A Cat Called Alfie

Chapter Twenty-Three

As the women mobilized to help Karen look for Snowball — who’d been missing since the fight with Tom and Salmon — I needed to see Tiger, but I was scared. I knew we still needed to have ‘the talk’, cat to cat, but now Snowball might be in danger, my priorities had shifted. I was so afraid of many things, but losing Tiger’s friendship, and losing Snowball scared me equally.

I know that men aren’t known for being good at these things, but I vowed to do what all men and women should do when it came to such delicate matters. Instead of lying or pulling out meaningless platitudes I was going to tell the truth and speak from the heart. Because I needed her more than ever now.

I risked meeting her family as I jumped through the cat flap, and Tiger seemed to appear almost immediately. I could hear voices from another room so I guessed I was in the clear.

‘Hey, what are you doing here?’ she asked.

‘Look, I know we need to talk, but I’ve just seen Karen Snell. She was in tears because Snowball is missing. She hasn’t been home since the altercations with Tom and Salmon.’ I sounded hysterical, I know, but I felt it too. I was so afraid for Snowball, and I understood why Karen was so inconsolable.

‘Alfie, do you think she might have been hurt more badly than Tom and Salmon led us to believe?’

‘But even Rocky said she ran off. She can’t have been hurt too badly if she could still run surely?’

‘OK, come on, we’ll round up the others and start a search party. Don’t worry, Alfie, we’ll find her.’ Tiger gave me a reassuring look and I knew I’d never have a better friend.

‘About earlier,’ I said as we walked towards Nellie’s house to get her first. Tiger was being really sweet over the missing Snowball but what if she didn’t want to ever be my friend again? I tried to tell myself not to be so dramatic, but a cat can’t change its fur.

‘Alfie, it’s OK. I know you don’t have those feelings for me,’ Tiger said.

‘You do?’ I was taken aback.

‘I’m not stupid, Alfie. I’ve known you for three years; you meet white fluff-ball for a second and you’re in love. Don’t worry, I know that we’re just friends, and I know that deep down you respect my feelings but like a man, sometimes you can be a bit insensitive to them.’

‘Wow,’ I managed to say. Now I know why my human males said women were so much better at this stuff. It was like she could read my mind. I continued, ‘I wanted to tell you honestly how I felt. I love you, Tiger, but as a friend, and as a friend I couldn’t love you more. You’re right, it’s different with Snowball. I don’t know why, but that’s how it is.’

‘I know, Alfie. If you felt the same way about me it would be so easy, but you don’t and we need to move on.’

‘And I thought this conversation was going to be tricky,’ I said feeling bemused. I was confused again but in a different way. A good way.

‘I don’t want to lose you from my life, Alfie, and that means I have to accept that we are just friends and stop being so jealous of Fluff-ball.’ She looked at me but she was smiling. I purred and nuzzled.

‘You are so amazing, Tiger, the best friend a cat could have.’

‘You always say that.’

‘Because it’s true. Are you sure you’re OK with this?’ I was still concerned.

‘I will be. Alfie, I want things to go back to the way they were with us before, and if that means I have to hear about Fuzzy-kitten and her weird family then so be it.’ Tiger smiled to show me the name-calling was in good humour.

‘Thank you so much Tiger, you mean the world to me.’ I meant it.

‘Right, well come on, let’s find Snowball, and make sure she’s all right.’

We found Nellie at the end of the street, watching the moon. While she went to find Rocky and Elvis, we started our hunt but then we bumped into Tom.

‘Tom, are you sure you didn’t hurt Snowball more than you said?’ I asked, angrily. I was worried now and upset, and although Tiger was being amazing I hated to think of Snowball out there, scared and hurt.

‘Honestly it was nothing major. She could still walk away. Why are we raking this up again, I said I was sorry.’ He looked a bit sheepish as Tiger stepped forward.

‘She’s gone missing,’ Tiger explained. ‘Her owner has Alfie’s families out looking for her now, but she hasn’t been home since she fought with you and argued with Salmon.’

‘I didn’t mean for anything bad to happen.’ Tom did look stricken, I had to admit. ‘I’ll do whatever it takes to help you find her.’

‘You’re the last person she’d want to see,’ I pointed out, ‘please don’t look for her. You might scare her off again.’

‘OK, but I really do want to help you.’

‘Maybe go and see what you can find out from other cats. If you hear anything, come and find one of us,’ Tiger said and we bounded off.

We both searched well into the night, as far as the park at one end of the road, while the other cats covered the other end.

‘No sightings could mean that she isn’t too injured to hide,’ Tiger said.

‘But she’s probably hungry and scared. Do you think that maybe Salmon saying that the family were going to be hounded out, tipped her over the edge?’

‘Probably, I know she’s having a hard time settling in. She could have gone back to her old home,’ Tiger suggested.

‘I guess we need to go home and get some rest now. We can’t stay out forever.’ I was tired, cold and losing hope. I needed to regain my strength and think logically about where she could be. It was important that I had a strategy and, so far, there were no leads and I could no longer think straight. Every lamp-post we passed on our way home now had pictures of Snowball on them; her beautiful face was everywhere. I had never known worry like this but I gave up and went to get some rest. Although I knew I wouldn’t properly rest until I’d found her, I curled up into my bed.