Шейла Нортон: Oliver The Cat Who Saved Christmas

‘Yes. Our fault for not trusting the pair of you to make a go of it – not believing in you. To be honest, we didn’t think it would last. We underestimated you both.’

‘We’re not out of the woods yet,’ Daniel murmured.

‘Maybe not, but we can see now that you’re both doing your best, that you’re committed to making it work. Perhaps it is a bit soon to be having the baby, but from what we’ve heard and seen today, if anybody can make a go of it, you two will. With Nicky’s new job…’

‘That’s such a relief,’ her mum said quietly to Sarah. ‘I’d have been so worried at the thought of her travelling up to London every day with a tiny baby.’

‘Yes. And Daniel getting all these recommendations for work in the field he was always cut out for – well, we can only hope things are going to steadily improve for you both now, and good for you. You deserve it.’

‘They certainly do,’ Sarah agreed.

‘So, now we’ve seen how hard they’re both working, and with the baby on the way – it’s so exciting, our first grandchild,’ the mum went on, ‘the next step will be for them to buy a home of their own.’

Nicky and Daniel were beaming at each other.

‘If we can find somewhere suitable – something small, of course, but with a little garden for when the baby’s growing up – Mum and Dad are going to lend us the deposit,’ Nicky said. ‘Isn’t that wonderful?’

Nicky’s dad winked at Martin. ‘We won’t be expecting them to pay us back in a hurry. Perhaps when we’re old and grey and we need help ourselves.’

‘ And, ’ Nicky’s mum added, ‘we’re going to help them plan their wedding. If we’d realised they were only putting off getting married because they couldn’t afford it, we’d have offered to help sooner.’

‘We only want a quiet affair, Mum,’ Nicky said. ‘It won’t have to cost the earth.’

‘But you’ll need a bit of help with the cost, whatever. And if we couldn’t do that, for our only daughter, it’d be a poor show, wouldn’t it.’

‘Well,’ Sarah said, raising her glass. ‘I think this all definitely calls for a toast. To Nicky and Daniel – and the baby.’ They all took a sip of their drinks. ‘I hope you won’t move too far away, though,’ she added. ‘We’d miss you.’

‘No. We need to stay in the village. We’ve both got work here now,’ Daniel said. ‘Any idea if there are any houses for sale?’

‘Oh!’ Sarah suddenly sat up in her chair. ‘Yes, of course, I do know of one. It’s Barbara Griggs’s cottage. You know she’s moving in with Stan Middleton when they get married next month? The For Sale sign has only just gone up. It’s not much bigger than your place next door, but there are two bedrooms, and yes, a little garden. And between you and me, it will need a bit of work. Just decorating, mainly.’

‘I’d be happy to do that,’ Daniel said immediately.

‘I’d come over and help you,’ Nicky’s dad said. ‘You’ll be busy with your motor business.’

‘I could give you a hand too,’ Martin said.

‘The point is, I suspect they’ll take an offer, because it needs doing up. Why don’t you see if you can go round and have a look after the holiday?’ Sarah suggested.

‘Oh, yes, we will, definitely. If we like it, it’d be perfect,’ Nicky said. ‘A bedroom for the baby. And a proper little garden.’

Everyone seemed so happy and excited, I didn’t think they’d notice me creeping up to the little low table where Sarah had placed some very tempting dishes of snacks, including my favourite – little cubes of cheese. I stretched up with my two front paws on the table and was just about to grab a bit of cheese when the smaller one of the boys started giggling. Everyone looked round and to my embarrassment, I was caught in the act of trying to scamper off with the cheese in my mouth.

‘Oh, Ollie!’ Sarah laughed. At least she wasn’t cross. ‘I shouldn’t have left all this food within your reach, should I? Are you hungry, boy? Or could you just not resist the cheese?’

‘I think he’s earned a few extra treats, don’t you?’ Martin said.

‘Yes, I agree.’ Daniel nodded, looking quite serious. He waited until Martin had got my food dish from the kitchen and started putting some cheese in it especially for me. ‘Whatever you all say, I still believe Oliver’s somehow helped turn things around for us,’ he went on. ‘I might have saved him from being stuck up the tree that day, but in return, it’s like he’s pretty much saved our lives.’

‘Saved your lives? Exaggeration, or what, Daniel?’ piped up the bigger of the two boys.

‘All right,’ Nicky said, ‘let’s put it this way – if nothing else, there’s no denying he’s certainly saved Christmas – for us, and probably for the whole village.’

‘Definitely for young Caroline at the Big House,’ Sarah added, and everyone murmured their agreement.

‘So I’d like to suggest another toast,’ Daniel said, topping up Nicky’s glass with more lemonade. ‘Here’s to Oliver – our very special shared house guest. The Cat Who Saved Christmas!’

And they all raised their glasses, smiling at me, and joined in: ‘To Oliver!’ ‘Here’s to Oliver!’

If I’d been a human, I’d have been crying with happiness. But even if they did think I was very special, at the end of the day I’m still just a little cat. So I just finished my cheese, blinked kisses at them all and washed my whiskers before taking myself off to bed.

I’d done it, Charlie – they all said I had. Who’d have thought it? A little cat like me – after everything that had happened to me. I really was the Cat Who Saved Christmas.

Of course, the story doesn’t end there, Charlie. Not quite.

Through all the freezing cold weather that came after Christmas, even when the snow came and I had to scamper through it with icy paws, I kept going back to the Big House to see Caroline. I saw her lovely golden fur grow back thick and shiny, her skinny little paws grow plumper and stronger, and her pale cheeks starting to turn a healthy pink. By the time the weather began to warm up again, she’d turned into a proper little girl, running around the house, laughing and shouting and playing with her friends. And with me.

But I’m getting ahead of myself now. Back at Sarah and Martin’s house, something very important happened during those cold winter days. Their new kitten came home. The whole family went out together to collect her, and when they came back, Grace was carrying her very carefully in a cardboard box. Sarah closed all the doors and then they put the box down and let her out.

‘Keep Ollie away for the first little while,’ she told the children. ‘We don’t want her to be frightened.’

As if I, of all cats, was going to frighten a poor little kitten. I knew just how it felt to be tiny and defenceless in a scary new place. I sulked in my chair in the lounge, listening to the children’s excited voices, imagining the little newcomer scurrying around the kitchen, wondering where she was, who these new humans were, and what had happened to her mother and her siblings. It brought back sad memories for me. But this new little kitten had come to a good home straight away. She was going to have a happy start in life.

Of course, she soon settled in, and quickly got used to me, too. I liked having her snuggle up with me in my bed. She was a bright little thing. Pretty soon she understood enough Cat for me to start giving her the benefit of my experience and teaching her about the human world. They called her Nancy. Apparently that was the name of someone in a book, a book about an Oliver.