A Friend Called Alfie

‘Just where exactly are you going?’ I asked George as he stood by the cat flap. I knew I sounded like an overbearing parent, but I didn’t care. I was feeling suspicious.

‘I’m going to see Hana,’ he replied. I narrowed my eyes. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe him exactly, but I could tell he was hiding something. Also, it was very early, and he didn’t usually go out this early.

‘But her family might all still be asleep,’ I pointed out. After all, ours was. It was a school day, or weekday, whatever the best term was, and I had noticed, from my bed, on the landing, George get up, quietly as if he didn’t want to wake me as he crept downstairs. Something was definitely going on.

‘No they get up super early,’ he replied, confidently. ‘Anyway, she needs a friend, because she’s sad about Harold,’ he continued.

I was confused, George was the one who was closest to Harold.

‘But, aren’t you sad about Harold?’ I asked.

‘Of course I am, but he’s going to be fine. I know it.’

I surrendered, and let him go. ‘Don’t be too long,’ I shouted after him, still unable to shake the feeling that there was something he wasn’t telling me. I had to resist the urge to go after him, I knew that would cause a row between us but I also knew my kitten really well, and I knew when he was hiding something.

I paced around trying to think when Jonathan emerged. His hair was wet from the shower and he was in his dressing gown. Gosh, he was up earlier than usual too.

‘What are you doing up?’ he asked, echoing my thoughts.

‘Meow.’ Hoping for breakfast now, actually.

‘Right, coffee’s on, let’s get you and George some breakfast.’

As Jonathan made his coffee and I made a start on my breakfast, it was nice for us to spend time together, just the two of us. Rare but welcome.

‘Need to get into the office early, there are a few interviews for staff today, so it’s looking hopeful that I might not be such an absent father and husband soon!’ he told me. Jonathan sounded cheerful.

‘Meow,’ I reassured.

‘I know, and I’ve given myself a deadline, by the new year I want my department fully staffed so I can still work hard but not the ridiculous hours I’ve been doing, and I’m pretty sure I can meet that deadline, actually,’ he continued, taking a sip of his coffee and grimacing because I guess it was too hot.

‘Yowl.’ I’m right with you.

‘It’s going to be so much better for all of us, including me,’ Jonathan said.

‘Are you talking to Alfie or yourself?’ Claire snuck up on us, taking us both by surprise.

‘Alfie, of course, he’s a great listener,’ Jonathan said as Claire gave his cheek a kiss.

‘Meow,’ I responded. I really was.

After our early start, I was pleased when Claire said that Pickles was going with her to do the school run. There was still no sign of George, so with the house empty I took advantage of having a bit of time to cat nap before the whirlwind that was Pickles returned. When George was a tiny kitten I would snatch sleep wherever I could, parenting tip number two, and I was now doing the same with Pickles. As I found a sunny spot on the sofa, which was getting rarer and rarer every day, I took my nap. I was woken by a wet nose pressed against mine.

‘George?’ I asked, before I realised I was half asleep.

‘Oh wow, it’s working, I’m getting to be like George,’ Pickles said as I opened my eyes.

‘Well, I think you’re more like you,’ I said, diplomatically. ‘You need to find your own self you know, Pickles. You don’t have to do everything George does.’

‘I don’t, he tried to teach me to chase birds yesterday but I couldn’t jump up on the fence like he can,’ he said sadly. ‘In fact I can barely jump.’

‘Oh dear, Pickles, you can’t do everything like a cat, it’s a matter of biology.’ I had no idea if this was the right term but I wanted to sound as if I knew what I was talking about.

‘But one day when I’m bigger?’

‘No, Pickles, as much as it’s fun to do some of the things George does, there are others which you absolutely must not. The first is going out without a human, the second is climbing.’ I wondered what else would have to go on the list. I had a feeling it would be a very long list.

‘It’s not fair that I can’t do all these fun things, to be honest. And Alfie, I’m sure you know what you’re talking about a bit but I’m not sure you’re right. I think in time and with practice I can definitely absolutely do everything that George does.’

Oh no, this wasn’t going exactly as planned.

‘You know not all cats like to climb, I’m not keen on it myself,’ I continued.

‘But I am and one day I’m going to be a climber.’

I didn’t have the energy to argue further, but thankfully Claire came in, and to my surprise Marcus was with her.

‘Right, sit down, and have a cup of tea, and then we’ll go through everything,’ Claire said.

‘You really are a life saver. I really could do without having to go, but it was booked ages ago and it’s work …’

‘Marcus, you’re going to Scotland not to outer space. Your dad isn’t critical anymore, and I can visit him every morning after the school run, find out what he needs for the day, then take it in the afternoon. Sylvie is going to go in the evenings, and Polly, Matt and Jonathan will when they can too, we’ll keep an eye on him.’

‘Thanks, Claire, you know he’s getting better because he’s constantly moaning.’

‘Oh yes, when I last saw him he accused one of the nurses of trying to kill him off.’

‘How they haven’t tried already I will never know,’ Marcus laughed.

‘You know he’s going to be fine, don’t you?’

‘I do but he is getting older, and you know I live with him at the moment, but he might need more care before too long.’ Marcus scratched his head, I wished he’d do the same to mine. I loved a good head scratch.

‘Cross that bridge when you come to it, but, Marcus, he’ll be fine, you’re only gone for a few days.’

‘I know, I know, but you understand the guilt. We take care of people, Claire, that’s what we do.’

‘Speaking of Sylvie,’ Claire said.

‘I wasn’t,’ Marcus replied but we both knew he was a bit.

‘Really?’ Claire raised an eyebrow.

‘OK, I love her to bits, you know that, but I’m worried, she’s been a bit moody lately, and I think it might be to do with the idea of Connie going to Japan for Christmas.’

‘Is she going?’

‘We don’t know, we both spoke to her, and told her that she had our blessing but it was her decision. She hasn’t mentioned it since, and Sylvie doesn’t want to push. I think also being at the hospital so much takes its toll on both of us, as well, so maybe that’s adding to it … But you know when I first met her she was upset, and since then she’s always been so level-headed. However she might be having a bit of a relapse.’

‘I’ll have a chat with her, she said she was fine when she was over the other night, but I can double check.’

‘Thanks, Claire, you are such a star, I do appreciate it.’

Did I now need to add Sylvie to the list of people I worried about?

‘George.’ I almost jumped on him the minute he got home.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.

‘Oh nothing, I just wondered how Sylvie was.’

‘How should I know that?’

‘I assumed you’d been with Hana today, after all she’s your best friend.’

‘Oh yeah, right, she said that Sylvie had been a bit grumpy lately but she didn’t know why.’ George seemed preoccupied. I hoped he hadn’t had a falling out with Hana.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Apparently Sylvie said she felt tired and irritated a lot, and she didn’t feel that good, it’s not a big deal though.’

‘Oh it isn’t? That’s a relief, I was worried for a minute.’

‘Anyway, I haven’t been with Hana all day.’

‘But you’ve been out all day, George, where have you been?’

‘Dad, I can’t tell you, but trust me, I was only doing good. I was doing my job.’

‘You were doing your job?’

‘I suppose I was, actually. Yes, I was at work today.’

‘The job you can’t tell me about?’

‘No, Dad, it’s early days, so I think it’s best to keep it to myself for now.’

‘George, I am really confused about this.’

‘I know, and I’m sorry but it’s kind of a secret job and I can’t tell anyone. Don’t feel it’s just you that I’m keeping it from, no one knows anything about it.’

He went off to get some food and I sat there, feeling flummoxed. Should I worry? Where had he been? I decided to go out myself and see if anyone else knew anything.

‘Nellie, I’m so glad you’re here, did you see George today?’ My words gushed out as soon as I reached the recreation ground.

‘Um no Alfie, but—’

‘Oh goodness, where has he been? I mean he can’t visit Harold’s house, and he said he hadn’t seen Hana since this morning. He seems to think he’s got himself a job but everyone knows that cats don’t really have jobs, so I have no idea.’ I paced up and down, and barely noticed that my other friends, Rocky and Elvis, had approached Nellie. Even Salmon was there.

‘What is it?’ I asked looking between them. They all looked serious. ‘Has something happened with George, is that what this is?’ I asked, panicked. ‘Is something wrong with him?’

‘No, Alfie, although this does affect George,’ Nellie said kindly.

‘Can one of you tell me what’s going on?’ I demanded, this was scaring me. The way my friends were all looking at me wasn’t great.

‘OK,’ Salmon said, glancing at the others. It had to be bad if they’d included him. ‘I came to find you, and I told the others, because, you know my family is friends with the Barkers?’ The Barkers were Tiger’s family.

‘Yes, so?’ I had a bad feeling.

‘Well, the Barkers have, there’s no easy way to say this, Alfie, but they’ve got another cat.’

I felt the words stick in my throat. I wanted to yowl, but I knew that I couldn’t do that. I had a million questions but I wasn’t sure I wanted the answers. Tiger was irreplaceable.

‘Right.’ I sat down as if I’d been physically winded.

‘Alfie, Tiger is not being replaced,’ Rocky said, gently.

‘But the Barkers were so lost without her, and it’s been almost a year, so they thought it would be time. The cat they’ve got, Oliver, he’s not a kitten and they can give him a good home,’ Salmon said, sounding more compassionate than I ever heard him be in my life. I raised my whiskers. I knew that the Barkers would be lost without Tiger, and I knew that the cat flap never heralding her arrival home must have been painful for them. The same way seeing her windowsill empty was painful for us.

‘Are you alright?’ Nellie asked.

‘I don’t know,’ I replied, honestly. ‘Does George know?’ This might explain things.

‘No, as Nellie said, we haven’t seen him all day and he didn’t come this way, so I guess he didn’t go past the Barkers’ house,’ Elvis said.

‘What’s the new cat like?’ I asked. I felt deflated, horrible, but I still had to get all the information because George was going to have to know about this and I would be the one to tell him.

‘As far as I know he’s called Oliver, he came from a local shelter, because his owners couldn’t have him anymore, but I don’t know more than that.’

I felt terrible, because when I was homeless, I’d been too scared to go to the shelter, too young to understand that it was a safe place for cats so I had run away instead, hence ending up at Edgar Road.

‘Alfie, he can’t go out at the moment, can he, Salmon?’ Rocky said.

‘No, I heard the Barkers telling my owners that he’s got to stay inside for a few weeks until he gets used to the place.’

‘Right.’ I felt words were going to choke me.

‘So, what we’re saying is that you’ve got a while to get used to the idea before you actually have to meet him,’ Nellie said gently.

‘OK.’ This was the last thing I expected when I came out to see my friends. But now I had to go and tell George that another cat was living in his Tiger mum’s house. But I had no idea how he’d react.

‘It makes sense, Dad, I guess,’ George said, I was amazed by his mature reaction. My boy constantly surprised me.

‘Eh?’ I expected him to react the way I had, feeling upset, angry maybe, at the idea of my Tiger being replaced.

‘Dad, loneliness comes in all shapes and sizes, you taught me that. The Barkers have been very cat lonely without Tiger, and they have a good home. And the new cat, he probably lost his home so he must have been very lonely too. So, it makes sense that they have each other. After all it’s a shame to let a good cat flap go to waste.’

‘So, you don’t feel that Tiger’s been replaced?’ He was so flippant about it.

‘Don’t be ridiculous, they will always love her in their hearts, like we do, but I know that they need this new cat too.’

‘Right.’ I wasn’t sure I was following. ‘But you said that I couldn’t fall in love with another cat, because Tiger was irreplaceable.’

‘Oh Dad, of course you can’t replace her, but then cats are more intelligent than humans. Humans need us cats to survive, surely you understand that?’

‘Um, yes, I guess I do.’ I actually did hold with this logic. I’m not a vain cat, but we are superior to most animals and people, so George did have a point.

‘It’s like Pickles can’t really be a cat, because he’s a dog. It’s the same for humans. I know this, it’s part of my job to know this.’

Leaving me dumbfounded he made to go to the back door.

‘I have to see Hana now, she’s expecting me.’

Just what was happening to my little boy? And what was this job he kept talking about? It was driving me crazy not knowing, but that would have to wait, because now I had bigger fish to fry – if only – I had to wallow about the fact that there was another cat living in Tiger’s house. Before too long I would have to meet him, and be nice to him, and not feel angry, hurt and incensed that he was not, and never would be, Tiger. I did understand the Barkers’ need for a cat, I did understand Oliver’s need for a home, but that was rational thought, my heart – which wasn’t as rational – still hurt.