Холли Вебб - The Kitten Nobody Wanted

Emily chattered on happily about the kittens all the way to school, wondering how many there would be, and whether they’d be white like Silky.

Mia joined in with a comment here and there, but thoughts were buzzing around inside her head. She still loved cats, of course she did. But it was definitely hard to be around them right now, when every cat seemed to remind her so much of Sandy. It wouldn’t be so difficult if her mum and dad weren’t so keen for them to get another pet – they seemed to think Mia needed another cat to get over Sandy properly. And now Emily was all excited about kittens as well…

“What’s the matter, Mia? You’ve gone all quiet,” Emily asked, as they waved to Gran and went in through the school gates.

Mia smiled and shook her head. “I’m fine. I’m glad I’m walking home with you and my mum today – can we pop in and see Silky, and ask your mum what the vet said?” She was trying hard to sound excited, like she knew she should, and it must have worked, because Emily beamed at her.

“Of course you can!” Emily said, giving her a hug. “I can’t wait to tell everyone about Silky having kittens! I just hope it’s true!”

Emily told Mia’s mum the news as soon as they came out of school. She’d come straight from work to pick them up and hadn’t spoken to Gran, so it was a total surprise.

“Oh, Mia, isn’t that lovely? Kittens!”

“Mmm.” Mia tried to sound enthusiastic. She really didn’t want to spoil things for Emily. “Can we go and see Silky on the way home?” she asked. “Emily’s mum took Silky to the vet, so she should know for certain by now – maybe she’ll even know when the kittens might be born.”

Mum nodded. “Of course!”

They hurried back to Emily’s house, and Emily burst through the door, racing ahead and calling for her mum. “What did the vet say? Is she definitely having kittens? When will they come?”

“Sooner than we thought!” her mum said, laughing. “Could be only a couple of weeks, the vet said. And she felt Silky’s tummy, and she thinks there are at least three kittens, possibly more.”

“Three!” Emily breathed, crouching down next to Silky, who was curled up in her furry basket. “That explains why she’s so fat!”

Mia sat down next to her friend, and stroked Silky gently. She was very well-named – her fur was beautifully soft and smooth. She wasn’t asleep, but her pretty blue eyes were half-closed, as though she was tired. She probably was, Mia thought.

“Three kittens to find homes for,” her mum sighed. She looked thoughtfully at Mia’s mum. “I don’t suppose…”

Mia saw her mum smile, and glance over at her, raising her eyebrows. Emily’s mum glanced at her too, and nodded understandingly. Mia could tell exactly what Mum meant – Maybe, but I’m not sure about Mia.

She gave Silky one last gentle stroke. It was odd to think that there were tiny kittens squirming around inside her.

“Mum, I’ve got loads of homework,” she pointed out, getting to her feet. “We’d better go.” They didn’t really need to leave that minute, but she didn’t want her mum and Emily’s exchanging any more of those secret looks.

The subject didn’t go away, though. Dad was full of questions at dinner time, wanting to know when the kittens would arrive, and what Silky had looked like.

“Silky’s such a sweet cat,” he said, looking at Mia. “She’ll have cute kittens, Mia, don’t you think?”

Mia nodded. “But they won’t be as gorgeous as Sandy,” she said, eyeing her dad firmly. “We’ll never find another cat like him.”

He shook his head, with a sigh. “No, I suppose not. But different can be good too, you know, Mia.”

When she went up to bed that night, Mia lay there for ages, hugging Sandy’s blanket and thinking. She’d never actually had a kitten of her own. Sandy had been older than she was, he was about two when she was born. Gran had a lovely photo of him that she kept in her little living room, one that Mum and Dad had sent her when she still lived in her old house, before she came to live with them all a few years later. It was a photo of Mia as a baby, sitting up in her bouncy chair, and reaching out a fat little hand for Sandy’s tail as he strolled past.

Mum had photos of Sandy as a kitten, too, in her photo album. He’d been super cute – with round green eyes that looked too big for his little whiskery face, and apricot pink pads to his paws. They were darker by the time Mia knew him, from going outside and roughening them up. But he was still beautiful, and his eyes were like emeralds.

Mia gulped, and buried her face in the blanket. It still smelled of him. She really wanted to be excited for Emily, but even the thought of kittens made her miss Sandy so much. She wasn’t sure she could bear to see them for real.

“I wonder if there’s any news yet!” Emily said excitedly, as they put on their coats at the end of school. “Mum’s picking us up today – I can’t wait to ask her. Silky’s been a bit shy and weird all weekend, then she went off and snuggled herself up in the hall cupboard this morning. I’m sure that means she’s ‘nesting’, getting ready for her kittens to come.”

It was Monday, two weeks since Emily had found out Silky was having kittens, and she had been getting more and more impatient every day.

Mia smiled. Even though the thought of kittens made her miss Sandy, she could see how happy Emily was. They hurried out into the playground, looking eagerly for Emily’s mum. But she wasn’t there – instead, Mia’s gran was waving at them from by the gate.

“Gran! What are you doing here?” Mia called in surprise.

Gran smiled. “Silky’s having her kittens! Your mum didn’t want to leave her on her own, Emily, so she called me. My legs aren’t so bad today, so I was glad to come out for a walk.”

“She’s having them right now?” Emily squealed in delight, whirling her schoolbag around. “Ooooh, how many are there?”

“Four so far, apparently, and your mum thought that might be it, but she wasn’t quite sure.”

“Four kittens!” Emily said blissfully, and even Mia felt her stomach squirm with excitement. “Can Mia come in and see them, Mrs Lovett?” Emily asked Mia’s gran.

“Better not today,” Gran said thoughtfully. “They’ve only just been born, and Silky will be tired and very protective of her new babies, I should think. She won’t want lots of visitors. You can tell Mia about them tomorrow.”

Emily walked home so fast she was practically running, and she dashed in at her gate with a wave, leaving Mia and her gran to walk on to their house.

“You’re looking serious, Mia,” Gran commented. “Aren’t you excited about the kittens?”