Charlie The Kitten Who Saved A Life

CHAPTER TWENTY

It must have been late at night by the time we said goodbye outside Oliver’s pub. People were coming out of the door, calling out goodnight to each other.

‘Closing time,’ Ollie said knowledgeably. ‘Will you be all right walking home by yourself, Charlie?’

‘Of course I will,’ I meowed. I was beginning to feel impatient with his fussing over me. ‘I’ve been used to going out at night scavenging for food.’

For a minute he didn’t reply, but just looked at me, his head on one side.

‘You really have got a story to relate, haven’t you?’ he said eventually.

‘Yes! I keep telling you I have.’

‘And now we’ve got Nicky and Daniel sorted out, I’m looking forward to hearing it.’

‘Good. I’m looking forward to telling you, too. Come to my place tomorrow?’

‘Definitely.’ He stared at me again. ‘You’ve certainly changed, Charlie. You are more grown up, and more confident, somehow. I couldn’t believe the way you stopped Daniel from hitting that Kevin, back there.’

‘I’m sorry if it wasn’t very … polite behaviour.’

‘Nonsense. You’re quite right, sometimes a situation calls for quick thinking and bold action rather than politeness. What you did back there saved the day. And you heard Daniel, we’ve probably saved their marriage too. Well done, Charlie, my little protégé! I’m proud of you.’

He rubbed his face against mine.

‘Thanks, Ollie. But you taught me all I know,’ I said.

‘That used to be true, but it’s not anymore. You’ve learned a lot more since you’ve been away. Things I could never have taught you.’

Yes. I knew I’d learned a lot from the feral cats, and I’d never forget them, or the time I spent with them. But I hoped my dear, kind friend Oliver would never need to learn about any of those things. In a funny kind of way, I almost felt more grown up than him now, even though it was me who was always going to be little kitten.

The next morning I woke up early, looking forward to finally being able to tell Ollie the whole story of my time in Mudditon. But first I needed to talk to him about Caroline.

‘So have they actually said her illness has come back?’ he asked, when I brought the subject up as soon as he arrived through the cat flap.

‘Not exactly. But when I first came home I heard Laura saying to Caroline that I’d get better just as she would. And then Caroline told Grace that the reason she was moody and cross before was that she’d been frightened about being ill again. But apart from that, nobody’s saying anything.’

‘And is she not being moody and cross anymore?’

‘No – well, not most of the time, anyway. But she’s really, really tired and her face looks white, and when she comes home from her new school she just lies on the sofa.’

Ollie meowed in distress when he heard this, and walked round and round on the spot for a minute, obviously thinking it over.

‘I don’t like the sound of that,’ he admitted. ‘That’s how she looked when she was ill before. And has her fur come off her head?’

‘No. Well, not yet, anyway. If anything, it’s grown longer. She ties it up so it looks like a horse’s tail.’

‘And she hasn’t had to go off to the hospital place?’

‘Not as far as I know. Not since we were in Mudditon, anyway – the holiday town. She was in hospital there because … well, that’s another story. But nobody’s told me what happened while she was there.’

‘I don’t know what to think, then, Charlie. Perhaps it’s the new school that’s making her tired? I was outside Grace’s house the other day when she came home carrying such a big bag of books, she was almost bent double. I don’t know why humans make their kittens carry so many books. Surely they can only look at one at a time?’

‘I know, it’s weird, isn’t it? But what can I do, Ollie – you’re the clever one – how can I find out what’s wrong with her?’

‘I’m afraid you’ll just have to keep listening to their conversations. Or you could show Caroline how worried you are about her by jumping on her lap and mewing a lot.’

‘I keep trying that. I get lots of cuddles, but no answers.’

‘Oh dear.’ Poor Oliver looked as worried now as I was. ‘Well, the only other thing I can suggest is, I’ll make lots of extra visits to Grace and her family, as well as to Nicky and Daniel, and listen carefully to all their conversations. If Caroline is ill again, they must be really worried too, and they’re bound to talk to each other about it. I’ll report back to you as soon as I find anything out, all right?’

With which he turned round and headed back to the cat flap.

‘Aren’t you staying to hear my story?’ I called after him, disappointed.

‘No, Charlie, sorry,’ he meowed at me. ‘Not now you’ve told me this about Caroline – I won’t be able to concentrate until we’ve found out what’s wrong.’

‘No, of course not,’ I said, feeling guilty now for even suggesting it. How could the story of my time in Mudditon possibly compare in importance with Caroline’s health? ‘You’re quite right. Thanks for your help, Ollie.’

When Caroline came home that afternoon, I spent ages sitting on her lap mewing sadly in her ear. But in the end I had to stop because she called out to Laura that she was worried I was ill because I kept crying.

‘I’m fine,’ I purred at her. ‘It’s you I’m worried about.’

But she still didn’t tell me anything.

The next day must have been a Saturday, as nobody was going to school or work, and I could tell straight away that something was going on with my family. They were all talking at once, excitedly, like there was going to be something different happening. I listened carefully, hoping it wasn’t going to be another holiday!

‘How did they find out he was back home?’ Caroline was saying.

‘Well, it was a series of things, really,’ Julian said. ‘You know I wrote to the two ladies in Mudditon who found him and took him to the vet there?’

They were talking about me! I sat up, listening even more carefully.

‘Yes, I know, you said you were letting them know how well he was recovering, and that you’d given their reward money to Cats’ Protection because the ladies didn’t want to accept it.’

‘That’s right. Well, coincidentally, it seems it was the niece of one of those two ladies who had put that original video on YouTube—’

‘The one of Charlie that was on TV?’

‘Yes.’ He hesitated. ‘Presuming it was Charlie, of course.’

‘Dad, it definitely was!’

‘Yes, it was, Julian,’ Laura agreed. ‘I was convinced, the moment you brought him back home. He had the same injuries as the cat in the video!’

‘Yes, that’s true. Well, as you know, when these things are popular on YouTube, they escalate—’

‘It’s called going viral, Dad,’ Caroline said. She seemed to know a lot more these days. It must have been because of her new school.

‘Right.’ Julian and Laura exchanged a smile over the top of Caroline’s head. ‘Yes, it went viral. Well, it seems people in Mudditon were still interested in what happened to Charlie, because of the bit on TV, and because everyone was saying on social media that he was the same cat who was in the “Missing” posters I put up around the town. When our two ladies got my letter, the niece updated her Facebook and Twitter accounts, telling people Charlie had been brought back home and was making a good recovery. Apparently loads of people were following the story, and commenting on it.’

‘Ah. That’s nice,’ Laura said.

I was pleased, too, to hear people in Mudditon were interested in me, but I just wished my feral cat friends could know I was safe and well. They probably had even less idea than me what Facebook or Twitter were, though. Twitter sounded like something to do with sparrows so I couldn’t quite see the relevance.

‘Well, because of it all going viral again,’ Julian went on, ‘it got picked up once more by the local paper in Mudditon. They ran a cute story about how the little cat who saved the old lady from the seagull was found and returned safely home.’

‘And that’s how the BBC’s got hold of it again,’ Laura finished.

‘Yes.’ Julian paused. ‘Although there’s a bit more to it than that, apparently. Something new has come up. The guy who called me said he’ll explain when they get here.’

‘They’re coming here?’ Caroline squealed. ‘Really?’

‘Yes! They’re on their way. They’ve asked if they can talk to us, and take some footage of Charlie at home.’

‘We’d better lock the cat flap again!’ Laura said, jumping up. ‘In case he runs outside and isn’t here when they come!’

‘Good thinking,’ Julian said, although needless to say I didn’t agree. Wasn’t it bad enough that I’d been locked inside all that time I was wearing the collar? And did they really think I wouldn’t come back indoors as soon as these people came – whoever they were – to see me? If I was supposed to be the centre of attention, I was going to want to be here, after all!

‘Wow, this is so cool!’ Caroline said. ‘We’re going to be on TV. Can Grace come round?’

‘Yes.’ Laura smiled at her. ‘Of course.’

Caroline rushed off to talk to Grace on her new phone.

‘So what do you think the new development is?’ Laura asked Julian.

‘I really can’t imagine.’

‘But you’re sure this is a good idea – the TV thing? For Caroline?’

‘I don’t think it’ll hurt, do you? They’ll want to talk to her, but I’ve warned the guy on the phone that I don’t want her upset. We’re not going into the fact that the girls were trying to run away.’

‘Good. And I suppose it might be quite educational for her and Grace to see how the filming’s done. And a bit of excitement for them too.’

So, you see, Oliver, that was why my cat flap was locked again when you came round to see me. We meowed to each other from either side of the flap, but when Laura saw you, she said, ‘Oh dear, sorry, Oliver, I don’t think we’d better have you in here today, not with the television people coming round, with their cameras and everything. An extra cat will just add to the confusion.’

And eventually, of course, you gave up and went off, probably wondering if they were keeping me indoors because I was ill again. I wasn’t. I was excited, although I wasn’t quite sure what I was excited about yet. Grace turned up, and she and Caroline sat in the kitchen with me, talking and giggling together and looking at their watches all the time and wondering how much longer it would be before they got here.

‘Who?’ I meowed. ‘Who are these people who need me to be shut in the house till they get here?’

The doorbell rang, and everyone seemed to jump. Julian marched to the front door with Caroline and Grace running behind him, and Laura took off her apron and picked Jessica up from the carpet. I scampered after everyone and Julian called to Caroline to hold me and stop me running out when he opened the door.

‘Oh, hello!’ He held the door open and Nicky walked in as we all stared at her as if she was a stranger. ‘It’s just Nicky,’ he called back to Laura.

‘Who were you expecting, then?’ she said, laughing. ‘The queen?’

‘Not quite!’ he said. ‘Come in. Laura’s in the lounge.’

‘We’re waiting for the TV people,’ Caroline told her. ‘They’ve come to make a film about Charlie.’

‘It’ll just be a little piece for the News, Caroline,’ Julian warned her. ‘Don’t get too carried away.’

‘Really? How exciting!’ Nicky said. She smiled at Laura and Jessica as we all walked through to the lounge. ‘It’s actually Charlie I’ve come to tell you about,’ she added as Caroline put me down on the sofa. ‘You’ll never guess what happened last night.’

‘What?’ Laura looked alarmed. ‘He didn’t get into a fight or anything, did he? He’s only just been allowed out again. I didn’t think he’d start going out at night so soon.’

‘Nothing like that. He was out visiting Oliver at the pub, apparently – Dan saw them in there. And … well, this is going to sound really weird, but he says they made him come home.’

‘Made him …?’ Julian glanced at Laura, who glanced at me, frowned, and looked back at Nicky.

‘How do you mean?’ she said.

‘I don’t know. I think it must be Oliver. Daniel always did say he thought that cat had some special power to make him do things. But the thing is …’ She sat down next to Laura, went a bit pink, and went on quietly, ‘Well, the thing is, my next door neighbour had come in for a chat.’

‘Not Kevin the Creep?’ Laura said, laughing.

‘Yes. Only it wasn’t quite so funny anymore.’ Nicky looked at Caroline and Grace now, then looked back at Laura, raising her eyebrows like it was some kind of code. ‘He was being a bit too friendly. If you get my meaning.’ The eyebrows again. It must have been human body language.

‘What, was he coming on to you, Nicky?’ Caroline said, nudging Grace, and they both started giggling.

Nicky went even pinker, and looked down at her lap.

‘Oh my God,’ Laura said. ‘And Daniel came home just in the nick of time?’

‘Yes, with the two cats! And as you can probably imagine, he was pretty upset.’

‘Not with you, though, Nicky?’ Julian said.

‘No. He told me afterwards he’d overheard me telling Kevin to back off, that I wasn’t interested. But Kevin started to argue the toss, and … well, Dan got hold of him and nearly hit him.’

‘Oh my God!’ Laura said again, putting her hand to her mouth. Even Caroline and Grace had their mouths open wide with surprise, while Julian was trying to look serious.

‘But he didn’t, I hope?’ he said.

‘No.’ Nicky glanced down at me again. ‘But only because this little chap stopped him. It was unbelievable, honestly, you should have seen him. He threw himself at Dan and clung to his jacket by his claws, yowling at him. It brought Dan up short, and by the time he’d lifted Charlie off himself, he’d calmed down.’

‘Oh my …’ Laura just stopped herself from calling the God person yet again. She shook her head, and everyone in the room stared at me. I felt a bit self-conscious.

‘Sorry!’ I meowed. ‘It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Ollie was proud of me.’

But it seemed like Ollie wasn’t the only one.

‘That’s amazing,’ Laura said, reaching for me and giving me a hug.

‘Clever little Charlie,’ Caroline said, coming over to stroke me. ‘I said he was a hero, Daddy, didn’t I?’

‘Oh, come on! It was probably just a coincidence,’ Julian said, shaking his head. ‘He might have simply jumped up at Daniel to get a cuddle from him, and clung on with his claws to stop himself from falling.’

‘You weren’t there, Julian, with all due respect,’ Nicky said quietly. ‘You didn’t see him.’

‘And we should all know by now, cats do look after humans and try to help them,’ Laura said. ‘After all the things Oliver did last year to help our village. And particularly our family, Julian.’

They all went quiet for a minute, looking at each other. I knew what they were thinking about, of course, because I’d heard all about it from Oliver himself – how he’d visited Caroline, before I was born, when she was poorly and lonely because she had no friends. And also how he made Christmas better for everyone in the village.

‘Yes. OK, Oliver did … somehow … seem to turn things around for us, didn’t he,’ he admitted. ‘Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps there’s more goes on in a cat’s mind than we can ever understand. But look at Charlie. He’s only a little kitten, who ran away and got lost! I just can’t quite believe …’

‘I am not a little kitten anymore,’ I said crossly. ‘Even Ollie admits that now.’

‘Well, as far as I’m concerned,’ Nicky said, ‘Charlie and Oliver have saved my marriage. Daniel needed a sharp shock like that, to make him realise he was neglecting me and Benjamin. He got up early this morning to make Benny’s breakfast, and as soon as he got back from doing a bit of work this morning, he’s taken him out to the park in his buggy. He says he’s going to advertise for another mechanic to work for him, and in the meantime he’ll let the apprentice help a bit more where he can, so he’s not so exhausted. He’s been so focused on making the business a success, taking on all the work he could, and getting so tired, he admits he couldn’t face coming home and helping with his own son. He just fell into the pub every night and then couldn’t summon up the energy to come home. He knows he needs to make some changes and try to get some balance.’

‘Good for him,’ Laura said gently. ‘I’m so glad you’re going to work it out together.’

‘Thanks to Charlie and Oliver,’ Nicky insisted.

And before there could be any further discussion on the matter, at that moment the doorbell rang again – and this time, yes, it was the television people. And so we come to another chapter in my story!