Рейчел Уэллс - A Cat Called Alfie

‘My favourite is the round moon,’ Tiger said as she looked at the big round ball which seemed to glimmer as it floated on the water’s surface.

‘It is beautiful,’ I agreed as I stood perilously close to the water’s edge and opened one eye to see the moon while keeping the other closed. I felt my legs shaking and I tried very hard to be brave but I seemed to fail.

‘Oh, Alfie, you’re petrified! But I appreciate you doing this for me.’ Tiger laughed kindly, and we thankfully moved away from the pond.

‘I’m sorry we fought,’ I said. ‘I hate it when that happens.’

‘I know and I get it that you’re infatuated with that white cat and her bloody family.’

‘I don’t meant to be,’ I offered.

‘You never do. But you can’t help yourself, Alfie. It’s always like you have to fix things and when there isn’t anything to fix you almost go looking for stuff.’

‘I do, don’t I?’

‘Even in the last couple of years when the families all seemed happy, you have been worrying about the children, and Polly, and of course Claire and Jonathan, it’s just what you do.’

‘I can’t help it, it’s as if finding Edgar Road and being given my second chance at happiness came with a need for me to help people.’ I sighed; it was tiring worrying so much but there seemed no alternative at times. Tiger sighed too.

‘It’s why I care about you and get mad at you all at the same time. Come on then, I guess you’re dying to tell me what happened at Snowball’s this morning.’ Tiger looked a bit embarrassed but I was happy to fill her in. It felt like safer ground.

I couldn’t believe I had forgotten about it. It seemed so long ago and so much had happened in that time. So as we started to make our way back home, wrapped in the darkness of night, I started to tell Tiger about my encounter with Daisy and then Snowball and I felt something shifting inside. Tiger and I might not be completely on the same page but our friendship was stronger than ever, I was sure of that.

As we stopped outside the Goodwins’ house we couldn’t resist jumping up on their garden wall. For once Heather and Vic weren’t at the window but Salmon was. We started taunting him, safe in the knowledge that if he did try to come outside we’d be long gone by the time he made it. Tiger and I grinned at each other as Salmon snarled like a dog, flicked his tail and bared his teeth at us. We teased a while longer and then jumped down and headed home. We strolled back shoulder to shoulder and it seemed that all had been forgiven. I decided I needed to put what Rocky said about Tiger to the back of my mind. I had a list as long as my tail of people who needed my help, and I wouldn’t rest until I’d done what I needed to do.

I spotted Polly a while before she saw me. She was on her own, walking back to the house with a couple of shopping bags, humming to herself. At the same time, I noticed the front door of Snowball’s house open a crack, and I saw my chance. I rushed forth, so when Polly reached their gate, I stood in front of her, stopping her in her tracks, in the hope of engineering a meeting. Polly bent down to pet me as the front door opened and the mother, Karen, appeared. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a shirt and she looked uncertainly around her as she made her way out of the house and up to the front gate.

‘Oh,’ she said startled as she spotted us. She had dark rings under her eyes and she looked a bit messy. Or not exactly well-groomed like me, anyway. I never left the house with any fur out of place. Looking my best was incredibly important to me.

‘Hi, I’m Polly.’ Polly adjusted her bags and held out her hand. Karen looked at it as if she had never seen a hand before in her life. She went to take it and then she burst into tears. Polly and I were both taken aback.

‘I’m Karen,’ she sobbed.

‘Hey,’ Polly said in her gentle voice that always soothed me. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘I can’t, I can’t talk here,’ Karen said, she looked directly across the road to Heather and Vic’s house.

Polly nodded. ‘Listen, my house is only a few doors away, and my husband has taken the kids out, so it’s empty if you fancy a cuppa?’

‘I really shouldn’t,’ Karen protested.

‘It can’t hurt can it? Karen, you clearly need some time to collect yourself. Come on.’ Polly looked determined, like a woman who wouldn’t take no for an answer. And this cat wouldn’t either, as I decided to tag along with them.

Karen was quite a lot shorter than Polly, although most women were. She was about the same height as Franceska, her muddy blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. While Polly walked tall, holding herself with confidence and grace, Karen was walking as if she was shrinking into herself with each step. I could almost feel her weightiness; she walked as if she carried a whole other person on her back.

I don’t think she even noticed me as I padded along a couple of steps behind them, determined not to miss this opportunity.

Polly opened the door and silence greeted us, a rare event in Polly’s house. It made me laugh, because Polly was like an excited kid when no one else was around (apart from me), and once alone she would kick her shoes off, grab a bar of chocolate from her secret stash, put on a face pack, watch TV programmes she told me Matt hated or read her stack of magazines. Although not today of course, as Karen followed her into their small homely kitchen, and sat at the table as Polly wordlessly went to switch on the kettle.

‘Sorry,’ Karen started. ‘I shouldn’t be here.’

‘Why ever not?’ Polly asked. ‘Look, love, it’s OK to chat to me, you know.’

‘It’s not that, it’s just we agreed. No one else needs to know our business, not after what happened.’

‘OK, but if you do want to talk, I’m quite friendly.’ Polly smiled, then busied herself pouring tea before sitting opposite Karen.

‘Please, I can’t go into it now. But it doesn’t help that those people think we’re criminals.’

‘Oh, you must mean the Goodwins. I wouldn’t worry about them; they’re just the street busybodies.’

‘They keep coming round, knocking on our door, normally when I am at work but it’s driving Tim — that’s my husband — crazy. I told him that he should maybe answer the door to them, and put a stop to it, but he won’t.’

‘Well I guess they’re surprised that you haven’t been to one of their Neighbourhood Watch meetings,’ Polly said. ‘This is such a big street, but they kind of rule this part of it, unfortunately.’ Polly attempted a laugh, but it sounded wrong.

‘We couldn’t face it. Not yet, I’m not sure ever. All the questions. Tim saw them spying on us when the police came round the other day, they would want to know everything and I can’t answer those questions.’ Karen seemed slightly hysterical and I thought I understood now why Snowball was so hostile; she obviously had a lot on her plate.

‘I know they are way too interested in everything that’s going on, but I guess that by ignoring them you are fuelling that curiosity,’ Polly said, tentatively.

‘Polly, we aren’t criminals.’

‘Oh no, I wasn’t implying that, love.’

‘We’re just a family, having a tough time and want to be left alone.’

‘Yet you’re sitting here with me. It can be lonely cutting yourself off — I should know, I’ve been there. We only want to help though.’

‘Yes.’ Karen looked as if she remembered that she was indeed doing that. I sat under the table, and listened, I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. ‘And I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, it’s just that, well, I guess I’m not ready to be around people just yet. I’m so tired, working all hours, it’s not that I want to be anti-social, but we just need a bit of space.’