Рейчел Уэллс - Alfie And George

‘So much easier to pack for the boys than for me,’ she sighed as she started putting clothes into the bigger case.

‘Miaow,’ I said, staying close to her. I followed her to her wardrobe and then, when she had an armful of clothes, back to the bed.

‘Where’s George?’ she asked. I looked around; he was nowhere to be seen. Oh no, not hide and seek again. I started looking round the room as Franceska put the clothes in the suitcase. Suddenly they all flew up in the air.

‘Ahhh!’ Franceska screamed as George jumped out from the suitcase. ‘You gave me such a fright!’ Then she started laughing. George purred with joy, and I felt relieved he was all right, although he’d made a mess. After that, he kept climbing into the suitcase as if it was a new game. In the end, Franceska shut us both in the living room, saying if she let us stay she’d never get packed before the boys got back. I told George off; although of course he had just been playing, I had hoped to spend some time with Franceska.

‘Right, I’m done,’ she said a while later, coming into the living room, closing the door behind her, and flopping down on the sofa. ‘Having a kitten is like having a baby, you can’t take any chances,’ she said. I purred in agreement as I jumped onto her lap. ‘I’ll miss you, Alfie. I know it’s only for a few weeks but it will be the longest I haven’t seen you since we met,’ she said, stroking my fur and scratching my head — which I loved. I snuggled further into her lap, hoping she would miss her husband too.‘I’ll miss Tomasz of course,’ she said, as though reading my mind.‘But he works so much, I hardly ever see him anyway. I tell him he needs to spend more time with his family. The boys, they grow up so fast.’ I miaowed: yes, they did, all the children did, even George seemed to be growing at an alarming rate. I often found myself asking where my tiny kitten had gone.‘I guess we’ll be back before you know it but, just in case we don’t get time alone again this weekend, take care and be good.’ Franceska kissed my head. She often talked to me a lot when it was just the two of us. I liked to think I was one of her best friends — I almost had too many to count.

‘Mama, Mama, look what we got, a Happy Meal!’ little Tomasz ran into the living room carrying a box.‘It has a toy in it!’

‘You took them to McDonald’s?’ Franceska asked, sounding surprised.

‘Mum, we begged Dad to take us, we never get to go and all our friends do,’ Aleksy said. He looked worried — being such a sensitive child, he didn’t like arguments.

‘It’s fine, your dad is soft. It’s not good for you, but it won’t hurt. Tomasz, I guess it was a special treat.’

‘It was, kochanie , and I would have taken them wherever they wanted to go. I’m going to miss you all, you know.’ He sounded a bit down.

‘I know, and we’ll miss you too.’ Franceska sounded warmer towards her husband than she had done in a while. I wondered if she meant it or if it was for the boys’ sake.‘But later we eat healthy food, no more junk,’ she smiled.

‘Pizza?’ little Tomasz asked.

‘I said healthy,’ Franceska laughed.

‘Pizza with vegetables on it?’ Aleksy suggested, and everyone laughed.

The rest of our weekend whizzed by. Aleksy and little Tomasz made an assault course for George, which he loved. It had tunnels, jumps, balls and toy cars, and George enjoyed being the centre of attention — which he usually was anyway — as they timed him going round it. It wasn’t without incident: at one point he got stuck in one of the tunnels, which was made out of cardboard and a bit small. But after much pushing, prodding and coaxing, he was freed at last, no worse off for his experience. Franceska was in a better mood too, and Tomasz stayed with us, which seemed to prove to me that he didn’t need to be in the restaurant all the time.

As we said goodbye later that evening, I was sad. I would miss them all, including Dustbin, who had really helped me yet again. It was good to know he was going to try to get to the bottom of the lamppost cat mystery. Aleksy, of course, I would miss so much, but little Tomasz and Franceska too. When they all went to Poland they would each take a piece of my heart with them. I just hoped — really, truly hoped — that they would return with their pieces before too long.

Polly was at our house when big Tomasz drove George and me home. Matt and Jonathan had gone to the pub. Matt was no further forward in his job search and Polly was worried that he might still be feeling depressed. Claire thought a trip to the pub might do both him and Jonathan some good.

We settled the children in front of the TV. Claire said it was frowned upon to use it as an unpaid babysitter but she defied any normal mum to actually be the one who frowned on it. They were arguing about who got to cuddle George and so they all had to take turns. George didn’t mind being passed between them — as always, he quite liked the attention. Polly, Claire and I sat in the kitchen; all doors were open so we could hear the kids, but at least we could also have some grown-up time.

‘How are things with work and Matt? I feel I haven’t seen you in ages,’ Claire said.

‘That’s the job. Honestly, I do like it but I want to cut down a bit on my hours. I can’t though, we need the money and at the moment I have two big projects on, and of course everything has to be finished yesterday so I’m working most evenings. I feel I hardly see the kids and when I do, I’m so knackered I just let them watch TV.’

‘Like now, like me, you mean? Don’t beat yourself up, Polly — you need a break. It’s not like we’re terrible mothers, you need to cut yourself some slack.’

‘You’re right. Been there, done that. I know I can be tough on myself sometimes, but it’s hard not to feel guilty, you know?’ When Polly had post-natal depression with Henry, she felt she wasn’t a good mother to him and I know she still beats herself up about it, but she’s a great mum — I see it every day.

‘You’re enjoying your job though?’

‘I love it. And I love that they appreciate what I do. I know it sounds silly but I feel really proud of myself. I don’t think I could go back to not working again. But I don’t know what the future holds. I just wish Matt would get a job, not because I want to give mine up — to be honest, I really don’t — but because he hates being at home so much. I can’t bear how miserable he is.’

‘There’s nothing you can do though, is there? I mean, apart from being supportive. And he’ll find a job soon, Pol. He’s applying for them, isn’t he?’

‘Yes, and I’m trying to be optimistic but, well, his glass is definitely half empty at the moment. You know how happy go lucky he normally is but now he’s all doom and gloom.’ She sighed.‘Anyway, how was the weekend?’

‘Good and bad. Dad put it all into perspective for me. If we want a child sooner rather than later, then we need to be open to adopting an older child. The process still takes a long time, although, thanks to Dad, and the contacts he has, we are quite a way along. But as soon as we’re approved, if we’re approved, if we want a baby or a young child, then the wait begins. I think an older child would be great, they’d be at school and it would be an older sibling for Summer, like Henry, maybe, but Jonathan thinks it’d be even harder for him to love an older child than a baby.’

‘His argument?’

‘It does make sense. Well, to him it does, only because it’s the way he feels. He thinks that he loves Summer so much because we made her. He’s scared that if we adopt a child he won’t feel the same and he doesn’t want a child to live with us and feel second best.’