the homeless shelter yesterday after school, but because they got called in to see Tommy’s teacher, Tomasz was late. They went in the end, but Aleksy accused Tommy of ruining things for everyone. Tommy said Aleksy was a “goody-goody” and Aleksy said Tommy will end up in jail if he carries on this way.’ My eyes widened. Surely it couldn’t be that bad?

‘I’ll have to think of something.’ I knew it would come down to me to try to find a way to fix this – most things did. I didn’t mind, it was my job. Dustbin kept the rodents under control, I kept the humans under control. I have to admit I think his job is easier though, even though I’m not keen on rodents.

‘I know you’ll come up with something,’ Dustbin said. ‘I hate to see Franceska so worried, Tomasz helpless … They think that if he doesn’t shape up he’s going to be in real trouble.’

‘Hmm. I get it. He’s always been a bit wild and he’s never liked school work the way Aleksy did … I’ll think about it, talk it over with Snowball maybe, see what we can come up with.’

‘Speaking of Snowball, how is she?’

‘Yes, she’s good. Harold has had a bad cold so she’s stayed in quite a lot to keep him company; she’s got such a good heart. I know sometimes she still misses her old family too but she and Harold are pretty close. And of course George is there a lot – and me – so she’s never really allowed to be down for long.’ Snowball used to live next door to us many years ago. Her family had moved away, which was sad for me, but just last year they had to go overseas and couldn’t take her with them, so she moved in with Harold. It was a wonderful surprise.

‘Life can throw a lot of changes at us, can’t it?’ Dustbin asked. He wasn’t wrong.

‘Goodness, if we went through all of them we’d be here all week. Right, shall we go and scratch at the door and see if they have any treats for us?’ I suggested. I had to think of a way to sort Tommy out, but before I even thought about coming up with an idea, I knew that it would be easier to do so once I had a full tummy.

I always managed to think better after food.

After a little bit more time spent with Dustbin and Ally and some delicious plump sardines, I headed back to Edgar Road. As I entered through the cat flap I could tell the house was empty, and I wondered if George was still next door. After taking a quick rest, I went to see Snowball, who lived near the end of the road. Edgar Road is quite a big street, with different types of houses on it, and that means we have a lovely mix of people and cats. As I walked past Tiger’s old house – would I ever stop thinking of it like that, I wondered – I saw Oliver, the Barkers’ new cat in the window, though he was not so new now. I felt a pang and, as if sensing this, he raised a paw at me. I greeted him and walked on. I was happy the Barkers had got a cat after Tiger, but I also found it hard – the dichotomy of life. I knew they gave Oliver a good home and he was a splendid cat. And, of course, every cat deserved a loving home, but it was still hard to have a reminder of Tiger being gone every time I passed.

I walked on, past the recreation ground where us cats met up, but no one was there. But then, the weather had turned quite horrible so my sensible cat friends were probably warm and cosy at home. I would see them soon though, I knew. We Edgar Road cats were quite the gang. I made it to Harold’s house, went round the back, and let myself in through the cat flap.

Harold wasn’t a fan when he first met us, but George saved his life and now he liked cats more than people. Especially now he had Snowball. It hadn’t been easy for us at first, me and Snowball. Not only were we trying to see where our feelings were – she was my first love, after all – but also I had been with Tiger in between and, on top of that, George took against her because he felt she was trying to replace his mum. It took us a while for us all to figure out our relationship but we did, eventually, and we were all happy together now.

This was illustrated by my finding George and Snowball together in the living room at Harold’s house. Harold sat in his favourite chair, watching some kind of war programme on the TV. Snowball was sat on one arm of the chair, George on Harold’s lap. They all looked so comfortable, I felt a pang. I stood and watched them for a moment, the two cats I loved so much together, and then Harold spotted me.

‘Ah Alfie, now I have a full house!’ He laughed. I jumped onto the other arm of his chair and lay down. None of us moved for a moment. We were there together and that was enough for now. More than enough, in fact, as we all purred with contentment.

Chapter Four

By the time George and I returned home, the house was full again. I hadn’t had the chance to tell Snowball about Tommy yet; George was present, and I didn’t want to worry him until I had a chance to think it through a bit more – that was parenting for you. You tried to protect your children, although I had learnt you can’t protect them from everything.

We went through the cat flap and into the hallway where Pickles, Polly and Matt’s pug, waddled up and licked us both.

‘Oh, hey Pickles,’ George said, as he used his paw to wipe where Pickles had licked. I followed suit. Pickles licked everything and you could never be sure quite where that tongue had been.

‘How are you?’ I asked. My role with Pickles was like an uncle; he didn’t have dog parents, so I took the responsibility of being the non-human figure of authority very seriously. I’d known him since he was tiny, and often been in charge of looking after him, and I really was very fond of him. As was George, even though he didn’t always like to admit it. George saw him as an annoying younger sibling, I think. Pickles got me in a lot of trouble, but then most people and cats in my life did, so I was certainly used to it.

‘I’m so good,’ Pickles said, snuffling around to see if there was any stray food. I liked my food but I had nothing on Pickles. Polly was always putting him on a diet so he had to come up with more and more ways to sneak food. When it came to eating, there was no stopping him. ‘George, the kids are playing upstairs, will you come with me?’ Pickles asked, waggling his bottom with excitement. We could hear Toby, Summer, Henry, and Martha, laughing and shrieking.

‘OK.’ George tried to sound reluctant. He was so grown up now that he said the games they played with the younger kids were beneath him! However, I knew he secretly still loved it. I watched them both rush off then went into the living room where, to my delight, Polly, Franceska, Claire, and Sylvie were. Claire was clutching baby Theo, who seemed to be asleep.

‘I can’t believe he’s sleeping,’ Sylvie said, as if reading my mind. ‘He’s been terrible lately; I think it’s a growth spurt. Feeding all the time, not sleeping, it’s exhausting. If I knew that having a baby at my age would be so tough …’

‘You wouldn’t be without him though, would you?’ Polly asked.

‘No, of course not – I adore him. But Connie’s so much older, so I really had forgotten what it was like to have a newborn. Thankfully Marcus is great and supportive, but I’m conscious that he has to work.’

‘It’s a tough time, the first year,’ Claire said. ‘But also amazing. I sometimes look at Toby, who feels as if he’s been with us forever, and I feel guilty that I wasn’t the one to comfort him when he was this age.’ Claire sounded emotional. Toby was adopted by us when he was five. We don’t talk about his life before and neither does he anymore. Now he’s been with us, such a huge part of our family for years, it’s as if he was always here. I kind of know what Claire means though.

‘Theo’s only three months old, remember,’ Franceska said. ‘Soon enough he will find his routine; babies do it in their own time. Goodness, not that I remember, my two are so growing fast.’ I glanced at Franceska and jumped onto her lap. She got her words a little bit mixed up when she was worried. Perhaps I would hear more about the Tommy situation now. Franceska sighed.

‘Things still bad with Tommy?’ Polly asked.

‘Ah, yes. He’s always been such a naughty boy but mostly harmless. You know, so physical, unlike Aleksy, but sports seemed to keep him under control. But now he’s really playing up at school and we don’t know why. He doesn’t do his homework, he’s been in detention so many times and his head of year even called me and Tomasz in. He said he is not doing well in lessons and he’s becoming known as a trouble maker by the teachers. He has broken so many rules, I don’t think there’s many he hasn’t broken. Thankfully he hasn’t been fighting, but that seems to be the only thing he hasn’t done.’

‘Oh Frankie,’ Claire said. ‘Tommy’s a bright boy but he’s always been a little bit of a live wire. Do you think this might just be a phase?’

‘I hope so, but as Tomasz said, if he starts being in trouble all the time, how do we stop it? It’s hard, you know? Tommy’s always been a leader and he is being seen as the bad influence on his friends now; Aleksy told me this. He didn’t want to say too much because it would betray his brother. He also said he would try to talk to Tommy but I don’t think it’s done any good. They just argue about it all. Tommy says Aleksy is a “suck up” and Aleksy gets quite upset by him.’

‘You’ve already grounded him?’ Sylvie said.

‘Yes, and we took his phone and his iPad, and now he just says he hates us! I just don’t want my lovely boy to go off the rails.’

‘I’m sure he won’t – he’s got a good heart at the end of the day – but you know, maybe he still feels a little bit out of place … with us. He’s older than our lot, and Aleksy has Connie …’ Polly pointed out. This was true. Poor Tommy was a little bit on his own. We noticed this and I somehow managed to draw attention to it. He sometimes had a friend come with him, when we had family day, but not now, not when he was in trouble. He wasn’t allowed.

‘That is why we told him to invite a friend, but now he is grounded we said he had to improve his behaviour before his friends can visit again,’ Franceska said. ‘We really don’t know what to do for the best.’

‘Keep an eye on the situation, that’s all you can do. And if you need any help, we’re all here,’ Claire said.

‘Meow.’ I seconded that.

‘I know. I’m hoping that the next family day we have, maybe Jonathan can have a word. For some reason he seems to take to Jonathan.’ Yeah, I didn’t know why either.

‘I think it’s because they’re similar.’ Claire laughed. ‘But I have an idea. Tommy said he wants to work in the city, which he can only do if he does well at school. Maybe Jonathan could say that if he improves his grades he can do some work experience for him.’

‘That’s a genius idea, Claire,’ Franceska said. ‘I would be so grateful.’

You see, I had taught my humans well. Claire had almost as many good ideas as I did. Although, knowing Jonathan as I did, I wasn’t sure he’d be thrilled. He often found himself having to do things that he had no say in. But, I also knew that even if he objected there would be no point. When Claire made up her mind there was absolutely no changing it.

Tommy being in trouble was something I would have to ponder. He was a good boy. He was fun as well, always laughing and joking, and yes he didn’t love school the way Aleksy did and he didn’t find lessons easy either, but he had great potential. And I would not let Tommy ruin his life – not that he was going to, but if Franceska and his school were right, he was in danger of going down the wrong path and it would take a cat like me to get him back on the right one. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to do it alone, but I had my family, my cat friends, and I was determined. All I needed now was a plan, and I was very, very experienced when it came to making plans.

Theo woke up with a quite startling cry soon after, and Sylvie took him home in order to make Connie’s tea. Franceska reluctantly left us to go and deal with her family. I could see in the way her shoulders were slumped that she was seriously worried about her younger son. I nuzzled into her, giving her a bit of extra fuss so she knew that I was here for her.

‘Shall I do tea for the kids here?’ Claire offered.

‘Oh that would be fantastic. I’ll pour us a glass of wine shall I?’ Polly replied. The kids all got on pretty well most of the time. There was the odd squabble, but that was only to be expected. They all had tea together a few times a week, especially as Claire looked after Henry and Martha when Polly had to work late, and Matt couldn’t get home either. I loved how lively the house was, but it was also quite exhausting.

As George and Pickles and the children descended on the kitchen I watched my family with a mixture of love, pride and worry. We never stopped worrying about those we loved, that was for sure. As the children ate their tea with all the usual chatter and laughter, George and I sat in our basket in the kitchen, enjoying our family. Pickles lurked under the kitchen table, trying to pick up any scraps that were dropped, and Polly and Claire sipped glasses of wine. I wished I could press pause on our lives. Keep this snapshot for a bit longer, because it was truly lovely. And because sometimes life moved far too quickly.

George and the children were growing up fast, the adults trying to keep everything balanced – and I include myself in that by the way – and even Pickles wasn’t technically a baby anymore. At least we had baby Theo to keep us young, I guessed, but then we’d blink and he’d be a teenager. Oh listen to me, getting all maudlin. It was only because I was worried about Tommy, and once I started fretting I generally started worrying about everyone I loved.

That was the sort of cat I was.

I went out the front to take a bit of thinking time in the fresh, albeit damp and cold, air. I saw Aleksy and Connie standing at Connie’s front gate. I went to greet them.

‘Ah Alfie, I was just going home. I don’t want to give my parents any more grief,’ Aleksy said, petting me.

‘No, your brother’s doing quite enough,’ Connie added.

‘Meow.’ I’ve heard, I said.

‘At least we did get to the homeless shelter. Oh Alfie, it was so sad, so many people without homes,’ Aleksy said, still stroking my fur. I nuzzled. I had been homeless once, which seems like another life now, but, I understood.

‘Yes, we want to raise money for it. Not because of the school project but because Christmas is coming up and it’s tough enough being homeless at any time but imagine at Christmas,’ Connie added, sounding passionate.

‘Mew, mew, mew.’ I thought that sounded like a very good idea. Not that I had experience of raising money.

‘I knew you’d agree. Now we just have to think of an idea, because we don’t have one yet. But I better go. As I said, I don’t want Mum to worry about anything else.’ Aleksy bid me and Connie goodbye. He was a good kid, as was Connie. And they wanted an idea.

Well, they had come to the right cat.

Chapter Five

It was another family day, an unscheduled one actually. Sylvie wanted to host a lunch, which she hadn’t done since Theo was born, to sort of officially welcome Theo into our extended family. As far as I was concerned we already had, but if it kept Sylvie happy … Hana told George that Sylvie felt as if she had received so much support from us all since Theo was born, she wanted to thank everyone, so a Japanese feast it was. And I wasn’t too upset about that because the Japanese were huge fans of fish, just like me.

Sylvie’s house, which used to be very minimalistic, was full of baby stuff now. By the way, for something so small, babies seemed to need a lot of stuff. Not like kittens, kittens were easy by comparison. We cats are so self-sufficient, it’s a shame that humans can’t learn from us; believe me, I have tried to teach them. Dogs can’t learn that much either by the way. Trust me, we tried with Pickles.

I was hoping I might get a bit more information about the Tommy situation. Having reviewed all I knew so far, I had a number of conclusions. Tommy was a teenager and he was misbehaving at school and home. I loved Tommy as I loved all my children, and therefore I could not allow that to happen. However, at this point in time I had no idea what to do. The problem was I could feel trouble brewing. I could feel it in my fur.

Hana, George and I stand poised by the front door of Hana’s house to greet the families. George and I snuck over early, entering through the cat flap, because we were so excited. Hana’s house used to be a quiet and immaculate place but hurricane Theo had changed things somewhat. Now, there was baby paraphernalia all over the place, and it was also pretty noisy. Theo was a beautiful baby but he had a strong set of lungs on him.

On the upside, it was also a happier home now. They had had challenges when they first moved in. Sylvie and Connie arrived from Japan after an upsetting time – divorce. Connie struggled to settle in England, and worried about her mum, but then Sylvie met Marcus, and now they’re a family, which baby Theo helped to complete.

Hana took a bit of time to get used to life in Edgar Road too. In Japan her life was very ordered but in Edgar Road, well, let’s just say order isn’t something that we do very well.

Claire, Jonathan, Toby and Summer arrived first as they only had to come from next door. Claire made a beeline for baby Theo, practically grabbing him out of Sylvie’s arms, and Summer, who was fascinated by babies, and played with dolls a lot, attached herself to her mum’s side, begging for a hold. Sylvie, who is usually quite uptight, sat Summer on the sofa and said she could give Theo his bottle. Polly, Matt, Henry and Martha arrived next with Pickles, who was allowed to join us as long as he behaved himself. He never behaved himself, though, as he set about licking everyone. Martha immediately wanted a turn with Theo; this baby was in demand. Just as a row threatened to break out, Sylvie said there would be enough time for everyone to hold Theo. Poor thing, he was going to spend the day getting passed around like a parcel. It reminded me of when George was a tiny kitten. Everyone wanted him then, too. They lose interest when you get bigger. It’s a fact of life; I can tell you that from personal experience. Not a terrible one, I might add. There are benefits to not being manhandled all the time. Theo could look forward to learning that when he got a bit bigger.

‘Where’s my grandson?’ Harold boomed as he arrived with Marcus, carrying Snowball. I raised my whiskers at her, I was pleased to see her but we would wait to greet each other properly when she was on the floor. Harold treated Snowball as if she was his baby sometimes, even though she was a fully grown cat, like me.

Years ago now, Snowball and I had a rocky start to our relationship – for some reason she was immune to my charms – but I won her round eventually. And yes, I do have a few charms, I’ll have you know.

Harold put Snowball on the floor, and we rubbed noses.

‘Here, Dad, sit down and I’ll pass Theo to you,’ Marcus said. See, just like a parcel.

The doorbell went again and Franceska, Tomasz, Aleksy and Tommy were on the doorstep.

‘Sorry we’re late,’ Franceska sounded stressed.

‘It was this one’s fault.’ Tomasz gave Tommy a gentle push into the house.

‘I wanted to hang out with my friends, not be here,’ Tommy said, sounding surly.

‘Yowl!’ I chastised him. He rolled his eyes at me. Where was my fun Tommy? He went into the living room, sat in the corner and folded his arms. Goodness, he looked sulky, even worse than Summer did when she didn’t get her own way, and that was saying something.

‘I am so sorry,’ Franceska said to the other adults as they made their way into the kitchen. ‘But he’s impossible. He wanted his phone back but we had to stand our ground, so he won’t be good company today.’

Even the kids knew to give Tommy a wide berth as they looked at him suspiciously. Aleksy and Connie shrugged, but didn’t even try to speak to him. Only Pickles seemed oblivious as he went up and licked him. Tommy didn’t even acknowledge the poor dog, as he sat with a scowl on his face. Eventually Pickles got the hint and slunk away.

I noticed Franceska nudge Aleksy.

‘Tommy, why don’t you come with us, Connie’s got a new Xbox game.’ Aleksy was trying. He was being kind, just how I’d taught him.

‘Nah.’

Aleksy rolled his eyes at his mum and he and Connie went upstairs.

Apart from Tommy, it was a lovely, busy, cheerful family day. The kids played nicely, baby Theo seemed to enjoy the noise and the chaos, which was lucky as he would have to get used to it. The food was certainly delicious; Snowball, Hana, George and I had a feast. Poor Pickles was rationed though because, as usual, he was on a diet.

‘You know, it’s time to start thinking about Christmas,’ Claire said, as lunch finished and the kids went off to play. My ears pricked up at the word Christmas – it really was a wonderful time of the year.

‘Oh God, Claire, not yet, surely we get a few weeks more of normality before we mention the C-word,’ Jonathan retorted.

‘Bah humbug,’ Claire shot back. ‘And it’s practically November, or it will be next week.’

‘Claire is right, we need to be organised. Last year, there were lots of us, and this year there are even more to invite, because we have our Sunday Lunch Club,’ Franceska pointed out.

‘And, that’s a lot to cater for, so we need to plan it,’ Polly agreed. ‘Not just the food, but transport, presents … Wow, we do have a lot to think about.’

‘We can open up the restaurant for a big lunch,’ Tomasz offered.

‘But we should divide tasks, so that there’s not too much for anyone,’ Matt said, being sensible.

‘And as I’m at home at the moment, I’m happy to pitch in,’ Sylvie said. ‘Theo and I can do some baking or something like that.’

‘Right, so it’s settled,’ Marcus said. ‘We’ll have a big Edgar Road Christmas again, and as it’s Theo’s first Christmas, we’ll make it perfect.’

‘If we’re having it at the restaurant it won’t be on Edgar Road,’ Harold pointed out. Normally Harold didn’t like Christmas, but since meeting us, and having Snowball, he actually seemed to be changing his tune. If only Jonathan would do the same. ‘I can be in charge of the guest list, if you’d like. To make sure that no one we know is on their own on Christmas Day,’ he offered, a little bashfully. Harold wasn’t used to being helpful – even Marcus, his own son, said that, so this was new for him. I believed George could take credit for that change in him. With my help of course.

‘Great, so if we can only sort out that son of mine, we’ll be all good,’ Tomasz said, scratching his head. I felt sorry for him. Tommy and he had always been so close, both being into the same things, and having similar personalities. Aleksy was more like his mum, sensitive and serious.

‘I’ll have a word,’ Jonathan offered. ‘I’m not an expert at teenagers but it’s worth a go.’ I purred and rubbed his legs to show him I approved, although we all know that he was doing it because Claire had told him to.

I sneaked out to find Jonathan and Tommy in the back garden. Jonathan was clutching a bottle of beer, Tommy looked sulky.

‘Listen, mate, I don’t know what’s up with you but trust me, if you keep getting in trouble at school there won’t be a job in finance for you when you leave.’

‘I just don’t like school. They tell us what to do all the time and don’t even give us a chance to have any thoughts of our own,’ Tommy replied, looking at the ground. The most he’d said all day.

‘Mate, that’s life sometimes. If you want things you have to play the game.’

‘But why?’ Tommy asked.

‘You want a job like mine, right?’ Jonathan asked.

‘Yeah, I want to make loads of money and I really like the idea of working with stocks and shares, I even read about it,’ he mumbled.

‘So why the hell are you behaving like a jerk then?’ Jonathan asked. Not one to mince words was Jonathan, but in this instance I agreed with him.

‘I dunno,’ Tommy looked at the ground. ‘I guess I just get fed up with everyone telling me what to do like I’m some dumb kid.’

‘You’re behaving like a dumb kid,’ Jonathan pointed out. ‘Sort out your grades, sort out school and get your parents back onside and maybe, just maybe, I’ll get you some work experience in my office.’

Tommy’s eyes lit up. He looked really pleased and he even almost smiled.

‘Really?’

‘But you need to sort your act out first. Because I’m not going to help you until you start behaving yourself. Deal?’

‘Deal,’ Tommy said.

‘And if there’s more to it than just being a bit fed up with school or being a teenager, then you tell me. Don’t mess up your future, Tommy; honestly, it’s not worth it.’ Jonathan ruffled Tommy’s hair and then went back into the house. He looked relieved as he did so.

I felt, perhaps, that Tommy needed some support, rather than more telling off, so I went up to him, gently pawing him.

‘Ah, Alfie, sorry I didn’t make a fuss of you. I’m just so annoyed all the time. I don’t know why half the time either.’

‘Meow.’ I rubbed his legs. He was still my Tommy, but he was also a teenager and I knew, from experience, how terrible being a teenager could be. Not only for humans, by the way. When George had his teenage phase I despaired as he refused to tell me anything. Thankfully, it passed eventually, and I hoped that with Tommy it would do the same.

‘I just feel so angry and then I feel sad that I’m angry. I don’t like to push everyone away but I don’t know how to stop. Does it make sense?’

‘Meow.’ I let him scratch my head – I do love a head scratch. I understood poor Tommy didn’t mean to be horrible, but that was a teenage thing too. It might even be a medical condition – ‘being a teenager’ – but I didn’t know for sure. I’m a cat not a doctor after all.

‘I promise I’ll try harder,’ Tommy said, but his shoulders were slumped and he sounded sad. I cuddled into him as much as I could. He needed me, and I would be there for him. I tried to convey to him that he wasn’t alone because I could feel his loneliness. It might not have made any sense as he had lovely family and friends surrounding him, but then, life didn’t always make sense and feelings certainly didn’t either.

Chapter Six

Snowball and I were enjoying a bit of alone time in her back garden. It was quite rare, because Harold was a very needy human. He was quite old and had suffered ill health in the past, so it was understandable, and also George would often be around, or one of our other friends. But today Harold was at his senior centre, playing chess or cards, and George was with Hana, so we took advantage of a bit of time and space for ourselves. We appreciated it more because it was so unusual, I guessed.

‘Isn’t life funny?’ Snowball asked as she played with a pile of leaves. Like me, she was quite a philosophical cat. I think becoming a parent to George had made me think about things more deeply, for sure.

‘I know. When you left and moved away I thought I’d never see you again. And yet, here you are and I see you every day.’

‘Exactly. And although I will always miss my family a bit, I have grown very fond of Harold – even his snoring doesn’t bother me anymore – and I adore George. It’s also nice to be back with my other cat friends.’

‘It is. We never stop missing those we love,’ I added. I was speaking from experience here.

‘I know.’ We were both silent. ‘Hey, let’s be more cheerful. Race you to the rec ground,’ she shouted as she bounded off.

I chased after her, and was pleased to see our other friends there as we approached, slightly out of breath from our run. Nellie was playing in a bush, Elvis was licking his paws and Rocky was lying in a very rare sunny spot. We cats of Edgar Road tried to catch up regularly but with winter and the frequent rain, we didn’t always see each other as much as we’d have liked. No one liked having damp fur.

‘Snowball, Alfie,’ they greeted us.

‘What’s going on?’ I asked as I caught my breath.

‘Nothing much, it’s been so cold lately I feel that I’ve barely been out,’ Rocky said.

‘But, I have news. There’s a new woman moved in to one of the flats at the end of the road. I think where your families used to live,’ Elvis said, stretching his legs out.

When I first moved to Edgar Road, Tomasz and Franceska lived in the upstairs flat of one of the houses and Polly and Matt lived in the downstairs. They had separate front doors but it was a house split in two.

‘Does she have a cat?’ Always my first question.

‘No, it’s just her on her own. I thought I might take an interest as she would possibly be a candidate for your lonely club,’ Elvis explained.

‘It’s the Sunday Lunch Club,’ Snowball corrected.

‘Well, anyway, she looks about the right age, although maybe a bit younger than your Harold, I would guess, and she’s definitely on her own.’ Goodness, Elvis had done his homework.

‘Has Salmon’s family met her yet?’ I asked. Salmon was the neighbourhood watch cat, he knew everything that was going on. As did his family. Heather and Vic Goodwin ruled Edgar Road in many ways. They wore matching jumpers and were the busybodies (Jonathan’s word) of the street. Salmon used to be our nemesis but we had all softened towards each other and found a way to be cordial nowadays.

‘Probably,’ Nellie said. ‘But I haven’t seen Salmon for a few days. If I do, I’ll see what I can find out, and you do the same,’ she suggested.

Salmon was useful for knowing all the comings and goings of Edgar Road – nothing seemed to escape his notice. We sometimes had to butter him up a bit to get the real gossip but I wasn’t averse to that.

We all spent some companionable time together, watching the world of Edgar Road go by. Snowball climbed a tree, Nellie chatting to her from the safety of the ground as she did so. Rocky closed his eyes and Elvis and I watched people go about their business. It was a pleasant time, but of course, it was soon time to leave. We had to before our fur froze. We spotted Sylvie pushing Theo in his pram up the road towards her house and I knew that was probably a sign that the humans would be returning from school, or work, or their chores, soon. Snowball and I took some privacy to say goodbye, because she wanted to make sure she was home to greet Harold when he got back, and then we took our leave.

When I first met Snowball I used to hate it when I wasn’t with her but then I was a very young cat in love. Now I’m grown up. I’ve lived through losing her, becoming a parent, falling for Tiger, losing Tiger, finding Snowball again … I’m far more realistic these days, steady and sensible in our relationship, because when I first met her it was all about the two of us – and the humans, of course – but now it’s about so many more people and cats, and we know that is part of our relationship. It’s funny how you change and evolve as you grow up.

I headed home and arrived to see George at the front door. He was waiting for the children to come home from school. They loved it when we greeted them on the doorstep for some reason. Today, Claire arrived with Pickles – Toby holding his lead, and Martha, Henry and Summer trailing him. It was one of Polly’s busy work days and Claire often picked the children up from school. She also dog sat Pickles a lot. In fairness, I had to dog sit quite a lot too. Dogs aren’t like cats; they hate to be on their own, and if left alone for too long Pickles managed to get up to all sorts. Only the other day Claire had to leave him here when she went to the supermarket and because George and I were out, he managed to chew one of Jonathan’s favourite loafers. Claire hid it at the back of the wardrobe, so I’m not sure Jonathan has noticed yet, but the rule now was that either a responsible adult or a responsible cat has to be with Pickles at all times.

‘George, can we play?’ Pickles asked as he was let off the lead once inside the house. The children, having made a fuss of us, had moved on to getting snacks.

‘OK, you hide.’ George loved playing hide and seek with Pickles, because he always won, which I don’t believe is in the spirit of the game, but there was no telling George that. I tried to suggest he let Pickles win sometimes but he refused, saying that Pickles needed to learn. It’s been over a year and he hasn’t got it yet so I’m not sure he ever will, but George is resolute. Hide and seek hasn’t always been a success – in fact, it has been quite treacherous in the past. Pickles once got stuck on the top bunk of Toby’s bed with no idea how to get down and he’s also been trapped in a cereal box, the cat flap, and once he even almost buried himself in the garden. But as long as he’s supervised when playing it’s normally OK.

Pickles went to hide behind the armchair (his favourite place), and George humoured him by looking everywhere else before he finally found him. George, when it was his turn, hid behind the living room curtain. I could barely watch as Pickles ran around the room trying to find him, and failed. George hid there nearly every time they played, but the poor dog just couldn’t get it. I never knew whether to laugh or cry. Instead, I gave up and went in search of adult company.

‘Hi Alfie,’ Claire said, picking me up and giving me a cuddle. ‘I’ve started making lists for Christmas. We both love Christmas don’t we?’ She set me down.

We do both love Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year. It’s a time for family, friends, happiness, and good food. I am partial to a bit of Christmas dinner, I cannot lie. I could feel Claire’s excitement, which was contagious. It wouldn’t be too long before the children were writing letters to Santa, the man who delivered presents, asking for whatever it was they would want this year. George and I were happy enough with the food but we always got a few cat toys and treats as well. But the fact we were all together as a family, the fact that we had each other, always struck me as the most important thing about Christmas. It was a time of year when I would definitely count my lucky stars – and there were a lot.

It was always welcome when we could start planning for Christmas. Normally it was December when the excitement really got going with trees, decorations, advent calendars, and events at school, but I was happy to get a bit of early Christmas spirit. What cat wouldn’t be?

Polly arrived after tea, taking her two reluctant children and an exhausted Pickles with her. I went to find George.

‘I heard that a new woman moved onto Edgar Road,’ I told him now we were alone. I didn’t want to mention it in front of Pickles, because I was going to suggest that George and I go and check her out and as Pickles absolutely couldn’t come with us, it didn’t seem fair to talk about it in front of him. Also, he had been known to follow us out and get us into trouble so possibly a good idea to avoid that.

But, I was suddenly nostalgic for the days when I visited Franceska and Polly’s flats, it seemed so long ago now. ‘Apparently she doesn’t have a cat, so maybe we should go and introduce ourselves?’ I was curious and, being a doorstep cat, I couldn’t help but be excited every time someone new moved onto the street. The first thing I would need to know was if they had a cat, and if they didn’t I would go and charm them. You never knew if they would have need of a cat or not. Most people did though.

‘Dad, it’s been a long day and I’m tired, but if you can wait I promise I’ll come with you in the morning, even before I go to see Hana.’

‘OK, it’s a deal.’ I tried to hide the disappointment I felt. But then George had pretty much always lived in this one house, and although he visited the others with me, he didn’t quite have the doorstep cat gene, so I tried to be understanding. And the morning would be fine because he was right, it had been a long day and we were all tired. But I was still feeling a little bit disappointed. I wasn’t known for my patience.

Later that evening, Claire and I were catching a few minutes’ peace and quiet and I was trying not to be too impatient, waiting for the following day. Jonathan was working late, the children were upstairs, ready but not in bed, and George was with them.

The doorbell went, startling me, and I ran to wait by it, because as far as I knew we weren’t expecting anyone. Claire opened it and Aleksy and Connie stood on the doorstep. I immediately jumped into Aleksy’s arms; it was just what I needed, another cuddle from someone who loved me. He also gave me a very nice head scratch.

‘Come in you two. Did I ask you to babysit?’ Claire asked, sounding confused. Aleksy and Connie were now old enough to babysit for Summer and Toby when Claire and Jonathan went out. They also did the same for Polly, and it was quite the money maker, according to Aleksy.

‘No,’ Aleksy said. ‘We wanted to talk to you about something.’

Claire led them into the kitchen, and I for one was eager to hear what they had to say.

‘So,’ Connie started. ‘We were wondering if we could ask your advice?’

‘Of course, on what?’ Claire’s eyes darted between the two of them.

‘So, you know how we were doing our school project on homelessness and we went to the local shelter? It gave us a real wake-up call about how bad the homeless situation in London is.’

‘It’s terrible, Aleksy, you’re right,’ Claire said.

‘And with Christmas coming up they need even more help,’ Connie said. ‘I mean now, even, as it’s winter. But Christmas makes having a home so much more important and not having one seem even more cruel. We wanted to get warm clothes, blankets, food, anything we could to help, you see.’

‘That’s so great of you. Homelessness is a huge problem in this country, not just in London.’ Claire looked concerned. It was hard enough being homeless as a cat, at least we have some survival skills, but imagine being a homeless human? I shuddered; it was a terrible thought.

‘But we can do something more to help as well, I think,’ Aleksy said. ‘We want to raise money.’

‘Like a big Christmas fundraiser to do something for the local shelter,’ Connie added.

‘That’s a wonderful idea. Where do I come in?’ Claire asked.

‘Meow.’ Where do I come in, I added.

‘Well out of all the adults you have the most time on your hands …’ Aleksy started. Claire narrowed her eyes. Oh boy. Because Claire didn’t technically have a job, a paying job, sometimes she felt undervalued. But she looked after two children, a house, two cats, a husband, Polly and Matt’s children part-time, and Pickles. She also shopped and made lunch for Harold some days, she coordinated most of the Sunday Lunch Club … She was incredibly busy and she worked very hard.

‘What Aleksy meant was that you used to work in marketing so we thought you might have the right expertise to help us.’ Connie managed to rescue things, phew. I noticed that she kicked Aleksy under the table. He turned a little bit red.

‘Yes, but Aleksy I don’t have much spare time, I’m so busy with the Sunday Lunch Club, the family, Pickles even, and we’ve got Christmas to organise … Anyway, of course I’ll help, it’s a great cause. What were you thinking?’

‘That’s the problem, we don’t have a good idea yet,’ Aleksy said. ‘We thought we could do a sponsored thing, maybe a sleep out, but then our parents wouldn’t like that.’

‘My mum would worry,’ Connie said.

‘Yes, she would,’ Claire agreed. Sylvie could be very overprotective.

‘Then we thought we could do something at school, but what?’ Aleksy added.

‘Yes, you see, we want to involve the community, really,’ Connie said. ‘But we don’t have many ideas that seem good enough.’

So, their big idea was that they needed a big idea, it seemed.

‘Meow,’ I said. They had come to the right place. Only I needed a bit of time to think about it. Although I had heard them talking about this the other day, with all that was going on, I’d forgotten, so now I needed to put my thinking cap on. Not literally. Not unless Doris knitted me one, anyway.

‘OK, why don’t you let me think about it for a bit, because I think it’d be great if you could do something,’ Claire offered.

‘The project at school was to raise awareness but we thought what if we do something that raises both awareness and money,’ Connie said.

‘I know, we really want to come up with something amazing,’ Aleksy said. I was so proud of these two, I purred at him to show him that.

‘Let’s brainstorm,’ Claire said, grabbing a pad and pen. She did love making lists.

‘Our first idea was doing something sponsored,’ Connie suggested.

‘But that’s not exactly exciting or different is it?’ Aleksy said. ‘I mean it’s not really very original.’

‘Meow.’ I didn’t exactly know what sponsored something was but it certainly didn’t sound as if it was quite good enough.

‘People do love a charity song,’ Claire said. ‘Remember Band Aid?’

We all shook our heads.

‘No of course not, before your time. But pop stars made this amazing song to raise money for famine in Africa. I’m sure there’ve been others, but that’s the one that springs to mind.’

‘Like the Children in Need songs,’ Aleksy said.

‘Yes, we could do a song.’ Claire nodded.

‘I actually can’t sing, or write music,’ Connie said. ‘I did learn the piano in Japan but I gave it up after coming here.’

‘No, I’m not exactly Beethoven either,’ Claire said.

‘And if we did a song, then how would we make it into a record and get people to buy it?’ Aleksy asked.

‘Yowl.’ I knew they weren’t quite on the right track. But it did get me thinking. Raising money for charity, the homeless, Christmas. There had to be something that would do all they wanted to do.

‘It’s impossible, we’ll never think of something that’s good enough,’ Aleksy said.

‘We will if we think about Christmas, how to raise money, and something we can all get involved in,’ Connie summed it up.

‘Of course we will,’ Claire reassured. ‘Look, let’s mull it over tonight and then get together after school tomorrow to see what we’ve come up with.’

‘Meow.’ That was fine, I had twenty-four hours to come up with the best idea ever.

While George and I paid our pre-bed visit to the garden I filled him in.

‘So, they want to raise money for charity?’ he asked.

‘Yes and it’s Christmas so I think we should have a Christmas theme,’ I explained.

‘And involve the community, like the Sunday Lunch Club has done?’ he said.

‘Yes. Oh what about we have homeless people come to lunch as well as our regulars?’

‘But Dad, you said that they’re raising money for the local shelter, which already feeds people,’ George pointed out. I was glad he’d been paying attention. ‘And they all go there for help already so we need to give them the money we raise.’

‘Oh yes, of course. Um, right, it’s harder than I thought.’

‘I know, Dad, but you’ll come up with something, you always do.’

‘Thanks son.’ I was so touched he had faith in me and I was determined not to let him down. I hoped that I would have a very good night’s sleep and then wake up full of inspiration. I was going to come up with the best ever idea, of that I was determined.

Chapter Seven

I woke early with excitement rippling through my fur, and as I opened my eyes and stretched, I remembered that we had a new friend to meet. I hoped that she had good taste in food, and also, as she was on her own, I hoped she wasn’t too lonely. But if she was she had come to the right road. We specialised in helping lonely people. I had been thinking about Aleksy and Connie and their idea for raising money, but I had to put it aside to make a new friend. I told myself I would go back to it later.

George actually saw it as his job. Last year I caught him visiting Harold when he was ill in hospital, and it turned out that whilst there he had managed to cheer up people who didn’t have any visitors and were feeling very down. He said it was his career. I managed to get him fired, with Pickles’ help – accidentally of course, as I was just worried about him, but that’s another story. The point was that George, who was very much my son, liked to reach out a helping paw to those who needed it and this woman, newly moved into our street and on her own, would probably be one of those people.

I was impatient as I waited for George to get up. He slept in Toby’s room, something he’d established when Toby first came to live with us and didn’t sleep well. Now, although Toby slept better than anyone else in the family, George still always slept in there, curled up at the end of his bed. It was very sweet.

I did my ablutions as I waited, tempted to wake George, but knowing it was too early for us to go anyway. You see, I might be a grown-up but I still got overexcited at times. There was a kitten in all of us, I believed. Finally, George emerged with Toby, who was rubbing his eyes. The house was about to spring to life, and the morning routine would begin.

‘Why can’t I find any socks?’ Jonathan shouted as he emerged from the shower.

‘They are all in your sock drawer,’ Claire replied, far more patiently than he deserved.

‘Mummy, I don’t feel well I think I better stay home from school,’ Summer groaned, as she did most mornings.

‘If you have all your limbs then you’re going to school,’ Claire replied. ‘Now both of you get dressed and then come down for breakfast.’

‘I can’t find my pants,’ Toby said.

‘They’re where they always are, Tobe,’ Claire replied. I honestly don’t know how she managed to keep so calm.

George and I headed downstairs for breakfast.

‘Right, can we go now?’ I asked after we’d eaten. I was bouncing around like a kitten. Not only did I want to avoid the chaos of the morning, which seemed to be ramped up today for some reason, but I was eager to go and check this new person out. I could barely contain myself.

‘She might not be up yet, it’s still early. Look, it’s even dark outside, Dad,’ George said. For once he was trying to contain me, rather than vice versa.

‘But we can stake the flat out, and then at least we’ll be ready for when she does emerge.’ I was pretty much an expert on people and knew that if, for example, the curtains were open or a light was on, she would be up. And even if she didn’t have a job, she would have to go out at some point. I was happy to wait for as long as it took.

‘Fine, but don’t expect me to hang around all day waiting for someone we don’t even know,’ George said. He was grumpy this morning, but I hoped he’d cheer up when we set off.

‘George, everyone is someone we don’t know until we meet them,’ I pointed out, but he just flicked his tail at me and stalked over to the cat flap.

It didn’t help matters that it was a particularly cold day as we made our way along Edgar Road. The cold wind was whipping our fur, and it was damp and dark. I couldn’t exactly use the weather as a good reason for us to be out this early. Even I was having trouble keeping my spirits up. I just hoped this new woman was worth it, otherwise I was pretty sure George would sulk with me for at least the rest of the day, if not the week.

‘If this woman turns out to be anything but wonderful, you know I’ll blame you,’ George said, echoing my thoughts.

The street was deserted, and although I could see lights on in some houses, people hadn’t yet emerged. Maybe I should have been a little more patient, I thought, as we reached the flat in question. I felt a pang of nostalgia as I always did when I saw it, thinking back to when I first met Franceska, and Aleksy, who was just a small child then, younger than Summer is now, and Tommy, who was still a toddler. And then Polly and Matt with Henry, who was a baby, not much older than Theo is now, I don’t think. Goodness, so much had happened between then and now, it struck me how full and wonderful my life had been and still was. In fact with each year it seemed to get fuller and more wonderful. I wasn’t a young cat anymore but there was plenty more lives left in me. Just look at Elvis; he was much older than me and still going strong.

‘What are you thinking about?’ George asked, clearly bored of sulking.

‘Just how much has happened since I first visited this flat, when Franceska and family lived here.’

‘Are you getting all soppy?’ George asked.

‘You know me so well, son. I know I always tell you stories about the past and you say that I go on and on, but it’s such a part of me, of all of us, and that’s probably why I do it so much.’

‘I understand. Now I’m a big cat I do, anyway. I remember when I first came to live with you and how much I loved it, and then when Toby came, and going on holiday and meeting Hana, Harold and the others. There is a lot in our lives to be grateful for …’

‘But?’ I asked, I could sense the sadness behind his words.

‘I still miss Tiger mum and I always will. When Harold was ill last year and I thought I would lose him too, I didn’t know how I would bear it. I was so happy when he got better. I’m so happy we have each other, you know – all of us – but I miss Tiger mum with every beat of my heart.’

‘Oh George, so do I. But we were so lucky to have had her in our lives.’

‘I know, but it doesn’t make missing her any easier, does it?’

‘No, I’m afraid it doesn’t.’ As much as we could say the right things about loss – you know, how it’s better to have loved and lost than never loved at all and that sort of stuff people always say – it doesn’t make it any better for the ones left behind. There are people and cats that I have had to say goodbye to in my life that I will never stop missing. I felt quite emotional as I gave George a nuzzle.

‘On a more cheerful note, we are here,’ George said, as we found a bush in the front garden of the flat to shelter in.

We staked the flat out for quite a while, before George nudged me and we looked at the front door opening. I sat up straight as a woman with short grey hair walked out. The evaluation of her seemed about right. She was fairly old, but not quite as old as Harold, it seemed, and she was wearing a big jumper, and trousers. She was also carrying a bin bag, which explained why she had emerged. George and I looked at each other. It was our cue.

‘Meow,’ I said approaching her.

‘What on earth?’ She spun round, almost bashing me with the bin bag. Lucky I ducked out of the way. I felt bad, I had obviously startled her.

‘Meow,’ George said, joining us, turning on his charm.

She looked at us as if she wasn’t quite sure what we were. George and I exchanged glances as the woman stood still, staring at us. What was going on?

‘Get out of my garden,’ she shouted, eventually, putting the bin bag down on the ground, precariously close to my tail. George took a step back but I stayed where I was. When George first met Harold he kept telling him to go away, but George won him round in the end, so I wasn’t too worried. Instead of moving, I purred at her.

‘You horrible stray cats, what are you doing here, clawing around my bins? I’m going to call animal control and have you taken away.’ She didn’t look or sound very friendly. The opposite, in fact.

‘Yowl!’ I objected. How on earth could she mistake us for strays? Me with my fine grey fur and George with his lovely, bright ginger-ish coat? We were absolutely nothing like stray cats. Not that I have anything against strays, I might add – I was homeless myself for a while, if you remember. However, I certainly didn’t look my best then, and the point was that I was affronted by this woman. How dare she criticise us like that.

‘Meow,’ George said, putting his head to one side, and looking his cutest. Surely she couldn’t resist us now?

She picked the bin bag up and before we knew what was happening, she started swinging it at us.

‘Yowl!’ I said as it caught my tail. I looked at George, telling him, with my eyes, to run. He didn’t need to be told twice.

We both turned to escape. The woman was chasing us, swinging the bag at us and shouting. We got to the kerb, where would we go now? She was gaining on us, looming over us. All I could see was a big shadow. I was terrified of what might happen if she caught us.

‘We have to try to cross the road,’ I managed to say, my breath shallow. We looked – there was a car not far away – and I hoped we could make it. We had no choice. ‘As fast as you can,’ I added.

‘I’ll get you for trespassing,’ the woman screeched and we both took off across the road. I let George go ahead, I was his father, so I had to protect him, but as George ran as fast as he could, I stayed pretty much on his tail. A horn beeped as the car swerved, narrowly avoiding us. I could hear the roar of the engine and the pitch of the beep in my ears as we kept going.

Finally, we made it to the safety of the pavement on the other side of the road. I stopped and looked back across. She was waving her fist angrily at us, but thankfully she didn’t attempt to follow as there were more cars around.

We both lay on the pavement, panting. I couldn’t get the sound of the car out of my head, or the sound of her shouting. George lay still for quite a while. It had been a very close call.

‘Not a cat fan then?’ George said, when he finally got his breath back.

‘Seems not. Home?’ I said, dejectedly. I was filled with disappointment. I was pretty annoyed about being chased with a bin bag, and almost being hit by a car, but I didn’t want to upset George anymore, so I thought I would play the incident down.

‘I think I’ll go and see Hana, if that’s OK?’ George said. ‘After being attacked by a mad woman, then almost getting run over, I need cheering up.’

‘’Course.’ I felt guilty, it was my fault that that had happened at all. I tried to keep George away from danger but I had unwittingly led him to it yet again. ‘And remember when we’re walking down the street to give that flat a wide berth,’ I added seriously.

‘So you don’t think it’s worth trying to win her round?’ George asked. I wasn’t sure if he was being sarcastic or not. I wasn’t taking any chances though.

‘George, when Harold was telling you to go away he never threatened you with the cat warden or a bin bag did he?’

‘No.’

‘Right, so let’s not try to win her round, we might not come out of it in one piece. It’s not worth the risk, son.’

I was a very persistent cat, but, I had enough people in my life not to need one like that. I wasn’t going to take any risks with that woman. Oh no, she was definitely off my Christmas card list. Not that I had one, of course.

Chapter Eight

I was still fretting about our encounter when I got home, leaving George to go next door. I felt a bit unsettled still – one of those moods where you don’t exactly know what to do with yourself. Do you go visit friends who might cheer you up, do you spend the time pondering why it is you feel so fed up? Or do you take a nap? I stretched. I decided to take a nap. I had been up very early after all. A nap it was.

I was shaken from my nap some time later with an almighty thud. I opened my eyes to find Pickles had jumped into my basket and was almost squishing me. He was quite a weight, let me tell you.

‘Pickles, it’s lovely to see you but please get off,’ I asked, as nicely as I could. He shuffled a bit so he was no longer crushing me but we were both still squashed up. He licked me.

‘Claire’s going shopping and she said you were in charge of me.’

‘Oh I must have been sound asleep because I didn’t hear her leave, or you arrive,’ I said.

‘You were snoring,’ Pickles said.

‘I don’t snore,’ I replied.

‘Well it sounded like it. Anyway, where’s George?’

‘I think he’s with Hana.’

‘Boring. So you’ll have to play with me.’

‘Right.’ I tried not to sigh. ‘So what are we playing?’

‘Ball.’

I was pleased with this. One of Pickles’ easiest activities – by that I mean one where he can rarely get into trouble – was ball. I would push a ball with my paw in the hallway, he would run after it, fetch it, and bring it back to me. He could play this for hours and although it was a little boring for me, I didn’t mind. It would give me time to think about the horrible lady at the end of the street, to think about Tommy, and to think about what I was going to do about it all. At the moment, I had nothing. Just hope that the talk Tommy had with Jonathan the other day would have an effect. That the woman at the end of the street wouldn’t be a problem if we kept out of her way. That Pickles would get fed up with playing ball before my paw really began to ache … Why on earth didn’t I hold out much hope for any of that? While Pickles was distracted with the ball, I jumped up onto the hall table, for a break. I noticed that there were various flyers with pictures of food on, and one which I knew was for a Christmas pantomime because Claire had put it there, saying that she needed to book. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but I did know it was some kind of show that happened every Christmas and the kids loved it. I wished for a moment we could go, but we were never invited.

‘Alfie, ball,’ Pickles said. And I jumped down. Sore paw or no sore paw, Pickles wasn’t going to let me off the hook for long.

Claire took Pickles out for a walk, and Snowball came to surprise me. Clearly I wasn’t going to get much rest today, not that I minded one bit.

‘I wasn’t expecting you,’ I said, nuzzling her.

‘Harold had some appointment and Sylvie’s taking him so I thought I’d visit.’

I filled her in about our near miss and also about Aleksy and Connie’s idea.

‘You need to keep away from that woman,’ she said.

‘I will and also when I have some energy I’ll warn everyone else about her,’ I added. ‘But let’s focus on Aleksy and Connie. They’re coming over later and they’ll probably be expecting an idea.’

‘Think about it, Alfie. Christmas, what does it mean to you?’

‘Ah, you are doing that thing Claire does. You know, brainstorming,’ I said.

‘Yes, I certainly am,’ she replied.

‘OK. It means nice food, family, friends, happiness, keeping George and Pickles away from the Christmas tree and the tinsel, presents, Santa, and everyone being together.’ I think I’d done a pretty good job of summing it up.

‘Right, so let’s try to get those into an idea. Being together is a good one.’

‘Oh I see, like if you get loads of people into one place to raise money.’ I suddenly felt excited as the ideas began to trickle into my brain. Everyone together. The community as a whole. Of course, that was what was needed. ‘Do you mean an event?’ I asked.

‘Oh yes, an event. Like the Christmas Nativity at school – everyone goes to that. In fact, the children love it and the adults do too,’ Snowball pointed out. ‘Although it’s usually done by the younger children isn’t it?’

How she was an expert on the Nativity, I didn’t know.

‘George told me about how the other year Tommy put him in a manger at the kids’ school Nativity and how he and you have been banned from going since,’ she explained.

Ah, that was how. But she was right, it was for younger children. But it didn’t have to be, did it? It wouldn’t even have to be at the school at all.

‘I’ve got it,’ I said. ‘How about a Christmas show for the community to raise money for the homeless shelter? What a brilliant idea.’ If I did say so myself. Although my fur fizzed with excitement at the idea, I was unsure how we would actually do it.

‘Wow, it is, although we might need a few more details,’ Snowball said.

‘No, what we need is to pass this idea to the humans and once we’ve done that they can come up with details. I mean, details are not what this cat should be concerned with. Gosh I still have it! I’m still an ideas genius.’ I did a little spin, I was pretty pleased with myself.

‘And as modest as ever,’ Snowball replied. ‘But you have to convey the idea to the humans now and you know that’s a whole other problem.’

‘Leave it with me, I’ll come up with something.’ I wasn’t going to tell her that I didn’t have a clue how to do that. I had got a bit carried away with talk of the show, and Christmas songs and someone being Santa and a part for me and George and even Pickles, Hana, and Snowball …

Now for the logistics. I needed to give them the idea of putting on a show but how? I started thinking, then had a flash of inspiration. I remembered seeing the flyer for the Christmas pantomime on the hall table, when I was playing with Pickles. And although I didn’t know what it was, I did know it was a show that happened at Christmas. So if I could somehow get her to link that to an idea for a show, it might just work. All I had to do was push the leaflet under Claire, Aleksy and Connie’s noses somehow. I hoped they didn’t think I meant for them to do an actual pantomime, because clearly someone was already doing that.

‘Aha, I’ve got an idea.’ I explained it. It didn’t sound like my strongest one when I said it out loud but, again, it was all I had.

‘It might work but it’s a long shot,’ Snowball said.

‘Honestly, you have no faith in me. I will make it work. It’s the best idea I’ve got anyway.’

‘Alfie, it’s the only one you’ve got,’ Snowball pointed out.

Ready to put my plan into action, I jumped up onto the hall table and meowed loudly, hoping that Claire would come to see what was going on. But when she finally came into the hall she was on the phone and she shushed me, walked into the living room and closed the door. I knew from experience that getting the attention of humans, when you wanted to show them something they needed to see, wasn’t always easy. I pushed it with my paw onto the floor and decided to stay with it, one paw on the bottom of the leaflet until she reappeared and noticed. But when she came out of the living room, she barely gave me a second glance before she dashed out of the house, saying she was late for Harold. So, was I going to wait there with the leaflet until she came back? No, I was not. I needed a new idea.

I was lying in my basket in the kitchen when George appeared. I told him of my plan.

‘I love the idea of the Christmas show but do you think if you shove the flyer in front of her she’ll get it?’

‘’Course, Claire’s clever.’ I began to have doubts, but still, I had nothing better.

‘Well, you said that Aleksy and Connie are coming over after tea to come up with ideas, wouldn’t it be better if you got them all to see it?’ George said. ‘Then it’s more likely that one of them might understand.’

‘Clever, just like your dad. Yes, of course, if they all see it someone will definitely get it. But how? I’ll have to pounce as soon as they come in.’

‘Or you could find a way to get the leaflet to them – you know, when they sit around the kitchen table,’ George suggested. He was examining his paws. I got the feeling that he was trying to teach this old cat new tricks.

‘But how? Pushing it all the way from here to the kitchen with my paw will be quite exhausting.’ I had done this before, but it wasn’t easy. You see we cats did have our limitations. ‘And how would I even pick it up?’ My mind was whirring, trying to figure out the logistics.

‘Can’t you try carrying it in your mouth the way Pickles carries his ball, or Dustbin carries a mouse?’

I considered it. I had once carried some of Polly’s best flowers in my mouth when trying to woo Snowball. That hadn’t gone well, but I had managed and for a lot further than the hall to the kitchen. It wasn’t the worst idea, I decided, but then …

‘How will I pick it up from the floor?’ I asked George. I felt as if I should have all the answers but I didn’t. My kitten, it seemed, did.

‘Slide your paw under it like this.’ He demonstrated. His paw lifted up a bit of the piece of paper, and he bent down and picked it up in his mouth.

‘I’d have figured it out eventually,’ I muttered.

‘’Course you would have, Dad,’ he said. ‘But I do have youth on my side.’

I tried not to take offence. I also tried to copy what he’d done, but it wasn’t anywhere near as easy as he made it look. I was getting frustrated and George was trying not to laugh at me. First the flyer kept sliding away from me, and then when I did manage to elevate it slightly I couldn’t grip with my mouth. I even managed to bang my head on the floor, which hurt.

‘I just can’t seem to do it,’ I said.

‘Dad, you never give up. Look, I’ll talk you through it.’

After a bit more (annoying) coaching from George, I used my tongue and ta dah! I did it. The leaflet was a little bit soggy from all my attempts, and my head was a bit sore, but I felt confident that when the time came I would be able to do this again.

‘Teamwork,’ I said to George. Although I wasn’t sure that it was, actually. More of an old cat struggling to learn new tricks. But if it worked, it would be worth it, I kept having to tell myself that.

‘Teamwork, Dad,’ he replied. ‘And now I’m going to see if I can get a snack. Trying to teach you has made me very hungry. And after I’ve eaten, I’m going to see Harold.’ I lay down on top of the leaflet. I was exhausted, too tired to try to get to my basket, so I just shut my eyes.

I heard the door open, which woke me, and I sat up to see Claire come in alone.

‘Hi Alfie,’ she said. ‘Polly and Matt are taking the kids out for tea tonight, to give me a bit of a break, and also as a treat for them.’ She smiled. I could see sometimes that Claire got tired, and as she worked at home, she didn’t have much time to herself. Claire might be the only one who didn’t have an official ‘job’ but she worked harder than anyone, as far as I could see.

‘Meow.’ You deserve it.

‘And Connie and Aleksy will be over soon to talk about their fundraiser. I hope they’ve come up with some ideas, because I have to admit I haven’t really got any. Goodness, there’s so much to do, but I really don’t want to let them down.’

‘Meow.’ Don’t worry, I had it all in paw.

My plan now ready, I stayed in the hall to wait for the right time. It felt like ages, but then I was impatient, so it probably wasn’t. I really wanted to get going with this, not only because I was a little nervous about making it work, but also because the more I thought about it the better it sounded to my ears. I shuffled around, unable to sit still, willing them to hurry up.

Eventually, the doorbell rang and I started to get ready. Aleksy and Connie walked in, gave me a quick fuss before following Claire into the kitchen. It was my cue. I managed to get the leaflet into my mouth on the third try – definite improvement – and I walked slowly to the kitchen with it in my mouth. I had to be careful not to drop it, and although it was a bit bigger than I would have liked and meant I could barely see over it, I finally made it. As I approached the table, I misjudged and banged into the table leg, and I nearly dropped the leaflet, but managed to keep hold of it. My poor head would have two bumps on it, possibly.

‘So, you haven’t got any ideas?’ Claire was asking, as I turned myself and got ready to jump up.

‘No, we’ve been thinking and thinking. We don’t want to do anything sponsored, as that’s normal, and we want to get people involved. Our aim is to raise money so they can have a nice Christmas dinner and get some warm clothes and sleeping bags maybe … We need something good to raise enough money and get many people involved.’ Poor Aleksy sounded dejected.

‘Yes, we want everyone at the shelter to have proper treats at Christmas, to give them something to look forward to, or as much as they can when they’re homeless,’ Connie added. ‘Also, we thought we could help raise awareness at the same time.’

‘Of course, it’s such a lovely idea. I feel terrible that I haven’t got a good idea for you, but I’ll keep thinking about it.’ Claire sounded a little upset now. It was my cue. I steadied myself and jumped on the table, nearly but not quite dropping the leaflet. When I reached the middle of the table, I let the leaflet go and it fluttered down looking a bit worse for wear. I hoped it would still work. The best thing was that finally I could feel my tongue again as I licked my lips, and rubbed my head with my paw.

‘What is this?’ Claire asked, picking it up. ‘The flyer for the pantomime? Why on earth have you brought this here, Alfie?’

‘Oh, maybe Alfie is trying to tell us something,’ Aleksy said, stroking me.

‘Meow.’ Of course I am. Even after all these years my humans could be a little slow on the uptake.

‘You want to go to the pantomime?’ Claire asked. See what I mean?

‘Yowl.’ No.

‘You want us to do a panto?’ Aleksy asked. I tried to move my head a bit, but it still smarted.

‘It would be far too hard,’ Connie said. ‘And anyway there’s loads of them around, so why would anyone come to ours?’

‘Meow, meow, meow.’ Honestly, I couldn’t spell it out any more than this. I did a spin on the table, not sure why but I was frustrated.

‘What about a show?’ Claire said.

‘Purr. Purr.’ Yes!

‘You mean a Christmas show?’ Aleksy said.

‘Purr.’ Now we were talking.

‘For the local community, with everyone involved?’ Connie added.

‘MEOW.’ Finally.

‘Oh what a fabulous idea,’ Claire said. ‘We could have Christmas songs …’

‘And what about a grown-up Nativity, that could be a good idea?’ Aleksy chipped in.

‘And maybe carols, and all the children can be involved, and we can ask at school …’ Connie sounded excited.

‘We could sell tickets, and make posters advertising it.’

‘I think it’s a brilliant idea. Of course it should be a Christmas show.’ Claire sounded excited. ‘It’s perfect, in fact.’

‘But where would we have it?’ Aleksy asked. ‘And what about the cost?’

‘Leave that to me,’ Claire said. I lay down, relieved. They had got the idea, they liked it and now it was going to hopefully come to life. I wondered what part I would play, and George and Snowball, too, of course. And maybe Hana would be involved. It would be a real family affair and I loved the idea that we’d get to all work together on it. After all, we were a big part of this community. I could see it bringing everyone together in the most wonderful way.

I listened with one ear open as they chatted around some ideas, it seemed they were really getting it now.

‘Yes there’s a lot to do,’ Aleksy said, after they’d chatted for a while. ‘But maybe if we make a list we can do it.’

‘How about you and Connie be the directors?’ Claire suggested. ‘And if you want to do the Nativity you could even write a script so it will be new and original?’

‘Good idea,’ Connie said.

‘We could ask the school to support us as well,’ Aleksy suggested.

‘Now that is a good idea,’ Claire said. I agreed.

‘And we could hold auditions, which would be really fun!’ Connie added, excitement audible in her voice.

I loved the way they were all thinking and coming up with ideas, and I was so proud of Aleksy and Connie. Teenagers get a bad rap (and yes I am guilty of that), but Aleksy and Connie were doing something good, rather than just worrying about themselves. They were being so unselfish, helping others. I had taught them well.

‘We’ll need to do lots of social media,’ Connie said. I climbed onto Aleksy and nuzzled into his neck. As they continued to chat away about the show, I could see it in my mind. I lay down in Aleksy’s lap. My work was done and yet another plan was now underway.

Chapter Nine

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