Рейчел Уэллс - Alfie And George

‘Summer, eat that — don’t drop it,’ Claire said, sounding exasperated. ‘Well, sometimes you lose something and you realise how much you miss it, and other times you lose something and realise that actually it wasn’t right in the first place.’

‘Was that what it was like with your first husband?’ Tash asked. I had never met Claire’s first husband. She moved here after they divorced and she was sad then.

‘He was a control freak and then, remember, I moved on to Joe who was the same only worse. I think with Dave, you were together so long you were used to him, you know, he was part of your life, you might not have seen that you weren’t actually happy.’

‘I think you’re right. But did you see it?’

‘Honestly? No. I mean I never really got to know him that well, and Jonathan was never overly keen, but then Jon’s ambitious and he doesn’t understand men who don’t have ambition.’

‘Dave didn’t, did he? I thought he was laid back but I didn’t realise how lazy he was. I worked twice as hard as him, I found the house, I did pretty much everything. Anyway, enough about me, what’s going on with you? Elijah, do you want some fruit?’ I marvelled at the way parents managed to have conversations but always seemed to remember what they needed to do for their children. I needed to learn that skill with George. Elijah nodded, and Claire handed Tash a banana.

‘Look,’ Claire said. She took an envelope out from behind the toaster and handed it to Tash.

‘What’s this?’ Tash took the letter out and read it.

‘But, Claire, that’s fantastic, you’ve been approved!’ Tash jumped up and hugged Claire.

‘Yes, we’ve been given the green light for adopting and the social worker said that if we’re willing to take an older child it won’t take as long. But, well, I haven’t told Jonathan yet.’

‘When did you get this letter?’ Tash asked.

‘Last week. I know it’s silly, but I want this more than anything, I don’t know how I’d feel if Jonathan said no.’

‘And you’re sure about taking care of an older child?’ Tash looked concerned, as did I.

‘Yes. Tash, I’m doing this for the right reasons and I’ve thought long and hard about that. I want Summer to have a sibling, and I want to add to our family. A baby isn’t realistic. We’re a bit older now and the waiting list is so long, Summer would probably be at university before we even got a baby.’ Claire looked thoughtful. I thought she was being optimistic: Summer at university? She was so bossy she’d probably be kicked out of school long before then.‘Anyway, we have a lovely home and a lot of love here, so any child would be welcome. And I hate to think of any kid not having a loving family, I really believe that this child needs us and we need them.’

‘That’s lovely, Claire.’

‘But the thing is that Jon is scared and I can’t seem to get through to him, so I just don’t know what to do.’

I jumped onto the kitchen table. I wanted to tell Claire that if she was a bit more supportive as to how Jonathan felt, and told she him understood, yet explained why they would be such great parents to any child, then he would come round. But how could I convey that? It seemed that she was on her road and he was on his and they didn’t seem to be going to the same place. I nudged Tash.

‘Claire, tell him you understand,’ she said, as if reading my mind.‘Do it gently.’

‘I railroad people, don’t I?’ Claire asked.

‘You do make up your mind and then go for it, which is great, and a real asset in so many ways and why we all love you, but in this case, maybe try a more gentle approach?’

‘I’ll try but I can’t promise. In my head I’m already decorating the spare room for him.’

‘It’s a boy?’

‘It would be a boy, yes, I just feel it.’ Claire laughed.‘I see what you mean.’

I tried not to despair. She knew what to do but, being Claire, she wasn’t sure she could do it. I wanted another child here. I could see the value for all of us, and with the way I felt about George, I knew that adoption was a great, positive thing, but Claire needed to convince Jonathan, not tell him, and that was where I worried. If they couldn’t agree on this, then what would happen to them?

Tash took Elijah home for a nap, and as Claire took Summer upstairs for hers, George and I went out. None of the cats seemed to be around so after playing with some leaves and chasing a fly we decided to go and see if Matt was in. I missed Polly on days like this, she and I hung out together quite a lot before she got her job, but I loved Matt too — it was just that these days he wasn’t quite as much fun.

George and I headed through the cat flap and into Polly and Matt’s house. Imagine my surprise when we went to the living room and saw big Tomasz sitting in the armchair with Matt on the sofa. It had been ages since I’d seen Tomasz — since the rest of the family had gone on holiday — so I jumped up onto his lap and snuggled in. George sat at Matt’s feet.

‘Ah, our friends the cats,’ Tomasz said, making a fuss of me. I purred happily, it was so lovely to see him. ‘I know, I miss you too, Alfie,’ he said.‘And of course my wife and children.’

‘Jeez, Tom, it feels like they’ve been gone for ages, although I know it hasn’t been that long,’ Matt said, which I agreed with.‘When are they back?’

‘Another two weeks, before school starts. I asked her to come home sooner but Franceska says they’re having a lovely time and anyway I’d only be working.’

‘Tom, you know, me being at home this way, not the way I’d choose, by the way, has taught me something. I see more of my children than ever and they do something different, something new, every day. I love that. I spent so long worrying about losing my job and the fact I was no longer the “man” of the house, but actually, when I think about it, I really enjoy spending more time with the kids. I’ve made myself a promise that if, or when, I get another job, I’ll always make sure I spend enough time with them.’ George hopped onto Matt’s lap and licked his face. Which was very clever of him because I would have done the same had I not been busy being stroked by Tomasz.

‘I know you’re right, but the business … We have two restaurants now. And I do this for my family, you know.’

‘Yes, and you’re brilliant — look how successful you’ve become. But mate, you have managers, you need to delegate, take more time off. There’s no point in doing this for your family if you don’t see them.’ I couldn’t have put it better myself. Matt had come a long way since learning how to load the dishwasher.

‘I know, you’re right. And since they’ve been gone I’ve missed them like crazy, I just need them to come home so I can let them know.’

No, I felt a tingling in my fur. Tomasz was wrong, he didn’t need them to come home, he needed to go and get them. He needed to go to Poland. But how did I tell him that? I looked at Matt, willing him to have the same idea.

‘Changing the subject, I’ve got a meeting. Long story but the brother of one of Jon’s colleagues has a design agency. He’s got some work, it’s freelance, not a permanent role, but it’s a good company and if I get it I might be able to be more flexible, so Polly can keep working if she wants to, and I can still do more with the children.’

‘Have you spoken to Polly about it?’

Matt shook his head.‘We’re not communicating very well right now either.’

‘When did our lives get so complicated?’ Tomasz asked. I didn’t know the answer to that. It was complicated, and I couldn’t help but feel a little exasperated that neither man seemed to know what to do about the situation.