A Friend Called Alfie

There was definitely a strange atmosphere in our house. Frustratingly I had no idea what was causing it. And neither did George. We were both being kept in the dark. There had been lots of whispered conversations following the last one I’d heard, and plotting it seemed. I worked out that the humans were making a huge deal out of getting Harold his cat and for some reason it had to be a secret.

‘Why can’t they just go and get one?’ George asked. Harold had been home for a while now and Christmas was approaching, so George really didn’t want him to be on his own longer than necessary. Although he was barely left alone and Marcus had got him something called a panic alarm for emergencies. It all sounded very complicated to me, George and I agreed that a cat would be much simpler as a panic button. I just hoped they were trying to get the right cat.

‘Perhaps they are making sure that the cat is clever enough,’ I pointed out.

‘But most cats are clever,’ George retorted.

‘True, maybe they’re making sure it has the right personality for our family. Remember some cats can be a bit moody, and others are a little aggressive, not our friends but outside of our group.’

‘All all the cats we know are lovely.’

‘Another reason we’re lucky,’ I pointed out. ‘But of course the cat would have to like Pickles as well, and children, as well as old people.’

‘You’re right, it might be harder than we thought to find a cat like that, just because we are, doesn’t mean all cats are. It’s quite a list: clever, sociable, lovely, kind, good at plans, likes dogs … There probably aren’t many cats like that out there.’

‘That’s true, George.’ I felt my fur freeze as the penny dropped. I glanced at George and quickly away. All the secret conversations and the ‘don’t talk about it in front of Alfie,’ ran through my brain. I knew what was going on and I didn’t like it, not one little bit. They were going to give me to Harold. They couldn’t find another cat like me so they were giving me away. I felt a sense of horror, and dread all mixed up together.

My eyes flickered to George again. How could they even consider separating us? I know it was just the end of the street but this was the home I shared with my son and my main family. I was a doorstep cat, but not one to be given away willy nilly. But the conversation with George had made it all clear to me. I was the only cat clever enough to take care of Harold. Oh no, no no. This could not be happening. But what could I do?

‘There’s something else, as well, Dad,’ George said, interrupting my thoughts. There was no way I could tell him this.

‘What? I hope nothing’s wrong.’ I had enough to deal with right now. Like being given away.

‘No, but you know since Harold came out of hospital we’ve both been a bit worried about the people who are lonely.’

‘Right and you and Harold have discussed this have you?’ I tried to hide the fear I was feeling and have a normal conversation. I had to behave as if everything was alright in front of George although I felt sick.

‘In our own way we have. And we’ve come up with an idea. In fact Harold and me came up with an idea to start a Sunday Lunch Club.’

‘A Sunday Lunch Club?’

‘Yes, we discussed the idea at length, but for someone who is always happy to tell people off, he’s a bit nervous about sharing the idea with anyone else.’

‘Go on.’ I was intrigued. And I needed the distraction from my own problem.

‘He wants us to introduce friends to the old people who don’t have anyone else, and organise a lunch once a week. Or maybe once every two weeks, and then he also said maybe once a month we all go to the restaurant together like we did at Christmas last year.’

Last Christmas there’d been a power cut in Edgar Road, and we were lucky that Tomasz and Franceska were able to host those who might have been without any power to have Christmas lunch at the restaurant. There was a lovely sense of community there, among all cats and humans alike.

‘I think that is a brilliant idea,’ I said. ‘George, well done, you and Harold have done a pretty sterling job.’ It was a great idea, and I would have been jumping fully on board if I was fretting so much about my own future.

‘But we need to encourage him to tell Claire or Marcus or someone, because he feels too scared to do so and without them involved it’s not going to happen.’

‘We’ll give it some thought,’ I suggested. Thinking that it was far too soon for me to have to come up with yet another plan. I was all planned out for the moment. Also, I now needed a plan so I wouldn’t have to live at Harold’s. Oh this was not good. It was the opposite of good.

‘Maybe Harold’s new cat can help too,’ George suggested. I felt sick. I loved Harold, yes, but I didn’t want to leave George.

‘Maybe,’ was all I could manage.

‘Let’s hope they get one who is very clever indeed then,’ George finished.

I was busy worrying about how I would tell the humans that their idea to give me to Harold was not going to work when Claire announced we were all going to Harold’s together.

‘Meow,’ I said, giving her my most loving look. How could she think of giving me away?

‘You’ll love this surprise, Alfie,’ she said. No, no I wouldn’t. Although I had figured out what was going on, I was still trying to process it and come up with a way to make sure it didn’t happen.

‘We’re going to meet the new cat, I bet,’ George said excitedly. You’ve already met him, I wanted to say but I couldn’t. I had no idea yet how George was going to cope, because I wasn’t coping.

George and I had a light lunch which felt like my last supper. I know it sounded a bit dramatic, as Harold was on the same street, but George needed me to live with him, and what about Toby and Summer? Not to mention Jonathan and Claire. Their lives would literally fall apart without me. How could they do this to me?

‘If I’m going to meet a new cat, I need to make a good impression,’ George said, as he gave himself a thorough grooming.

‘Is Hana coming with us?’ I asked. I thought if he had his best friend there it might make things easier for him.

‘She is not. She said it’s too cold, and she doesn’t know anything about the new cat either. I hope the new cat isn’t going to have a nervous disposition, it wouldn’t cope well in our family, or on Edgar Road for that matter.’ George chatted away but his words barely registered with me.

Claire led George and me out of the house and to Harold’s. She left the children with Polly. Of course she did, she was giving me away, and she wouldn’t want them to be a party to that! I was suddenly angry. After all I had done for this family, how could they do this to me?

‘Do I look alright?’ George asked, as we stood at the door. I was pleased that I had taught George to always look his best as I tried to focus on him and not me for a moment.

‘You are the most handsome kitten,’ I replied, affectionately. Deep down I wanted to yowl but I had to pull myself together.

‘Although I am NOT a kitten,’ he replied, but he nuzzled me to show he didn’t mind.

Claire used her key to open the door, and George rushed in to see this new cat, but Harold was sat with Marcus in the living room and they were alone. My worst fear was confirmed. There was no new cat, I was the new cat. Although George looked under the furniture just in case. No, no new cat here.

‘Alfie, George, you two have been my friends for ages, especially George,’ Harold said, as he sat in his favourite chair. ‘And I know it was your idea that I get a cat – it’s a grand idea. But I don’t want you to think for one minute that this new cat will replace either of you in any way.’ Oh, that was strange. If I was the new cat then how could I replace myself? Was Harold just a bit confused, after all he’d been in hospital for a long time and that could confuse anyone.

‘Meow.’ George jumped onto Harold’s lap and nuzzled into his neck. I thought it showed how far George had come recently as he showed no sign of jealousy.

Claire looked at her watch.

‘They should be here by now,’ she said. ‘I just can’t wait.’

‘Meow?’ I asked, enough was enough, I needed to know. Who should be here by now? Just what on earth was going on? I yowled at Claire, begging her to tell me.

‘Jonathan and Matt went to get Harold’s new cat,’ Claire explained to me. ‘And they will be home any minute now, so get ready to give a warm welcome to her.’

Relief flooded my fur, I was not the new/old cat. I wasn’t being given to Harold, and the fear I’d held the last few days was unfounded. In fact I felt a little bit silly.

But what had all the hushed conversations been about? Why was there such a big fuss being made of this? Claire was jittery, Harold excited and Marcus grinned. No, this still made no sense.

‘It’s going to be the best surprise ever, Alfie,’ Claire said. No, no idea what she was talking about.

‘I still can’t get over how you guys talk to your cat as if they’re human. Sylvie does too and Connie sometimes talks to Hana in Japanese if she doesn’t want us to know what she’s saying,’ Marcus laughed.

‘Since meeting George, and then Alfie, I’ve learnt that these cats understand everything. I’ve never met a better listener than George,’ Harold said.

‘Meow.’ George thanked him.

It seemed like a long time, all this waiting. I hopped from paw to paw, impatiently, while George and Harold sat there quietly. I still couldn’t get over why they were making such a meal of this? And if Claire had told me in the first place I wouldn’t have had to worry about being given away.

I was just about to start getting bored, when the doorbell went. Claire jumped up and went to the door. Matt and Jonathan came in, Marcus was stood up, and Harold levered himself up to standing.

‘Everything OK?’ Claire asked.

‘Yes, all great. I mean sad, it was sad seeing them have to say goodbye but at least this is the best possible outcome under the circumstances,’ Jonathan said, which flummoxed me even more.

Matt put the cat carrier down on the floor. He bent down to open the door. George went up to it, and finally the cat moved and stretched, but I couldn’t see it. I spotted one white paw and I felt my body start to shake, as the cat began to make its way out of the cat carrier. I would never forget that paw, that scent. Suddenly all the secrets, all the hushed conversations made sense. It was never me, but it was all about me.

‘Meow, meow, meow,’ George said excitedly. He had no idea, as Harold’s new cat emerged from the cat carrier and I found myself face to face with Snowball.

We both stared at each other. I felt as if I was glued to the carpet, as my legs continued to shake. All those feelings I had once felt began to flood back. In front of me was my first love and she looked exactly the same. A little older maybe, but her white fur was still the fluffiest I’d ever seen and her blue eyes were mesmerising. What on earth was she doing here?

George searched my face questioningly. He had never met Snowball, he had no idea what she looked like. And I had a feeling that he wasn’t going to be pleased when he discovered just who Harold’s new cat was. Because of Tiger, I mean.

‘Welcome to my house, Snowball,’ Harold said, picking her up and stroking her. George’s eyes widened and then he looked at me. The pilchard finally dropped.

‘It was a bit heartbreaking,’ Jonathan said. ‘They are really going to miss her but at least they know she’s going to a good home and of course a familiar street with friends,’ he added. ‘With Alfie. They were so pleased that these two were being reunited,’ he added. And I would be too, if it wasn’t for George.

‘Oh Snowball, please don’t be sad, we’ll be great company for each other and you have your old friend Alfie here too,’ Harold said, petting her. She snuggled into him. I guess she had accepted the move with her usual grace.

‘Snowball’s family, Tim and Karen Snell, are moving overseas,’ Claire explained. Although to who I wasn’t sure, it seemed only George and I were in the dark on this one. ‘And it wasn’t suitable for her to go with them, so when they told me and I mentioned that we were looking for a cat, it all fell into place.’

‘I still can’t believe you told them we were looking for a cat the exact time they were looking for a family for Snowball,’ Marcus said. ‘It’s like it was fate,’ he added.

‘That’s what I said,’ Claire said, excitedly. ‘Snowball and Alfie were inseparable before they moved away, he was so devastated when she left,’ she added. George did not look best pleased.

‘And I’m very pleased to meet you,’ Harold said. ‘You really are gorgeous.’ He sounded delighted, but I was still trying to process all the information, and there was so much to figure out. Snowball seemed a little less shocked than me, but when Jonathan and Matt turned up she would have known what was going on, and her family had probably explained it to her, but I had a feeling she’d miss them. She had lived with them since she was a kitten and that broke my heart. However, it seemed that their loss was our gain.

I had a million questions but seeing the thunderous look on George’s face, I realised he had too.

Snowball and I were trying not to look at each other. George was ignoring me. The humans were all making a massive fuss of Snowball and all I wanted to do was to speak to her alone.

‘We’ve even got a cat flap for you,’ Harold said, ‘so you can come and go as you please.’ He was clearly smitten but then Snowball had that effect on people, and cats actually. I tried to get George’s attention – he was sulking under a chair, clearly not himself.

I took a breath. I needed to speak to Snowball, I needed to know what happened and if she was alright. I couldn’t tell from her impenetrable gaze which she had trained on Harold right now. I also needed to talk to George, because of all the questions I was sure he wanted to ask. But at the moment we were stuck here, in the most awkward welcome party known to cats.

It felt so strange, all those years apart and I could still read her. It was, in some ways, like she’d never been away. My unwarranted fear of being given to Harold was replaced with a new fear. And that was that George would never accept Snowball. Claire said to Jonathan that she was surprised by our reactions, she thought we’d both be so happy to see each other, but of course I couldn’t explain that to her. How could I expect a human to understand the complexities of a cat relationship?

George and I broke away from the others on the way home and went to the park at the end of Edgar Road.

‘How are you feeling?’ I asked, accepting how inadequate my words were. We were crouched behind a bush together, George was angrily swiping at leaves.

‘I don’t know,’ George said sadly. ‘They said Snowball was your girlfriend?’

‘I know and, George, I was just as shocked as you were to see her,’ I said.

‘But, Dad, she can’t replace Tiger,’ he said. I supposed I should be grateful for him getting straight to the point.

‘Of course not, George, and you can’t think of her like that. We were together before Tiger and I were, when your mum and I were just friends, but I don’t want you to worry about that. We haven’t even had the chance to say hello properly yet,’ I pointed out.

‘I was excited for Harold to get a cat and I thought we’d all be best friends but now I don’t know how I can be friends with her, it feels like I would be betraying Tiger mum,’ he said. He looked pretty forlorn.

‘And I understand that. You must feel incredibly confused, and I know I do too. But Snowball is here because she lost her family, or was about to lose them, and because we persuaded our families that Harold needed a cat. We need to remember that.’

‘But, I can’t ignore the fact that she and you have history, and that makes me feel funny,’ he said.

‘I understand, George, I do, but I don’t have the first clue what to say to you. Snowball will never replace Tiger in my heart. I need you to know that. We’re different cats now, we’re older and hopefully wiser …’ While I was trying to reassure George, I was also trying to reassure myself, or at least organise my emotions.

‘But you might love her like you used to.’

‘I honestly don’t know how to answer that at the moment. George, please understand me when I say that I won’t do anything to hurt you and I would never ever do anything to tarnish my feelings for Tiger.’

‘I hope that’s true and I hope you know that I am going to have to tell Snowball that she can never be my mum.’ He was getting riled now.

‘You don’t need to say that because she never would try to do anything like that. George, remember when Oliver moved into the Barkers’ house, and I felt funny about that? You said that the Barkers needed him because they were lost without Tiger and mentioned that Oliver needed a home. Well Harold needs Snowball and Snowball needs Harold by the sounds of it and if you can be friends with Oliver, then you can be friends with Snowball surely.’

‘No, because Oliver was never your girlfriend, and didn’t try to replace my mum. Anyway I can’t talk about this anymore right now, I’m going to go and see Hana.’

There was nothing I could do as I watched him stalk off.

My heart felt heavy as I went home. I thought about going back to see Snowball but then I realised I needed a bit of time alone.

I crept into the house and into my bed. I fell asleep and tried not to think but after about only forty blinks, I woke up, everything felt unsettled. I decided that it was time to bite the bullet, because I wouldn’t settle until I had a proper chat with Snowball. I needed to know she was alright. So I made my way back to Harold’s house, hoping George was happily with Hana and didn’t get mad at me if he found out. I had no idea how to do the right thing. Firstly I had to worry about George’s feelings, then Snowball’s and finally my own.

I let myself in the cat flap and found Snowball in the living room sitting on Harold’s lap. He was asleep. It was strange, seeing her evoked myriad emotions. In some ways they looked as if they belonged together and had been together for years, they seemed so comfortable. Yet, also I couldn’t help but remember how much pain I had been in when I said goodbye to her years ago, and how much had happened since. I’d become a father – albeit initially reluctantly – I’d fallen in love with Tiger, I’d been on holiday a number of times, we’d met Harold, there was almost a whole life between when I last saw her and now. And I was a very different cat from the one who tried to woo her by climbing a tree with dug up flowers. That had ended in me getting rescued by the fire brigade and was so humiliating, by the way. I would never do that now! Especially as that was how I discovered my fear of heights.

Snowball peered at me and I thought ‘I still know you.’ It was in her eyes. I tilted my head and hoped that she would follow me as I made my way to the back door.

‘He sleeps very soundly,’ I said. It was the first thing I’d said to her and it was horribly inadequate.

‘He snores loudly,’ she replied with a grin.

‘Where do we start, Snowball?’ I asked.

‘At the beginning?’ she replied.

‘Tell me, because Claire was vague, why you’re here. Your family moved away?’ I wanted to nuzzle her but it felt too soon for that sort of contact.

‘The kids moved away ages ago, and somehow they both ended up in America. So, they all missed each other and Tim and Karen decided to move, but they couldn’t really take me, because where they were moving to would be too hot. They said at my age it would probably be best for me to stay here.’

‘That must have been devastating for you?’

‘I kind of got used to losing people, Alfie. First you, then Daisy moved away to be a model, then Christopher left home … I miss everyone, of course, and when I found out Tim and Karen were moving I was utterly heartbroken. But then they spoke to Claire and told me I’d be coming back to Edgar Road, and although I was still sad, I thought about you and how no matter what the situation was with us, we’d be friends again. I felt a bit better, because I didn’t have to start over from scratch. But then when I saw you this afternoon, it was so strange. And I don’t think George liked me. Oh, Alfie, it’s all so confusing.’

‘Let me fill you in on what’s been going on here since you’ve been gone,’ I said, trying to find a starting point for this new situation between us both.

We talked for what felt like hours. I told her about how heartbroken I was when she left, and how my family thought the answer lay in giving me George as a kitten. I then told her about how we got to know each other and how in doing so, Tiger became even closer to me. I told her about our adventures and finally I got onto losing Tiger, and the new cat who was living in her old house. I filled her in on so much, it was quite tiring for me, talking so much.

In turn, she told me about how after she moved from Edgar Road, she had a very different life. They lived in a house with a garden on a street which was smaller than Edgar Road, and there weren’t many cats around and so, unlike me, Snowball had been living quite a quiet and solitary existence since leaving here. Well that was at an end now she was back here.

‘You do realise that life on Edgar Road is still not remotely peaceful or quiet,’ I said.

‘I do, and if I remember rightly, life with you is never dull,’ Snowball said and I saw another glimpse of the girl I left behind.

‘You know when life is calm and quiet, I always start to panic that it’s going to change drastically. It always happens; this time everything was alright then Pickles arrived in our lives. Shortly after Harold went to hospital, George got a job, then Sylvie found out she was pregnant and now here you are. I mean dull? I don’t even know the meaning of the word dull.’

‘Oh, Alfie, there is so much we need to catch up on,’ Snowball said. ‘Where do we go from here?’

‘Do you think we can start to rebuild our friendship now? See, what happens?’ I asked.

‘I think that’s the best way. We need to think about George. I mean he seemed pretty angry.’

‘He’s confused. He thinks you’re going to replace Tiger, and we have to prove to him that that’s not the case. No matter what happens between the two of us, we have to make George feel good about the situation first off, because he and Harold are so close. And he’s my son, my number one priority.’

‘OK, so, Alfie, I’ve been here five minutes and you’re already going to have to come up with one of your crazy plans.’

‘Hey.’ I bumped her gently, old feelings began to come flooding back again. ‘My plans are not crazy.’

We turned and grinned at each other and I knew that although I had lived a life without her in it, I still adored her. It wasn’t the same as I felt with Tiger, but I needed to figure out how to go from here. Snowball and I agreed that George was the first priority here, the rest would have to wait.