Alfie The Christmas Cat

‘I’m just so lonely,’ Barbara said. ‘I never lived alone before and I’m here with no friends, and any friends I hoped to have are gone because of my stupid behaviour.’

‘Hey, you weren’t yourself. And you’ve done the right thing, getting counselling, not that I ever held with it, but now I can see it’s the best thing. It’s not going to be OK overnight. And as for friends, well, yes, you did burn some bridges, but bridges can be re-built. And I’m your friend now.’ Oh Harold, I thought, I couldn’t have done a better job myself.

‘The cats are always together aren’t they?’ she asked suddenly. George raised his (still slightly pink) tail, he clearly wasn’t ready to trust her yet.

‘Yes, and you know, I didn’t think I liked cats before. George used to visit me and I’d tell him to go away but one day I collapsed and he somehow managed to get me help. They are amazing, the cats of Edgar Road – especially these three – and I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t love cats.’

Again, I couldn’t have put it better myself.

‘My husband didn’t like cats, so I suppose I didn’t either. He said they were pointless, not like dogs, but then they were the ones who caught me, weren’t they? So, not so pointless, I guess.’

I wasn’t sure if that meant she liked us now or not and I tried not to take umbrage that anyone could think cats were pointless.

‘They may take a bit of getting used to, but if you want to be friends with us, then you better start liking our cats. They’re part of the family,’ he chuckled.

‘Oh I miss having a family so much.’ She started crying again.

I glanced at George, I really needed to get home. Not only was I hungry– Harold was too busy comforting Barbara to give us snacks – but also, this room was so warm I was about to fall asleep. We all went into the kitchen.

‘We better go,’ I said. ‘But Snowball, tell us how this ends, if you can get away later. Or if not, see you at rehearsal.’

‘Will do.’ She nuzzled me goodbye. ‘And George, be patient with Hana, she’s worth it,’ she said.

He raised his whiskers.‘Seeing how sad Barbara is made me realise when we love someone we do whatever we can to keep hold of them,’ he said sadly. It was very true. And some of us weren’t lucky enough to hold on to them forever, so when you could, you should.

I had a lovely sleep, I dreamt of Christmas, dinner, all the treats, the happiness, and the show. It was all merging into one. When I woke I did think of Barbara, as she really did seem so upset and I was pretty sure she wasn’t acting anymore. But how could we convince the others to let her back in, maybe not to the show, but as a friend? She and Harold seemed to be friends now so maybe he would help her, but it would have been good if she could join the Sunday Lunch Club – I couldn’t believe I was thinking that.I was better at forgiveness than I thought.

‘Dad,’ George said, as I woke up fully.

‘Yes, son?’

‘I think we should all forgive Barbara. I was thinking how bad I felt when we lost Tiger mum and how sad I was after. I didn’t always want to be nice, did I?’

‘Neither of us did, lad,’ I said.

‘So, maybe she should have another chance, although with her it’ll be about her hundredth chance.’

‘I think you’re right. After all, what would Tiger mum do?’ We often asked this, because it kept her alive not just in our hearts, but in our lives.

‘She’d give her another chance, but she would only let her have one more,’ George said. He was right, that was exactly what she would do.

‘The thing is, I’m not sure how we get everyone to give her another chance?’ I said.

‘I don’t think we need to, I think Harold will do that,’ George said. Interesting, I thought, if he was right then I would be one happy cat.

George was spot on, as it turned out. At rehearsal that evening, Harold climbed on stage, clutching Snowball for confidence, and addressed everyone.

‘I know that Barbara messed up. She knows she messed up. But we’ve had a heart to heart and she is very sorry. She’s getting help but you know the best help is friendship. Most of you in this room, especially the cats, have taught me that, and so I’m asking you all to extend the hand of friendship.’

‘But she nearly ruined the show,’ Vic pointed out.

‘Yeah, how do we know we can trust her?’ someone else shouted.

‘Listen,’ Harold said. ‘I know she did wrong and she is going to put it right. She doesn’t have much money but she is going to donate all her husband’s clothes to the shelter, and she is also going to volunteer there to make amends. She really is trying and I think if we give her another chance to be in the show, to be friends with her, we’ll find out she really has changed; or gone back to who she was before, which I think is probably more the case.’

‘Don’t forget the Nativity is about God and what he did for the world. God and Jesus are both all about forgiveness,’ Ralph the vicar added.

‘We should give her another chance, it is Christmas after all,’ Sienna, who was so lovely, said.

‘Yeah, even though I was a trouble maker for a bit, everyone gave me another chance,’ Tommy said. I had a feeling he was more interested in impressing Sienna than worrying about Barbara. Never mind.

‘OK.’ Jonathan clapped his hands. ‘Let’s take a vote. Who votes we give Barbara another chance – bearing in mind that we can keep a close eye on her from now on. Raise your hands.’

‘I still won’t leave the hall without checking it is all fully locked, but I also think she deserves another go,’ Franceska added.

I watched, impressed, as everyone raised their hands until it was unanimous. Barbara was back in. I saw Jonathan grin as he went over to Claire.

‘No need to measure me up for a costume then,’ he said with a wink.

Chapter Thirty-Two

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‘Pickles, stop doing that,’ Polly shouted as she scooped Pickles up from where he was trying to eat the pretend Christmas presents.

‘Can you keep him with you?’ She shoved him into Jonathan’s arms, and he had no time to object as Pickles started wriggling. Pickles had a new Christmas collar on – it was decorated with Christmas trees and it made him look very festive, we all thought, although he had even tried to eat that.

It was chaos. It was wonderful. We had finally reached the dress rehearsal and backstage was mad. What we hadn’t thought of when we were rehearsing was the fact that when the acts weren’t on stage they were out front, watching. However, out front tonight was full of the people we were doing this for. Even Claire was struggling to keep everyone under control, but it didn’t matter because we were all excited and raring to go.

The hall had never looked better. The Christmas decorations were all in place, it was lit up beautifully, the curtains hung invitingly across the stage, and the smells of mince pies (not baked by Claire), and gingerbread filled the air.

The Helen Street Shelter patrons had arrived, led by Greg and some of the other volunteers. It was so real now, as they filled the hall. We had done it and it was really happening. I was chock-a-block full of emotion. We were doing it for them.

Tonight was the first time we’d all been in full costume. The dancers and the singing groups had arrived already dressed, as their costumes had consisted mainly of Christmas jumpers, and the dancers wore Christmas leggings and T-shirts, but those in the Nativity, the children, and us, had costumes to be fitted. The children were dressed as reindeer, and we were dressed as sheep, but more about that later.

‘Right, dancers get ready. As it’s so cramped back here, when you’re finished, go and sit in front of the stage, I think that’s best,’ Claire directed as she, and her clipboard, started organising the acts. She was pretty good at it, calm but just bossy enough. There was so much noise backstage, everyone was excited.

‘We need quiet,’ Franceska shouted, clapping her hands together, and everyone began to lower the volume.

There was a hush in the hall as Aleksy and Connie made their way on stage. I had to look so I squeezed through legs to the side of the stage, and pushed my head through the curtain so I could see. Not brilliantly, but I could see a bit.

‘Hello, good evening,’ Aleksy said shyly, finding his voice.

‘We’d like to welcome you to your Christmas show,’ Connie said. The crowd clapped.

‘We hope you enjoy it, but bear in mind this is our dress rehearsal, so if anything goes wrong, please be kind.’ They all laughed. ‘And after the show we would love for you to join us for hot drinks and some food,’ Aleksy added. ‘Right, well, here it is, the Edgar Road Christmas show!’

Everyone clapped as the curtains opened– much to our relief – to reveal the dancers waiting on stage.

I couldn’t see much of the show from where I stood but I’d seen most of it before, though having everyone in costume made it even more amazing. The music sounded good, and from what I could see the audience were enjoying themselves. I began to relax, and I saw from Aleksy’s face that he did too. It was all going to be more than alright.

By the time the children, who looked adorable as reindeer, mounted the stage with Pickles, the show was in full force. I had to watch this, so again, I snuck round to where I could almost see. They sang and danced enthusiastically but Pickles was trying to get his antlers– possibly to eat – and he ran around in so many circles he ended up falling off the stage.

There was a bit of a commotion, but one of the dancers caught him and put him back on stage. He seemed relatively unharmed as he resumed trying to eat his antlers. The children, professional as ever, kept going and they got the biggest cheer of the night so far.

With the Nativity about to begin, it was all still going well. Snowball, George, Hana, and myself were ready to go. We looked like sheep, and I know this because we all had the same costumes and I saw how the others looked. Even the woolly hats made us more sheep-like. Hana looked the best because she was small and round, but we all looked pretty amazing, I thought. We didn’t like dressing up, as a rule, but I was willing to make an exception. It was for a good cause.

‘Break a leg,’ George said, before we were due to go on.

‘Why on earth would we do that?’ Snowball asked.

‘Oh boy, it’s a showbiz term, means good luck,’ he hissed. ‘But you’re not supposed to say good luck as it’s bad luck and now I have. Twice. Oh no!’

‘Calm down, George, it’ll be fine, and how do you know all this anyway?’

‘I’ve been in the business longer than any of you,’ he said. Of course.

The Nativity was flawless, almost. Mary and Joseph arrived at the Airbnb on a tandem. Mary (Sylvie) had a pillow in her dress and Connie was holding Theo backstage.

‘There’s no room in my Airbnb. My business is very popular and successful; in fact I consistently get five stars on trip advisor so, no, there’s nothing for you, here,’ Polly said and everyone laughed. I didn’t get it, but it was apparently quite funny.

Before we knew it, it was our turn with the shepherds. I was actually quite nervous as I mounted the stage. My legs were shaking. I gave Snowball a reassuring look as George ran ahead. We all did our sheep impression, George bounding around taking centre stage while we hung back, pretending to eat grass as well as shuffling around a bit. I don’t think any of us wanted to steal George’s limelight, especially as the audience seemed to be lapping it up. We all became still as the lights dimmed and the song ‘While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night’ began, sung beautifully by Ralph’s choir. Then we were told about the baby Jesus and we set off to meet him after being herded up by Tomasz, who, because he had this sort of head covering on which fell over his face a bit, stepped on my tail.

‘Yelp,’ I said, not sounding like a sheep at all.

‘Sorry,’ he whispered as he adjusted his head piece. Apart from that, I thought it was a very authentic representation. And when Peter juggled the toy sheep he only dropped them once, so that was a definite improvement, as he closed our first part.

The choir sang again, and after that a break– or interval, as Aleksy called it – the stage was set and ready for the last part of the Nativity.

When we arrived at the stable where the baby Jesus was born, we all looked on curiously– not sure if sheep did that, but they did in our play. Theo started bawling suddenly, causing us all to jump back, but Sylvie put a dummy in his mouth and that stopped him. Apparently they didn’t have dummies in Jesus’ time, but as Aleksy said, needs must.

After the finale when Santa Harold came and sat in the armchair, pretended to fall asleep and the children found him there– which was a very sweet scene – he got up and started throwing treats out to the audience, who were all trying to catch them, and then as many people as possible crowded on stage and sang ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’. It was over too quickly and as the curtain closed, the audience clapped and cheered with gusto. The curtains opened and everyone bowed again. Well, we tried, but it’s not easy to bow when you’re a cat.

I was exhausted but, for some reason, I couldn’t wait until we got to do it again.

‘That was brilliant, wasn’t it, Dad?’ George said, eyes sparkling.

‘It was, George, and I now see why you were so keen about stage stuff,’ I said.

Backstage was once again chaotic as people tried to change out of costumes and props were tidied up.

‘Can I help with the cats?’ Barbara asked. I narrowed my eyes. Not likely.

‘That’d be great, thank you,’ Claire said. Barbara picked me up and I resisted the urge to jump out of her arms. She had behaved perfectly since the day that we foiled her plan, and Harold was convinced she was a nice lady. She gently took my costume off and then put me down. Wow, that felt better, my fur felt free again.

‘There you go, Alfie,’ she said, kindly. ‘You were all very good sheep.’

Maybe she wasn’t all bad after all.

Tommy and Charlie were showing Aleksy the brilliant response they had received on social media after they put some photos and teasers up. Heather was organising the kitchen and making hot drinks for everyone with some of the other Edgar Road singers, while Franceska was in charge of the food. The audience were all chatting happily, having seemed to have really enjoyed themselves. The cast was mixing with all of them, even the younger members. Summer and Martha paraded Pickles around on his lead to charmingly introduce him to everyone. Sienna and Tommy were handing out food, Aleksy and Connie were shaking hands and chatting to people. It was all truly wonderful. Barbara was being particularly helpful and she had kept her word and was volunteering at the shelter now, so she seemed to know quite a few people. Someone called for quiet again, and as we all looked on, a man, who I assumed was from the shelter, took to the stage.

‘I just wanted to say,’ his voice broke a little. Greg the manager went to join him on stage and he put his arm around the man’s shoulder, reassuringly. ‘I just want to say that this evening has been something we will never forget. We are often forgotten and sometimes we even forget ourselves. Because existing is all we can try to do, there’s no way we can think about enjoying ourselves.’ His voice broke again. Greg patted him reassuringly. My heart felt as if it was breaking a little bit for these forgotten people, and I saw many wiping tears from their eyes, including Jonathan. ‘But today, you did something great. Not only are you putting on a show to help us, which we appreciate more than I can ever tell you, but also you invited us to participate. To feel as if we are part of something, part of the community and that is something that almost never happens to us homeless people. So, on behalf of Helen Street Shelter, and all homeless people everywhere, I want to thank you for seeing us, and hearing us, and letting us be a part of something wonderful.’

Everyone clapped and cheered him, and he became the real star of the show.

A litter while later, I noticed a woman I’d never seen before taking photos as Aleksy and Connie approached her. I joined them.

‘This will go in this week’s paper,’ she said. Ah, she was from the local paper. Claire talked about them doing a piece. ‘I’ve got lots of great photos and I know this will be a wonderful Christmas story.’ She sounded emotional.

‘Brilliant! Did you enjoy the show?’ Aleksy asked.

‘I loved it. And I think people are going to love the cats as sheep and the adorable reindeer, so as well as a picture of some of the people from the shelter, we’ll use those. I assume there’s a link to buy tickets and donate?’ she asked.

‘Oh yes,’ Connie said, and smiled. ‘Let me get you all the details.’

‘Before we go, we wanted to give you some feedback,’ Aleksy said when the people from the shelter had left, so it was just us cast. It had been a long night as we stayed for ages, mixing with our guests and the children were worn out from excitement and too much sugar; they were all about to crash and I felt ready to do the same. But we all listened intently. Were they going to say anything about us sheep? I thought we did a good job, but … I held my breath.

‘You were all brilliant!’ Connie announced and we cheered, well, I mewed, but you get the idea.

‘And, the shows are all now practically sold out,’ Aleksy added, to more cheers.

‘Thank you all for your hard work. Honestly, seeing the response tonight, how much it meant to everyone in the audience, makes it feel so worthwhile, more than worthwhile,’ Claire added.

‘Can we also take a minute to say thank you to the organisers?’ Polly said. ‘Without Aleksy, Connie, and Claire there would be no show, so please, a round of applause for them.’

I looked around the room. No one mentioned me. No one. But then, I was just happy that my idea had gone so brilliantly. That was recognition enough. Or at least, it seemed it would have to be.

As we headed home, we all felt that we’d done something important tonight and everyone was happy, but also our hearts were filled with thoughts of those who didn’t have a home to head to. And that was sad beyond belief.

Chapter Thirty-Three

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In some ways the day was normal. We woke, breakfasted, then we were allowed our advent calendars. The children squealed as they opened their doors and got rewarded with chocolate. George and I waited patiently as Toby and Summer then opened ours and handed us our cat equivalent to chocolate. A very nice treat indeed. It was one of our Christmas traditions I would have been happy to keep going all year.

But the day wasn’t normal, because it was opening night. We were all excited, nervous, and ready to go all at the same time. The dress rehearsal had been so special, it gave us a confidence in the show that really pushed us all forward. We had also become far more sure about our ability to make it a success. Even with the small mistakes made, which, by the way, I didn’t notice, the audience had loved it and that was what mattered. The best news was that all three shows were now sold out. The local paper had written a piece saying the show was ‘full of Christmas spirit’ and as a result we had sold allthe tickets. Donations had also been coming in. Our house was full of gifts that had been wrapped for the people in the shelter; there were so many that Tomasz was going to collect them with his van and we were going to deliver them after the show was finished, just in time for Christmas.

I had mixed feelings thinking about the show being over. It would be sad in so many ways but also good. We could think properly about Christmas then, which we hadn’t had much time for, although the turkey had – thankfully – been ordered. The children had written their letters to Santa and were excited but also tired because there was a lot going on at school on top of the show. Actually, we were all quite tired. We had rehearsed and rehearsed, and now we were coming towards the end. Sad, but happy too. We had a lot to look forward to after the show but I might miss being a sheep sometimes. I would definitely miss the applause.

‘We are going to be so worn out when this is all over,’ Snowball said.

‘I’m already quite exhausted,’ Hana replied. Poor thing, she did look weary.

‘Hey, maybe after Christmas Theo will start sleeping more,’ I chipped in cheerfully.

‘We can only hope.’ She did sound a little dejected and I hoped George wasn’t giving her a hard time, but he was off practising his prancing so I couldn’t ask him.

I managed to look out and see that the hall was packed full of people. People who had paid money to come and see us. I knew some of them were friends and family of the cast but still, it made me feel proud and warm inside. It really did make me think of embracing the show business bug, as George said. How he had it after his very brief appearance I will never fully understand, but here, with the lights and the audience and the music, it was intoxicating. Perhaps Ishould have been a showbiz cat!

Barbara was doing funny vocal exercises, which she said would help everyone warm their voices and they were all going along with her. Vic and Heather had fully forgiven her now, which meant the rest of their singing group followed suit.

‘Meowwwwwww,’ I tried to join in but I couldn’t make the right sounds. Everyone laughed.

‘Oh Alfie, you are such a funny cat,’ Barbara said. I still couldn’t quite get used to the fact she seemed to like us now. Trust was hard to give to someone who had tried to injure you more than once, but I was trying.

‘We have our own warm up,’ George said, to me, Snowball, and Hana.

‘We do?’

‘Yes, swish our tail, raise our whiskers, stretch our paw and say Mewmewmewmew.’

None of us thought it was doing anything at all, but we humoured him.

And then the curtains opened, the lights came on, the music started and the dancers began their dance.

The first proper night of our Christmas show began.

I decided, after three long shows, that I wasn’t actually cut out to be a showbiz cat after all. It was the last show and I was exhausted. It had all gone swimmingly, Pickles didn’t fall off the stage but he had lost his antlers a couple of times and somehow managed to get covered in glitter. Theo was sick over Sylvie when she was holding him, but it was only a little bit and he slept brilliantly through two of the shows, which they said meant he would be awake all night.

Barbara sang a bit too loudly in her solo part and in the group songs but no one seemed to mind. I think she was still a bit disappointed to be a wise man as she did make a bit of a meal out of her‘we come bearing gifts’ line. Ralph the vicar had already invited her to join his church choir and she’d said she’d love to. We cats were purrfect as well, not a paw out of place. We really were very good sheep, even if I do say so myself. I think everyone, on the whole, did a very good job.

It was time for the last scene of the last paid-for show.

‘I have an idea,’ George whispered to us as we had now been relieved of our sheep costumes. ‘Why don’t we go on stage one last time and we can pretend to sleep by the fire and then we can get up and join in with the last song.’

‘That is a great idea, George, let’s go!’ We couldn’t persuade Snowball and Hana, who were taking a break and having a rest, but we both went on stage and when the curtain opened we were pretending to be asleep by the fire.

The set was really quite lovely, a fake fire glowed in the hearth, a mantelpiece with stockings hung, and in front of the fire sat a mince pie and a glass of milk. There was a big tree, sparkling with lights and decorations and presents– which were fake and had been rescued a number of times from Pickles’ trying to eat them, and an armchair.

Harold was relishing his role as Santa. He mounted the stage saying‘Ho, Ho, Ho,’ and swung his sack around to put it down. Then he made a fuss of the mince pie and milk and if he was surprised we were there he didn’t show it. Maybe he’d had acting lessons from his new friend Barbara, I thought. He sat down in the chair, and he started snoring, which sounded real and a bit like a freight train. There were some giggles from the audience.

Toby, Henry, Martha, and Summer came on stage in their pyjamas all yawning and stretching, as if they had just woken up.

‘Let’s see if he’s been,’ Henry said.

‘He has, he has,’ Martha said.

‘But look, he’s still here,’ Summer exclaimed.

‘Wow, that’s amazing,’ Toby finished. However, as it turned out. Harold had actually fallen asleep and he kept snoring as Toby and Henry prodded him. The audience laughed as if it was part of the show. I looked at George.

‘Let’s go wake him,’ I suggested. We got up and jumped onto Harold – Santa’s – lap, mewing with all our might.

‘What the hell?’ he shouted, startling awake. The audience laughed again. ‘I mean, Ho, Ho, Ho, I’ve been rumbled.’

As the children and Santa walked to the front of the stage to sing the final song, George and I joined them, and as Harold threw sweets into the audience, I felt quite emotional. Yes, we would be doing it again for the Sunday Lunch Club, but not with everyone, and so, really, this was our last full show. And it had been wonderful. As the audience clapped and cheered, George and I took our bows– which we still couldn’t quite master. But, we really were showbiz cats right at that moment.

Aleksy, Connie, and Claire climbed on stage and Greg from the shelter came up with them.

‘We haven’t got the final figure yet as money was still being donated, but we have raised at least three times as much as we set out to do,’ Aleksy said and everyone clapped.

‘Thank you for coming to our show, it has been a real pleasure to work on and thank you to the cast who worked so hard, the backstage crew for all their amazing work, and, well, just thank you to everyone for making it such a success,’ Connie said. Aleksy and Connie held hands. Their confidencehad grown amazingly since doing this. Smiles were so bright and everyone radiated happiness. It was a moment I never wanted to forget.

‘I would like to say, on behalf of Helen Street Shelter, that we cannot thank you enough. Not only did we get to enjoy your wonderful show ourselves, but the money you have raised will make a real difference. This is a wonderful community, and I think this show has proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt,’ Greg said. There were more cheers and photos taken. Apparently we would be in the papers again. Honestly, I hope all this fame didn’t go to our heads! It probably would though.

‘We came to see you,’ Nellie said after the final show. The humans all still chatted inside and we had managed to get out for some fresh air and a bit of space.

‘You did?’ I was touched.

‘What a fine show and what fine sheep you were, not that I’ve ever really seen a sheep,’ Elvis said.

‘Oh the singing though, that was something else. I loved it. My owners were in the audience but we hid,’ Rocky added.

‘Because you didn’t buy tickets, did you?’ George grinned.

‘How can we, we’re cats?’

‘It’s thanks to you that this show made it, and now it’s finished.’ I felt quite emotional.

‘We didn’t do much, Alfie,’ Rocky said.

‘You did, you helped us save the show. And Salmon, is he here?’

‘Yes but he went straight home, just in case his owners check his camera collar.’ We still hadn’t figured out how to get that thing off him, so it looked as if he was stuck with it. Thankfully, Salmon was always on his best behaviour anyway. ‘Also, he said his owners were talking about bringing him here on Christmas Day when you do your last performance.’

‘I’m sad that that’s going to be our last show,’ George said. ‘I’ll miss it.’

‘Actually, so will I,’ Hana said. ‘It’s been a real experience being a sheep.’

‘There’s always next year,’ Nellie said and I wasn’t sure if she was joking.

‘I’m not sure I would be able to cope with this every year,’ I said.

‘Not if we have all the drama as well,’ Snowball finished.

I felt reflective as we headed back to our own homes.

‘Oh my goodness, Alfie,’ Snowball said. ‘I think it’s snowing.’ We looked up as a soft cold snowflake landed on my nose.

‘It is, it’s snowing! How magical,’ I said, running around in circles. It was only a light dusting but it still made me feel even more like Alfie the Christmas cat.

Chapter Thirty-Four

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It was here. Finally. George and I loved every minute of Christmas Day because the excitement never waned. From the children waking up early– they always woke far too early – to going downstairs to see if Santa had been, lunch, family, friends, and of course today we had the added bonus of the show to look forward to. Our last ever performance. I know we felt the last paying performance was the last one but that was because that was the one where we had all the cast. As expected not everyone could make it today. The dance crew were all in different places, as were the school singers, however everyone else would be there – Vic, Heather, and their group were going to be one or two short but Vic was going to double up on the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’; he was days five and seven, or something like that. Ralph had most of his choir. Of course we were all there, and much to Tommy’s delight, Sienna would still be the angel; her grandparents were staying for Christmas so they were coming to see it. Tommy’s crush on Sienna was so sweet and I kept trying to think of ways to get them together, always the matchmaker. I couldn’t help it, it was in my blood.

I snuck outside and saw that although some of the snow had settled, there wasn’t much, which was good because it meant everyone could still make it to lunch without getting stuck, or skidding too much. Barbara was eating with us today. George hadn’t quite forgiven her yet but I was happy about it.

Harold and her were getting closer and I wondered where that friendship might lead… Not yet, because she was still grieving her husband, but maybe one day in the future. Who knew? Maybe next year I would be Alfie the matchmaking cat again.

For now, I just wanted to enjoy my Christmas Day. It had been an exhausting, stressful, wonderful run up to Christmas and it was going to be the best day ever. I did say that every year, but it generally was.

After the children opened their presents, and Claire and Jonathan made us all a delicious breakfast of smoked salmon, George and I went our separate ways. Although we were going to have lunch with Hana, he wanted to wish her Happy Christmas first. Young love; he couldn’t wait. I was pleased that he had stopped moaning about her and they seemed to be back on track. Paws crossed. I made my way to the recreation ground to find Nellie, Elvis, Rocky, and Oliver there.

‘Merry Christmas,’ I said.

‘Hey, Happy Christmas, Alfie,’ they replied as one.

‘How has yours been so far?’ I asked.

‘Got my usual cat Christmas stocking, can’t complain,’ Rocky said.

‘I got some fish for breakfast,’ Nellie said.

‘I got this toy mouse on a stick, what do they think I am – a kitten?’ Elvis added.

‘I got a new cat bed, which looks very comfortable, but I haven’t tried it yet,’ Oliver finished. We all compared notes and had a lovely catch-up before we returned to our homes for the rest of Christmas.

I was still feeling full of festive spirit. And smoked salmon. It was noisy at home– of course it was, it was Christmas. The children were being wrestled into clothes – they would have happily stayed in their pyjamas all day, but we had lunch to go to and a show to do. Jonathan was about to leave to pick up Clive and Doris; they had coordinated lifts for everyone to the restaurant, which was a bit like organising a military operation, Jonathan said. I thought it sounded as complicated as organising my humans, in actual fact. Or perhaps not quite that complicated! By the time we were all ready to head out, it was beginning to feel as if order was almost restored. As the adults all met outside our house, most carrying presents, the children took it in turns to hold Pickles’ lead. We followed them, and although tempted to jump into Theo’s pram and get a ride, we all walked. It wasn’t snowing, but it was cold and bright.

‘Happy Christmas, Alfie,’ Snowball said, falling into step with me. Harold wasn’t carrying her for once as Marcus had driven him, picking up Barbara and some of the Sunday Lunch Club before meeting us there.

‘Happy Christmas my beautiful Snowball,’ I replied.

‘It’s going to be amazing,’ she said. Her eyes sparkled with joy and my heart filled with happiness. It was already amazing. I felt like the luckiest cat ever.

Chaos and noise returned as we walked into the restaurant. Hugs and kisses were exchanged and the presents all piled up– out of Pickles’ reach, of course. The tables had been put together around the room to fit us all in; there were a lot of us today. We greeted all our friends, old and new, and then snuck into the yard to see Dustbin and Ally.

‘Can’t you take a day off?’ I said, which I pretty much said every Christmas.

‘The rodents don’t know it’s Christmas, so no,’ Dustbin replied, but we all laughed.

‘We are going to come and see the show later though,’ Ally said.

‘I’m so excited that you are,’ I said. Since we had joined the last scene of the show on a whim, or actually, on George’s suggestion, Aleksy declared that we should have been in it all along, so we were going to do the same today. Better late than never, I guessed.

‘I’m probably the most professional out of all of us, but they didn’t do a terrible job,’ George added, joining us.

‘I thought you were looking after Hana,’ I said.

‘She is having a quick rest. The walk here has worn her out,’ George replied.

‘Are you sure she’s OK?’ Snowball asked. Hana had made all the shows but otherwise we’d barely seen her.

‘She’s just tired out. She says after Christmas is over she’ll be her old self again.’ George didn’t sound concerned so I decided not to worry. That was the gift I wanted for Christmas: a worry-free day.

The noise level from inside told us that everyone was finally here. We went back in.

‘Secret Santa,’ Claire announced. As there were so many of us for lunch, the humans did something called a Secret Santa, whereby everyone bought one gift for someone else.

‘Can we give them out?’ Summer asked. Thankfully, Harold had been persuaded not to wear his Santa costume all day, otherwise he might have insisted it was his job.

‘Of course, sweetheart.’ The children all dove in and started distributing gifts. As chocolates, bath stuff, scarves, and things like that were all opened, everyone declared themselves delighted with their presents. Even Barbara beamed with happiness. We didn’t get to participate in present giving.

‘I’ve got something for the cats as well,’ Doris said. Oh, maybe we did this year. I felt excited.

‘Oh no, not another cat bonnet,’ George hissed at me. Ah, I hadn’t thought of that. But actually, she had made us Christmas hats – Santa hats – and we had to wear them now. Mine kept slipping down over one of my eyes, which was most irritating, but I didn’t want to offend Doris. George said his made his fur itch.

‘It’s only one day, son,’ I assured him as Snowball tried not to laugh at us.

‘I wish I had one, I liked wearing antlers,’ Pickles said. If George could have given him his, he would have done.

‘Pickles, you’ll get to wear your antlers again later,’ I assured him.

‘Yay!’ He did a little wriggle with excitement.

‘Alfie, George, come here so I can take a picture of you in your hats. Social media will love this,’ Tommy said, and took a photo of us with his phone. Apparently we were on our way to becoming Instagram famous, not that I knew what that was.

For me, the best part came next. Christmas dinner. We cats were given turkey and we tucked in. Dustbin and Ally also had some, but out in the yard. Hana seemed to have perked up as she ate with gusto, but then she said she was too full, and she waddled to the corner and lay down. She did look full, I had to say, but we all ate a bit too much at Christmas. Humans and cats alike.

Games were played with the children, the adults, and Tommy and Aleksy organised them. A couple of members of the Sunday Lunch Club fell asleep in their chairs, and I wished I could join them but there was still so much to do and I didn’t want to miss a single minute. Some of the adults cleared up, with Franceska and Tomasz in charge, and all in all, it was a huge amount of fun.

‘Could I say something?’ Barbara asked. George gave me a ‘look’.

‘Of course, Barbara,’ Claire said.

‘God, I hope it’s not anotherHamlet monologue,’ Jonathan muttered. Claire poked him in the ribs as Matt laughed.

‘I would like to say that this has been the most difficult year of my life. And I have behaved badly, unforgivably so. But you all took me in and forgave me. Not only that, but you also invited me to part of this wonderful Christmas. I don’t know how I will ever thank you, but know that if anyone ever needs anything, I will be here for you all.’ She started crying. I gave George one of my ‘be compassionate’ looks as Harold went over to Barbara and put his arm around her.

‘Do you think they might be a couple?’ George asked me.

‘I don’t know. I think it’s probably too soon after losing her husband for her.’

‘Just as well, imagine poor Snowball having her as a human step-mum.’

‘George, I think she’s sincere and nice now,’ I chastised.

‘Well I still have a pink tail that says otherwise.’

Shortly after that, we were told it was time to go because this Christmas Day we were going to perform our final, final show.

As coats were put on, lifts organised, and presents put in bags to go home we all left and made our way to the hall. And I resolved that although I had worked hard at all my shows, I would give this one my all, as it was the last ever time I would be a sheep.

Chapter Thirty-Five

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It was easier getting ready for this show with fewer people in the backstage area, but we did miss the acts that couldn’t be here. While we changed, the Sunday Lunch Club were all chatting to each other with Christmas music playing in the background and Claire making sure they were all alright, which involved waking a few of them up. I could understand – a big lunch made us all sleepy – but we had a show to do. No time to rest yet.

Without the dancers to open, the kids and Pickles opened the show. As they launched into the by now well-known routine, the whole hall erupted with cheers.

By the time we got to the finale I was full of mixed feelings yet again. Happy that we had performed yet another successful show, sad that it was all over for the year and also sad that Christmas Day was coming to a close. The following day we had smaller family gatherings to look forward to, and the older children were going to go and volunteer at the shelter in the evening, which made me so proud of them. I planned to go to give them a paw.

Aleksy and Connie were overjoyed as the final curtain fell, and Tommy was so excited he actually gave Sienna a hug. When I saw them both blushing red, I thought perhaps she had fallen for his charms after all. Then I noticed them holding hands. Maybe I didn’t need to matchmake … Another teenage romance to look forward to, that was my prediction. And we all liked Sienna, she was such a sweet girl.

At the end of the show there were lots of hugs and congratulations; everyone had enjoyed it more than they imagined. And as mulled wine was handed out and mince pies eaten– although how anyone had any room, I will never know – I flitted around, listening as our guests all seemed to be happy and complimentary about the show and the lovely Christmas they’d had. There was nothing I liked more than seeing happy people. It warmed my heart. It was what Christmas wasall about.

I loved Christmas Day, I really did, but I always felt a bit sad when it came to a close. We had spent so long planning for it and working to make it amazing– and it was – but it seemed to go far too quickly. I had to look around and take a snapshot for my memory. The show, the hall which we might not see again – at least not for a while; the Sunday Lunch Club, who were all having the most fun, social time, rather than being on their own; my own families, who were smiling and laughing; my son, who I couldn’t have been more proud of; and Snowball, my love. Life was complete … I would hold the picture in my mind forever. There was nothing, simply nothing, that could make this day any better.

‘Dad, I can’t find Hana,’ George said in a panic, interrupting my sentimental moment.

‘Well she can’t be far.’ I looked around but couldn’t see her either. We had a quick search of the hall – under chairs, in the kitchen, the backstage area – but we couldn’t see her at all. Oh no, today of all days I really didn’t need another crisis.

‘What should we do?’ George asked, getting more and more upset.

‘Let’s go find Connie, make a lot of noise and hopefully she’ll find her,’ I said.

‘Anything we can do to help?’ Dustbin and Ally, who had stayed hidden at the back of the stage, came forward.

‘Amazing show by the way,’ Ally said.

‘Just keep your eyes out for Hana,’ I said. ‘We’ll go and get Connie.’

Connie was talking to a group of people when we approached her.

‘Meow,’ I said.

‘MEWMEWMEW,’ Snowball shouted.

‘YOWL!’ George added.

‘What is it?’ Connie turned and looked at us. ‘Where’s Hana?’

‘MEOW!’ We don’t know. She started looking.

‘Has anyone seen Hana?’ she shouted. The hall stopped talking, and started looking for her. Some people didn’t know where to look so they just glanced around, puzzled. But there was no sign of her. Hana wasn’t the sort of cat to wander off, that much I knew, but she had been tired. I hoped she’d just fallen asleep somewhere, but where? We had looked pretty much everywhere we could think of. Oh, no, poor Hana. It better not be Barbara.

‘Have you seen Hana?’ Aleksy asked Barbara.

‘No I haven’t, honestly. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt any of your cats,’ she said quickly.

‘I was asking not accusing,’ Aleksy said.

‘Hey, we’ll find her, son,’ Harold said, putting his hand on Aleksy’s shoulder. It must have crossed some people’s minds that Barbara might have had a relapse, I know it crossed mine.

‘Hana, Hana,’ Franceska and Sylvie were both shouting. There was still no sign.

We carried on looking, getting more and more frantic. She can’t have disappeared into thin air.

‘Um, George, Alfie, I think you better come back here,’ Dustbin said. ‘Backstage.’ We followed him. Because the final scene was the Santa scene, the Nativity set had been moved into the area behind the stage. As we approached, we could all hear a noise which sounded strange, alien almost.

‘What is it, have you found her?’ George asked.

‘Um, yes, and you better come,’ Ally said. Thank goodness Dustbin and Ally had kept their word and come to see the show, they were pretty good at finding people, as Dustbin had helped me a long time ago when Snowball got lost.

We made enough of a racket to get Connie to follow us yet again, Aleksy with her. I hoped nothing was wrong as Dustbin led George to the stable and the manger where baby Jesus had been lying on a soft blanket– in case Theo turned out to be allergic to hay – not that long ago.

‘Oh my,’ George said. ‘Hana, are you alright?’ I couldn’t see what was going on but George’s eyes were like saucers.

Hana made a small noise but she didn’t sound alright. I tried to get nearer, but it wasn’t easy.

‘Mum, you better come,’ Connie shouted, and the adults rushed over. I still couldn’t see what had happened as I got pushed further back, panic building in my fur.

‘Oh my goodness she’s had kittens,’ Sylvie said. I looked at George who was staring into the manger and standing very still.

‘Kittens?’ I thought, what on earth?

‘Jonathan,’ Claire shouted.

It was crazy for a few minutes.

‘Is there a vet here?’ Marcus shouted, as he held on to Theo.

‘How did this happen?’ Jonathan asked Claire. ‘I thought you’d had George, you know …’ He made a scissor sign, but I had no idea what that meant.

‘I thought you did,’ Claire said, scratching her head.

‘And Hana was a house cat so it didn’t occur …’ Sylvie added.

One of our Sunday Lunch Club pushed through; a man who I think went to the Barkers’ house.

‘I used to be a vet, let me through,’ he said.

I sat down. Kittens? I was in total shock. As, it seemed, was George, who still hadn’t moved.

‘Can we see them?’ the children all said as they tried to push through.

‘Give them space, darlings, just for now,’ Polly said, holding them back.

‘Mother and three babies are fine,’ the vet declared. I really wanted to see them, so I finally managed to snake my way through legs to where George was standing. Lying in the manger was a very tired Hana, and three kittens who looked like a cross between both of them. I felt absolutely choked up. My kitten had kittens.

‘It’s a Christmas miracle,’ Toby declared.

‘Kittens born on Christmas Day, in a manger, like Jesus,’ Summer added. ‘Can we call one of them Jesus?’

I hoped we could not. Imagine calling him in from outside, that was, if there was a him. I couldn’t tell, they were so tiny, so beautiful; it really was a miracle.

‘Oh my goodness, George and Hana have become parents,’ Claire wiped a tear. ‘This is truly miraculous.’

‘Amazing that no one noticed the cat was pregnant,’ Jonathan said.

‘We’ve been so wrapped up with Theo, I feel so guilty,’ Sylvie said, she was crying too, but I hoped they were happy tears. Marcus hugged her.

‘All’s fine here, you’ll need to get them home carefully, make sure they are fed and after Christmas, take them to your own vet for a proper check-up,’ the retired vet said. He looked quite nice, for someone who used to like prodding and poking us about, anyway.

‘What an end to the best Christmas ever,’ someone said as they all toasted Hana and her babies with their sherry or mulled wine.

Franceska was crying and Tomasz had his arm around her, with Aleksy and Tommy close by. Sylvie was holding baby Theo, and Marcus and Connie stood beside her. Polly and Matt had their arms around Henry and Martha. And Claire, Jonathan, Toby and Summer were all huddled together. All our families and our new additions.

George and I stood a little apart as the retired vet cleaned up the kittens and suggested that they should transport Hana and her babies home in the manger, as it seemed safest not to move them.

‘There are two boys and a girl,’ he declared.

‘Can I hold them?’ Martha asked.

‘Not yet, love, but soon,’ Polly assured her. As many people as possible were crowded round the manger. George and I reversed ourselves to an open bit of space, because for now we couldn’t get near.

‘Are you alright son?’ I asked after a minute.

‘I’m in shock. Wow, Dad, I’m a dad. An actual dad. I mean … I had no idea … All this time, Hana was tired and a bit sick and then she put on weight but none of us had a clue.’

‘And now you’re a dad. To three beautiful kittens – two boys and a girl. Who would have thought it?’ I said, still stunned.

‘It explains so much. Poor Hana, not knowing,’ Snowball said as she joined us.

‘Congratulations, George, what a wonderful thing to happen,’ Dustbin said.

‘Well, I never. I think that a celebration is definitely on the paws,’ Salmon said, joining us.

‘What is it?’ Pickles asked. The humans had somehow dropped his lead in the fuss. I hoped he behaved himself.

‘Hana had kittens,’ I explained, still unable to fully process it.

‘Can I eat them?’ Pickles asked.

‘NO!’ we all shouted at the same time.

Somehow we all ended up back at Sylvie’s house; it seemed everyone wanted to check the kittens were alright. Franceska had driven them, with Sylvie in the car, and George had gone along with them. When they’d arrived home, Hana and the kittens had been moved from the manger to Hana’s soft cat bed.

‘Can we call the girl Holly?’ Summer asked,

‘Ah, yes that’s a lovely name for a girl kitten,’ Connie said. Um, I had to say I quite liked it.

‘Jesus,’ was suggested.

‘No, honestly, just no,’ Polly said.

‘How about Santa?’ Franceska suggested.

‘Oh, I really like that,’ Sylvie said and everyone agreed. ‘Santa and Holly and …’

George turned to face me and blinked. I understood immediately. I wasn’t sure how to convey it but I stepped on Jonathan’s foot.

‘Not again,’ Jonathan said.

‘Meow,’ I said, trying to paw his trousers. George then joined me. We took a leg each. Matt laughed but Jonathan was trying to shake us off.

‘What are they trying to tell you?’ Claire asked. Jonathan paused and looked at me. Finally I saw him seem to understand.

‘Oh, why don’t we call the last kitten Tiger? You know, after that cat that Alfie and George seemed very fond of – the Barkers’ cat who died,’ he suggested.

‘What a lovely idea,’ Marcus said. ‘Tiger is a great name for a kitten.’

‘But wasn’t she a girl?’ Claire said.

‘Yowl.’ It doesn’t matter, I replied.

‘It can be a boy’s name too,’ Aleksy said.

‘Mew,’ Hana said, quietly.

‘Meow,’ George added.

‘Purr,’ I finished.

Tiger was a very fitting name indeed, and a very fitting tribute. Jonathan was rewarded with a nuzzle.

‘My lad, a dad,’ I said to George as we snuck away slightly. ‘Who’d have thought it. I really can’t wait to see them properly.’ Emotion welled up inside me. My boy, my kitten, was a dad. I probably had to stop calling him my kitten now.

‘I know you probably want to stay,’ I said to George, ‘but I’m going to have a last breath of air, just for a minute.’ It was our Christmas tradition, to go and speak to Tiger on Christmas night. And despite everything that had happened, it was important for me to do so.

‘I’ll stay here,’ Snowball said, knowing instinctively, as she always did, that I needed to be alone, or alone with my boy.

‘I’ll come; just for a minute though,’ George said.

We sat outside and found the brightest star in the sky.

‘I’m a dad, Tiger mum,’ George said. ‘And we’ve named one of the kittens after you.’ I could barely keep my emotions in.

‘George, you will be an amazing dad,’ I said. I meant it.

‘Wow, it hasn’t sunk in yet, a dad. Three kittens, it means—’

‘It means you are going to be very busy. I just had you, and you kept me on my paws.’ I laughed, but was choked up at the same time.

‘Oh, Dad, you are the best dad ever.’

‘And now you are going to be too,’ I said.

‘And you are going to be the best granddad ever,’ George said.

‘Oh boy, I’m a granddad cat – a grandcat! Wow, I mean …’

‘You can help me and you will teach those kittens everything you know, like you did me,’ George said.

‘And we will love them so much, we really will.’ I already did. Those tiny bundles of fur who would no doubt keep both George and I on our paws for a good while to come. I nuzzled my boy. He nuzzled me back.

Just as I thought my heart was as full, as full and as big as it could ever be, it suddenly grew once again.