Рейчел Уэллс - Alfie The Doorstep Cat

People say cats can’t cry but I promise you, I had tears swimming in my eyes.

I was exhausted, but they were being gentle and loving with me, everyone saying how much they’d missed me. My heart swelled so much I thought it would outgrow my body. Seeing all my families sitting around at Jonathan’s house was the best present ever.

They talked about a rota. I was to stay at Claire’s whilst I was getting better, and she had taken some time off work to nurse me. Then Jonathan said he had taken different days off to take care of me too. Apparently I needed my medicine regularly, and I needed to be quiet.

‘There’s a sweet cat that seems to have been looking for you too,’ Claire said. ‘The one who lives next door to me.’ I wondered if Tiger would come and visit me as well. That would complete my friends and family.

Eventually, when Aleksy was promised he could visit me after school, and Polly said she would bring Henry round and sit with me when Claire had to go to the shops, and each and every one of them had kissed me and petted me gently, they all left.

Jonathan carried me back to Claire’s house and settled me downstairs. They said I wasn’t up to managing the stairs yet and I felt quite weak, so I guessed they were right.

‘Will you stay for a drink?’ Claire asked him, when I had curled up to rest.

‘Of course. Do you fancy getting a takeaway too? I’m famished. I mean, only if you want the company,’ Jonathan said, and I was pretty sure he turned a bit red as he suggested this.

‘That would be great. I’m so glad he’s home,’ she replied, looking down at me.

‘Well, one of his homes anyway,’ Jonathan replied and they both laughed. My heart lifted as I heard in their voices something I often felt in mine; love. They might not know it yet but I did. I was a very clever cat.

I was visiting Tiger. She was trying to exercise more with me, having acknowledged that she needed to lose some weight. She said that when I’d been away she had eaten and not moved much, pining for me, which was nice, although I think she was just being a bit lazy as she was prone to.

Many months had passed since the incident , such as it had now become known. I hadn’t realised that although my plan was dangerous and had nearly caused my death – I wasn’t quite aware of how near death I’d been – the outcome had been better than I could ever have envisaged. But, as the seasons passed, my strength had returned. It was now summer again. The sun was out, the evenings light and warm. I had survived it all; the attack by Joe, and the cold winter that followed, which made me loath to go out. I had eventually forced myself to set foot outside the front door, returning to my old life of visiting all the houses; Jonathan’s, the flats at number 22, and of course, Claire’s. After my recovery I had returned to being a doorstep cat but with a difference, because everything was different. And now things had changed more than ever.

Franceska and Thomasz and the boys had moved and left Edgar Road. Luckily they had only gone round the corner though, and lived in a bigger flat. I didn’t visit often, as it was quite a walk, but they came to Polly and Matt’s or Jonathan and Claire’s all the time. It seemed that I had brought about a friendship for all of my families, which made me so happy; they liked each other, just as I had wanted.

Thomasz had a partnership in his restaurant and was doing very well. Aleksy loved his school and his English was now better than his parents’. Thomasz the boy was talking more and almost sounding English. Franceska worked in a shop and she often brought gifts of fish. She said she was less and less homesick now.

Polly was better and enjoying being a mum. She had a growing stomach, which they told me meant there was another baby coming, another playmate for me! She, Matt and Henry were very happy. Henry was walking now and pulled my tail a lot, but in a fun, not mean way, so I tried not to mind too much. The biggest change was that they lived in a new house now, which happened to be right opposite Jonathan’s. They were so much closer and the house they lived in wasn’t as big as Jonathan’s, but it was a lovely family home.

Claire and I both lived full time in 46 Edgar Road, with Jonathan. My idea to get them together had worked (although it took a while). It was the best plan ever, although they seemed to do it all by themselves, needing only a little help from me. They were so happy together, although Jonathan could still be grumpy and Claire would tease him. She wasn’t scared of him and he treated her – and me – like royalty. Tasha visited all the time and they had other friends over, as well as Franceska’s family and Polly and Matt. The house was busy and full, the way I had always thought it should be.

Claire and Jonathan called me their miracle cat because apparently I had done so much. I was growing quite an ego; the way they talked, you would think I had saved the world, not just helped four families. But apparently I had, and my life was all the better and richer for it.

As we settled into a routine which worked for us all, I had much to be thankful for: my friendships, my family, the love that surrounded me. My days of wandering the streets in fear, dodging cars and dogs and feral cats, scrabbling for food and shelter, were so far behind me that sometimes it felt as if that life had happened to another cat. But I knew it had happened to me, because my past was always with me. The tears and the fear, and the way my families had needed me, had become a part of me. I would never forget Joe and what he had done to me because, although it had cost me a lot, it had given me so much more. I would never forget when Aleksy came back from school with a certificate because he had written about his best friend, which was me. I would never forget Franceska saying that being in England had been so hard at first but that I had made it easier. I would never forget Claire saying I had saved her, and Polly saying the same. I would never forget that Jonathan teased me for turning him into a cat lover and telling Claire that I had saved him from the awful Philippa. I would never forget my long journey here, and I just hoped that the hard bit of it was now over and my relaxation could begin.

Because I was still happiest being a lap cat, and I now had the perfect number of laps to sit on. At night, I would sometimes go out and look at the stars. I would look at the sky and hope that Agnes and Margaret were up there somewhere, winking at me, because although I had apparently done a lot of good things since I lost them, I had only done it because of the love and lessons they had taught me. And I was a better cat for them and for everything I’d been through. And that, I had learnt, was how life worked.

This book has been a pleasure to write because of the team I have been privileged enough to work with. Thanks especially go to my wonderful Editor, Helen Bolton; this process has been so much fun and you have been inspiring, encouraging and a wonderful guide in my first novel. Also the team at Avon have all been so excited for this which has driven me on immensely. I have also been lucky to have fantastic agents, so big thanks go to Kate Burke and all at Diane Banks Associates.

My family have been a great source of encouragement, keeping me fed and letting me write late into the night. My wonderful friends have kept me grounded as I ran ideas past them – I feel you have all been a part of this.

Finally to the cats who have been part of my family throughout my life. This is for all of you; you’ve been my family, my friends, my inspiration and at many times my support. You aren’t just pets, you are so much more.