Alfie And George

Chapter Twenty-four

I knew I couldn’t wait any longer. That morning, after delivering George into Tiger’s care, I set off to see Dustbin. She was such a good mum, and I felt lucky to have her. Glancing back, I saw the two of them looking after me and I felt a pang in my heart. I needed to do this for all my friends, but especially Tiger and George. I went as fast as my legs would carry me, knowing the way and knowing what dangers to look out for — usually just cars and maybe the odd dog. I took the back route into Dustbin’s yard without too much trouble, feeling pleased with myself for making such quick time.

‘Hi, Alfie,’ Dustbin said.‘This is a pleasant surprise.’

‘Well, Dustbin, you might not feel that way when I tell you why I’m here.’ I filled him in on the latest developments.‘So it seems the lamppost cats might actually be more of a problem than we first thought. God forbid any more cats are in danger.’

‘Right, Alfie, sounds like we need to sort this out before it gets out of hand. I’ll go this afternoon and talk to my colleagues again and we’ll ramp up the urgency. I’m sure that between us we can get some information. In the meantime, you stay vigilant and let me know of any developments as soon as you can.’

‘I think I’ll set up a network here, so that when I can’t get to you I can send Tiger or something. I really do need to keep a close eye on George, I shudder to think anything might happen to him.’

‘Right, well, it might take a bit of time, but I’m on the case and I’ll come and find you if I have any news.’

‘But do you know where I live?’

‘Yes, I was interested once so I followed Tomasz.’ I raised my whiskers.

‘OK, so maybe I was being a bit nosey. I fancied seeing where you lived. I miss the boys by the way.’

‘Me too. I wish they’d come home. And I wish all the missing cats would get to go back to their homes too. Oh, Dustbin, I wish the lampposts were just lampposts again.’ My eyes were full of worry, but Dustbin, more than anyone, reassured me.

Life has a funny way of turning round in circles; time passes, things change. One minute everyone’s sad, then they’re happy, and then, well, where do I start?

Tash was over at ours when I got back from seeing Dustbin, gushing about Max, who she’d been on another date with. I couldn’t believe how happy she seemed. She’d come to realise that perhaps she had fallen out of love with Dave before he left her, without realising it, and although she was cautious, she was beginning to see that she deserved happiness. And as Claire said to her, you didn’t know when it would come along so you had to snatch it when you could. Also, because Max was a father himself, he understood her need to put Elijah first. I felt very hopeful although I did worry she would get hurt again. But I was a cat who worried about things, that was just what I did.

‘Anyway,’ Tash said,‘he’s great, puts no pressure on me at all. But you know, whatever happens, he’s made me see that I tried so hard to make the relationship with Dave work, whilst he did nothing. If I’m honest, I think having Elijah was my last-ditch attempt to save us. I don’t think I realised it at the time, but it does make sense.’

‘I had no idea,’ Claire said.

‘He was just so lazy. Anyway, I put up with him for so long and I really believed I loved him. Well, I did love him, but actually, he’s not worth it,’ said Tash as she watched Elijah eat his sandwich at the kitchen table. Summer was sitting opposite him, pulling her sandwich apart and dropping bits on the floor, where George was waiting, hoping it might be something he liked. Luckily for him, it was grated cheese. George loved cheese.

‘Summer, eat that — don’t drop it,’ Claire said, sounding exasperated. ‘Well, sometimes you lose something and you realise how much you miss it, and other times you lose something and realise that actually it wasn’t right in the first place.’

‘Was that what it was like with your first husband?’ Tash asked. I had never met Claire’s first husband. She moved here after they divorced and she was sad then.

‘He was a control freak and then, remember, I moved on to Joe who was the same only worse. I think with Dave, you were together so long you were used to him, you know, he was part of your life, you might not have seen that you weren’t actually happy.’

‘I think you’re right. But did you see it?’

‘Honestly? No. I mean I never really got to know him that well, and Jonathan was never overly keen, but then Jon’s ambitious and he doesn’t understand men who don’t have ambition.’

‘Dave didn’t, did he? I thought he was laid back but I didn’t realise how lazy he was. I worked twice as hard as him, I found the house, I did pretty much everything. Anyway, enough about me, what’s going on with you? Elijah, do you want some fruit?’ I marvelled at the way parents managed to have conversations but always seemed to remember what they needed to do for their children. I needed to learn that skill with George. Elijah nodded, and Claire handed Tash a banana.

‘Look,’ Claire said. She took an envelope out from behind the toaster and handed it to Tash.

‘What’s this?’ Tash took the letter out and read it.

‘But, Claire, that’s fantastic, you’ve been approved!’ Tash jumped up and hugged Claire.

‘Yes, we’ve been given the green light for adopting and the social worker said that if we’re willing to take an older child it won’t take as long. But, well, I haven’t told Jonathan yet.’

‘When did you get this letter?’ Tash asked.

‘Last week. I know it’s silly, but I want this more than anything, I don’t know how I’d feel if Jonathan said no.’

‘And you’re sure about taking care of an older child?’ Tash looked concerned, as did I.

‘Yes. Tash, I’m doing this for the right reasons and I’ve thought long and hard about that. I want Summer to have a sibling, and I want to add to our family. A baby isn’t realistic. We’re a bit older now and the waiting list is so long, Summer would probably be at university before we even got a baby.’ Claire looked thoughtful. I thought she was being optimistic: Summer at university? She was so bossy she’d probably be kicked out of school long before then.‘Anyway, we have a lovely home and a lot of love here, so any child would be welcome. And I hate to think of any kid not having a loving family, I really believe that this child needs us and we need them.’

‘That’s lovely, Claire.’

‘But the thing is that Jon is scared and I can’t seem to get through to him, so I just don’t know what to do.’

I jumped onto the kitchen table. I wanted to tell Claire that if she was a bit more supportive as to how Jonathan felt, and told she him understood, yet explained why they would be such great parents to any child, then he would come round. But how could I convey that? It seemed that she was on her road and he was on his and they didn’t seem to be going to the same place. I nudged Tash.

‘Claire, tell him you understand,’ she said, as if reading my mind.‘Do it gently.’

‘I railroad people, don’t I?’ Claire asked.

‘You do make up your mind and then go for it, which is great, and a real asset in so many ways and why we all love you, but in this case, maybe try a more gentle approach?’

‘I’ll try but I can’t promise. In my head I’m already decorating the spare room for him.’

‘It’s a boy?’

‘It would be a boy, yes, I just feel it.’ Claire laughed.‘I see what you mean.’

I tried not to despair. She knew what to do but, being Claire, she wasn’t sure she could do it. I wanted another child here. I could see the value for all of us, and with the way I felt about George, I knew that adoption was a great, positive thing, but Claire needed to convince Jonathan, not tell him, and that was where I worried. If they couldn’t agree on this, then what would happen to them?

Tash took Elijah home for a nap, and as Claire took Summer upstairs for hers, George and I went out. None of the cats seemed to be around so after playing with some leaves and chasing a fly we decided to go and see if Matt was in. I missed Polly on days like this, she and I hung out together quite a lot before she got her job, but I loved Matt too — it was just that these days he wasn’t quite as much fun.

George and I headed through the cat flap and into Polly and Matt’s house. Imagine my surprise when we went to the living room and saw big Tomasz sitting in the armchair with Matt on the sofa. It had been ages since I’d seen Tomasz — since the rest of the family had gone on holiday — so I jumped up onto his lap and snuggled in. George sat at Matt’s feet.

‘Ah, our friends the cats,’ Tomasz said, making a fuss of me. I purred happily, it was so lovely to see him. ‘I know, I miss you too, Alfie,’ he said.‘And of course my wife and children.’

‘Jeez, Tom, it feels like they’ve been gone for ages, although I know it hasn’t been that long,’ Matt said, which I agreed with.‘When are they back?’

‘Another two weeks, before school starts. I asked her to come home sooner but Franceska says they’re having a lovely time and anyway I’d only be working.’

‘Tom, you know, me being at home this way, not the way I’d choose, by the way, has taught me something. I see more of my children than ever and they do something different, something new, every day. I love that. I spent so long worrying about losing my job and the fact I was no longer the “man” of the house, but actually, when I think about it, I really enjoy spending more time with the kids. I’ve made myself a promise that if, or when, I get another job, I’ll always make sure I spend enough time with them.’ George hopped onto Matt’s lap and licked his face. Which was very clever of him because I would have done the same had I not been busy being stroked by Tomasz.

‘I know you’re right, but the business … We have two restaurants now. And I do this for my family, you know.’

‘Yes, and you’re brilliant — look how successful you’ve become. But mate, you have managers, you need to delegate, take more time off. There’s no point in doing this for your family if you don’t see them.’ I couldn’t have put it better myself. Matt had come a long way since learning how to load the dishwasher.

‘I know, you’re right. And since they’ve been gone I’ve missed them like crazy, I just need them to come home so I can let them know.’

No, I felt a tingling in my fur. Tomasz was wrong, he didn’t need them to come home, he needed to go and get them. He needed to go to Poland. But how did I tell him that? I looked at Matt, willing him to have the same idea.

‘Changing the subject, I’ve got a meeting. Long story but the brother of one of Jon’s colleagues has a design agency. He’s got some work, it’s freelance, not a permanent role, but it’s a good company and if I get it I might be able to be more flexible, so Polly can keep working if she wants to, and I can still do more with the children.’

‘Have you spoken to Polly about it?’

Matt shook his head.‘We’re not communicating very well right now either.’

‘When did our lives get so complicated?’ Tomasz asked. I didn’t know the answer to that. It was complicated, and I couldn’t help but feel a little exasperated that neither man seemed to know what to do about the situation.