Рейчел Уэллс - Alfie The Doorstep Cat

‘I’m only doing it because I care about you. You do know that, don’t you? I’m worried.’ Tasha looked very sad and defeated all of a sudden.

‘Please don’t worry.’ Claire’s voice was colder than I’d ever heard her. ‘I’ve got a lot to do today, so I’d be grateful if you left.’ Claire turned away from Tasha, who slowly backed out of the kitchen. I saw Claire pour the untouched coffee down the sink before I followed Tasha outside. She leant against the front gate and I stood next to her.

‘Oh Alfie, why can’t she see what a user he is?’ I tilted my head. She crouched down as if to have a face-to-face conversation with me. ‘He’s bad, you know that, I can tell, but what can we do? She just won’t listen. If only you could somehow get him to show his true colours.’ I tilted my head the other way, questioningly. ‘You know, I’ve seen this before with other people. Women who change like this with men are usually being abused in some way. You must have seen more than me, Alfie, living with them. I wish you could tell me. Oh God, I’m talking to a cat.’ She laughed, bitterly. ‘No offence, Alfie, but I don’t think you or I can solve this one.’

I hated that humans underestimated me but at the moment she was right; I could think of no way to fix this. However, since I was feeling quite confident having sorted the situation with Philippa, which I felt I could take some credit for, perhaps something would come to me. I kept playing Tasha’s words in my head, ‘getting him to show his true colours’, and I prayed for some inspiration.

I returned through the cat flap to find Claire. She was sitting at the table in the living room and she looked very sad. I jumped up onto the table and gave her a quick cat kiss, licking her nose gently. She smiled sadly, and didn’t even try to get me off her table. Things must have been bad.

‘Sometimes it feels like you are the only one who doesn’t judge me,’ she said. I purred. I did actually judge her, but she needed my support. ‘Alfie, I love you but I need to go to the supermarket. Don’t worry, I’ll get you a treat for supper.’ She pulled herself up, and leaving me sitting on the table, she got ready to leave.

I saw Jonathan arrive back from the gym, so I went to check on him. I was hoping for some time at the number 22 flats later but I didn’t want to be too far from Claire; I was so worried about her. Jonathan was on the phone and when he hung up, he smiled at me.

‘I’m going out with some friends from work to celebrate my newfound freedom,’ he joked. ‘I’ll give you some salmon before I go, but I suggest you don’t wait up.’ He laughed and I miaowed along with him. He then picked me up and spun me round.

‘You know, Alfie, us humans are a funny bunch. I thought I wanted a relationship so much I was willing to put up with being bossed around by Philippa. But actually I’m happier without her. I can see that now!’ He laughed again. If only Claire could see this. He was right, he was nicer now, so much nicer than ever before, and maybe it had taken a relationship with a rotter like Philippa for him to see the special bond I knew we shared.

I remember Margaret talking about how people grow. Sometimes they grow straight, and sometimes they take wrong turns, but humans evolve and change often. She also said that sometimes it took very bad things to make people blossom, which made little sense to me until I had my own bad things to deal with. I had been a very young cat but I’d had to grow up fast and learn hard lessons, which I hadn’t always welcomed, but which would stand me in good stead for the future. Jonathan had grown too, but my poor Claire; she was wilting. I hoped it was one of the wrong turnings that Margaret had spoken about and that she would start growing straight again.

I had to make sure that my families were all right; but it was a big responsibility for a little cat.

Joe had returned home late that night, waking both Claire and me. He was being nice to Claire in a very horrible way, pawing at her and kissing her and I left the room before they kicked me out.

I headed back to Jonathan’s for the night. I was greeted by an empty house, and, once again, Jonathan didn’t come home at all. What a bunch of humans I had chosen!

I felt like a ping pong ball as I padded back over to Claire’s for breakfast. Surprisingly, she and Joe were all smiles as they had breakfast together. Claire even ate a little bit, although it was only a very small amount. I saw Claire chewing her lip nervously.

‘Joe, can I ask you something?’ she said, sounding timid. He nodded. ‘It’s just that you’ve been here over a month now and, well, you seem to have moved in, but we haven’t talked about it.’ I saw his eyes darken.

‘Are you saying you don’t want me here?’ he asked.

‘No, of course not. But, well, we don’t talk about your job or your flat or what’s happened. Are you living with me properly?’ She looked unsure and scared.

‘Claire, I wanted to ask, but I was too worried you would say no. I was so ashamed, but I lost my flat. Work have messed me around with money and the lawyer who is helping me demanded payment up front. I couldn’t afford the rent.’ He put his head in his hands. ‘I was just too afraid to tell you.’ Claire looked as if she didn’t understand and I could see she had no grip on this situation at all.

‘If you need somewhere to live, you can move in. You only had to say. Joe, I would never judge you, I love you.’

‘Oh Claire, I would love to move in here properly. I’ll go and get the rest of my stuff this week!’ He looked like the cat that got the cream. ‘It’s going to be great, and as soon as I sort work and everything out, we’ll put it on a more official footing. You know, with bills and stuff.’ I narrowed my eyes in confusion. How on earth had he managed to do this? I knew he was lying. He had given his flat up a couple of weeks ago and asked a friend to keep his stuff for now – I had heard the phone calls. I hoped Claire would tell him to sling his hook, like Jonathan had to Philippa. But although she looked a bit unsure, she smiled.

‘Of course I want you to move in. I just wasn’t sure if you already had.’

‘Oh no, I’d never do that without asking you. Right, today, let’s celebrate by doing something amazing.’

‘There’s an exhibition at The National Gallery I’m dying to see,’ Claire said, tentatively.

‘Then we shall go. Today is all about you, my love, so whatever you want to do, I want to do.’ Joe leant over and kissed her. I hadn’t seen him being like this for ages and I wondered what had brought it on. I wondered if he had noticed how bad she looked, or felt, or if he actually did care after all, although I was still highly suspicious.

‘You don’t know how happy that makes me,’ she giggled, looking pleased.

‘That’s all that matters,’ he replied, tightly, and I knew, deep down, that he wasn’t genuine.

I took a leisurely stroll over to the number 22 flats. The sun was back again, it was a lovely day, and I felt a little bit of a spring in my step, despite the drama. When I got to the flats, both families were congregated out the front, with lots of bags. Both Franceska and Polly were in summer dresses; the men and boys wore shorts and T-shirts, and they all looked animated and happy.

‘Alfie,’ Aleksy shouted, coming over to me. ‘We have picnics.’

‘Hi Alfie,’ Thomasz the man said, coming over to stroke me.

‘Alfie can come too?’ Aleksy asked, hopefully.