Шейла Нортон - Oliver The Cat Who Saved Christmas

I feel a little embarrassed now, telling you this, but the fact is, I went slightly loopy. I was so overcome with joy when George bent down to stroke me, I leapt straight into his arms, nearly knocking him over. I was climbing all round his neck, licking his face, purring fit to bust. I just couldn’t contain myself. Everyone was laughing, George included.

‘What a welcome,’ he said. ‘Whoa, calm down, boy, you’ll have me over.’

By now, Martin, who’d been outside in the shed doing what he described as his Saturday pottering (I have no idea what it was, and I suspected Sarah didn’t either), had heard the commotion and come back indoors.

‘George!’ he said, trying to shake his hand, but having difficulty because I was clinging to him like a limpet. ‘Great to see you, mate. Are you back in the village?’

‘No, sadly not. Just visiting.’

‘Well, Ollie’s pleased to see you, at any rate. Stay and have some lunch with us if you’ve got time.’

‘Thanks, I will, if you’re sure.’

So we all went through to the kitchen, and George sat at the table with me on his lap, snuggling up to him and purring contentedly.

‘So how has he been?’ George asked, nodding down at me.

‘Brilliant,’ Sarah said at once. ‘We’ve loved having him here, haven’t we, children?’

‘Yes,’ they both chorused, and Rose added quietly, ‘I want to keep him forever.’

‘No, remember what I told you?’ Martin said gently. ‘Oliver is George’s cat, and he’s only staying with us until George can come back and look after him again.’

‘But that won’t be for quite a long time. And I’m sure he’ll still come and visit you, and play with you, when he’s back with me,’ George added.

‘Of course I will,’ I meowed, but needless to say, nobody understood me. Sometimes it’s very frustrating that humans don’t learn Cat. They think they’re so much cleverer than us, it wouldn’t hurt them to try.

Well, they sat around the table drinking tea and eating toasted sandwiches, and Sarah finally lured me off George’s lap by putting some bits of cheese down for me. Then afterwards the children went off to play but I stayed with the adults, wanting to enjoy every minute of George’s company before he went away again.

‘I’m so grateful to you for taking care of Oliver for me,’ he was saying to Sarah and Martin. ‘I couldn’t possibly have had him with me at my sister’s place, and besides, it’s better for him to be here in the village where he knows his way around.’

‘Of course it is. And he’s been no trouble at all,’ Sarah said. ‘But he’s not with us all the time. He goes next door to Nicky and Daniel a lot, too.’

‘So: tell me who I should make this cheque out to,’ George said, pulling his wallet out of his pocket. ‘I was going to post it, but I really wasn’t sure about the arrangements. Daniel told me on the phone the other day that you were buying all the cat food.’

‘Well, it’s probably fifty-fifty,’ Martin said, giving Sarah a quick glance. ‘Don’t worry about us, but I daresay he’s eating Nicky and Daniel out of house and home – you know what cats are like.’

I was a bit puzzled by this, as I knew perfectly well what the arrangement was, and so did Martin. He’d agreed that he and Sarah would be the ones feeding me. Although Nicky did occasionally give me a saucer of milk or a few scraps, I had a feeling Martin was just trying to be kind to them.

‘OK, look, I’ll make the cheque out to you, Martin, if you don’t mind, and leave you to divvy it up between you. And … jump down a minute, will you, Ollie? I’ve got a few things in the car to bring in.’

‘This is far too much,’ Martin was protesting, looking at the cheque.

‘No it’s not. It’s for the month, all right? I’ll try to get down here roughly once a month to settle up with you, or if it’s easier, I could just buy a month’s supply of food and bring it with me.’

‘No, look, there’s no need…’

‘But I thought a cheque might be better, so that if I can’t get down here, I can just post it.’

‘But, listen, George, I don’t want to be personal, but are you all right for money? I mean, with the pub being out of action?’

‘Oh yes, I’m fine, mate – don’t worry about me. The brewery’s looking after me. I’m only a tenant landlord, you know. Straight after the fire, when I told them I’d got to move to London for the duration of the rebuilding work, they found me a temporary job in a local pub close by, that’s just reopened after refurbishment. I’m doing shifts there at the moment, but luckily everywhere is busy, with Christmas coming up, so I should have full-time work soon. They’ve got the chef from the Forester’s a job too, in Great Broomford. I couldn’t do anything for the barmaids, unfortunately – they were just employed on a casual basis. But I’ve heard on the grapevine that they’ve both managed to get some work here and there in town.’

‘So, in some ways,’ Sarah said, ‘it’s fortunate that it’s the busy season.’

‘Yes.’ He frowned and sighed. ‘But not for the people here who had bookings for meals and parties in the Forester’s, and even rooms booked for family over Christmas.’

‘I know.’ Sarah looked sad too. ‘But it’s not your fault, George, and everyone will just have to make other arrangements, if they can. It’s not the end of the world, and the most important thing is that you weren’t hurt in the fire.’

‘Thanks to Ollie,’ George said, giving me another stroke now even though he’d made me get off his lap. ‘If he hadn’t woken me up, that night, I hate to think what would’ve happened.’

Everyone went quiet then, even me, not wanting to think about it. They’d been talking earlier about what might have started the fire, and apparently the ‘investigators’ – whoever they were – believed it was an electrical fault, something to do with some wiring. I didn’t know what that meant, but I was glad nobody thought it was George’s fault. Or mine.

George went out to the car, then, and came back carrying two big bags.

‘Just a little token of my thanks,’ he said, putting them on the table.

‘But you’ve given us the money, George,’ Sarah said, staring open-mouthed at the bags.

‘These are just some things for Ollie, and some little bits for the kids – so you can’t say no,’ he said with a smile. ‘Now, it’s been great seeing you, and thanks for the lunch, but I’m going to have to get back as I’m working tonight.’

‘Good to see you too, mate,’ Martin said, shaking his hand. ‘Thanks for the cheque – and for all this, but you didn’t have to.’

‘I miss my boy,’ George said by way of a reply. He picked me up and gave me another quick cuddle, and I purred into his ear, wishing frantically that he didn’t have to go. ‘I’ll see you again soon, Ollie. Be good. It’ll probably be nearly Christmas before I can get back again,’ he added to Sarah and Martin as he walked to the door.

I meowed to myself sadly for ages after he’d gone. But when Sarah started unpacking the bags, she found so many exciting things for me, I almost forgot to be upset. There was a new blanket – soft and fluffy with a pattern of paw prints all over it – a toy mouse stuffed with catnip, just the right size for throwing in the air and catching with my claws, some sparkly little balls to play with, a bag of my favourite cat-treats and, best of all, a little hammock made of furry material that hooked over a radiator, for me to lie in. Sarah was laughing as she watched Martin fix it over the radiator in the lounge.

‘Look at that, Ollie,’ she said. ‘What a lovely warm, cosy bed for you, for the winter.’