Alfie the Christmas Cat Read online

  ‘Theo’s only three months old, remember,’ Franceska said. ‘Soon enough he will find his routine; babies do it in their own time. Goodness, not that I remember, my two are so growing fast.’ I glanced at Franceska and jumped onto her lap. She got her words a little bit mixed up when she was worried. Perhaps I would hear more about the Tommy situation now. Franceska sighed.

  ‘Things still bad with Tommy?’ Polly asked.

  ‘Ah, yes. He’s always been such a naughty boy but mostly harmless. You know, so physical, unlike Aleksy, but sports seemed to keep him under control. But now he’s really playing up at school and we don’t know why. He doesn’t do his homework, he’s been in detention so many times and his head of year even called me and Tomasz in. He said he is not doing well in lessons and he’s becoming known as a trouble maker by the teachers. He has broken so many rules, I don’t think there’s many he hasn’t broken. Thankfully he hasn’t been fighting, but that seems to be the only thing he hasn’t done.’

  ‘Oh Frankie,’ Claire said. ‘Tommy’s a bright boy but he’s always been a little bit of a live wire. Do you think this might just be a phase?’

  ‘I hope so, but as Tomasz said, if he starts being in trouble all the time, how do we stop it? It’s hard, you know? Tommy’s always been a leader and he is being seen as the bad influence on his friends now; Aleksy told me this. He didn’t want to say too much because it would betray his brother. He also said he would try to talk to Tommy but I don’t think it’s done any good. They just argue about it all. Tommy says Aleksy is a “suck up” and Aleksy gets quite upset by him.’

  ‘You’ve already grounded him?’ Sylvie said.

  ‘Yes, and we took his phone and his iPad, and now he just says he hates us! I just don’t want my lovely boy to go off the rails.’

  ‘I’m sure he won’t – he’s got a good heart at the end of the day – but you know, maybe he still feels a little bit out of place … with us. He’s older than our lot, and Aleksy has Connie …’ Polly pointed out. This was true. Poor Tommy was a little bit on his own. We noticed this and I somehow managed to draw attention to it. He sometimes had a friend come with him, when we had family day, but not now, not when he was in trouble. He wasn’t allowed.

  ‘That is why we told him to invite a friend, but now he is grounded we said he had to improve his behaviour before his friends can visit again,’ Franceska said. ‘We really don’t know what to do for the best.’

  ‘Keep an eye on the situation, that’s all you can do. And if you need any help, we’re all here,’ Claire said.

  ‘Meow.’ I seconded that.

  ‘I know. I’m hoping that the next family day we have, maybe Jonathan can have a word. For some reason he seems to take to Jonathan.’ Yeah, I didn’t know why either.

  ‘I think it’s because they’re similar.’ Claire laughed. ‘But I have an idea. Tommy said he wants to work in the city, which he can only do if he does well at school. Maybe Jonathan could say that if he improves his grades he can do some work experience for him.’

  ‘That’s a genius idea, Claire,’ Franceska said. ‘I would be so grateful.’

  You see, I had taught my humans well. Claire had almost as many good ideas as I did. Although, knowing Jonathan as I did, I wasn’t sure he’d be thrilled. He often found himself having to do things that he had no say in. But, I also knew that even if he objected there would be no point. When Claire made up her mind there was absolutely no changing it.

  Tommy being in trouble was something I would have to ponder. He was a good boy. He was fun as well, always laughing and joking, and yes he didn’t love school the way Aleksy did and he didn’t find lessons easy either, but he had great potential. And I would not let Tommy ruin his life – not that he was going to, but if Franceska and his school were right, he was in danger of going down the wrong path and it would take a cat like me to get him back on the right one. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to do it alone, but I had my family, my cat friends, and I was determined. All I needed now was a plan, and I was very, very experienced when it came to making plans.

  Theo woke up with a quite startling cry soon after, and Sylvie took him home in order to make Connie’s tea. Franceska reluctantly left us to go and deal with her family. I could see in the way her shoulders were slumped that she was seriously worried about her younger son. I nuzzled into her, giving her a bit of extra fuss so she knew that I was here for her.

  ‘Shall I do tea for the kids here?’ Claire offered.

  ‘Oh that would be fantastic. I’ll pour us a glass of wine shall I?’ Polly replied. The kids all got on pretty well most of the time. There was the odd squabble, but that was only to be expected. They all had tea together a few times a week, especially as Claire looked after Henry and Martha when Polly had to work late, and Matt couldn’t get home either. I loved how lively the house was, but it was also quite exhausting.

  As George and Pickles and the children descended on the kitchen I watched my family with a mixture of love, pride and worry. We never stopped worrying about those we loved, that was for sure. As the children ate their tea with all the usual chatter and laughter, George and I sat in our basket in the kitchen, enjoying our family. Pickles lurked under the kitchen table, trying to pick up any scraps that were dropped, and Polly and Claire sipped glasses of wine. I wished I could press pause on our lives. Keep this snapshot for a bit longer, because it was truly lovely. And because sometimes life moved far too quickly.

  George and the children were growing up fast, the adults trying to keep everything balanced – and I include myself in that by the way – and even Pickles wasn’t technically a baby anymore. At least we had baby Theo to keep us young, I guessed, but then we’d blink and he’d be a teenager. Oh listen to me, getting all maudlin. It was only because I was worried about Tommy, and once I started fretting I generally started worrying about everyone I loved.

  That was the sort of cat I was.

  I went out the front to take a bit of thinking time in the fresh, albeit damp and cold, air. I saw Aleksy and Connie standing at Connie’s front gate. I went to greet them.

  ‘Ah Alfie, I was just going home. I don’t want to give my parents any more grief,’ Aleksy said, petting me.

  ‘No, your brother’s doing quite enough,’ Connie added.

  ‘Meow.’ I’ve heard, I said.

  ‘At least we did get to the homeless shelter. Oh Alfie, it was so sad, so many people without homes,’ Aleksy said, still stroking my fur. I nuzzled. I had been homeless once, which seems like another life now, but, I understood.

  ‘Yes, we want to raise money for it. Not because of the school project but because Christmas is coming up and it’s tough enough being homeless at any time but imagine at Christmas,’ Connie added, sounding passionate.

  ‘Mew, mew, mew.’ I thought that sounded like a very good idea. Not that I had experience of raising money.

  ‘I knew you’d agree. Now we just have to think of an idea, because we don’t have one yet. But I better go. As I said, I don’t want Mum to worry about anything else.’ Aleksy bid me and Connie goodbye. He was a good kid, as was Connie. And they wanted an idea.

  Well, they had come to the right cat.

  Chapter Five

  It was another family day, an unscheduled one actually. Sylvie wanted to host a lunch, which she hadn’t done since Theo was born, to sort of officially welcome Theo into our extended family. As far as I was concerned we already had, but if it kept Sylvie happy … Hana told George that Sylvie felt as if she had received so much support from us all since Theo was born, she wanted to thank everyone, so a Japanese feast it was. And I wasn’t too upset about that because the Japanese were huge fans of fish, just like me.

  Sylvie’s house, which used to be very minimalistic, was full of baby stuff now. By the way, for something so small, babies seemed to need a lot of stuff. Not like kittens, kittens were easy by comparison. We cats are so self-sufficient, it’s a shame that humans c
an’t learn from us; believe me, I have tried to teach them. Dogs can’t learn that much either by the way. Trust me, we tried with Pickles.

  I was hoping I might get a bit more information about the Tommy situation. Having reviewed all I knew so far, I had a number of conclusions. Tommy was a teenager and he was misbehaving at school and home. I loved Tommy as I loved all my children, and therefore I could not allow that to happen. However, at this point in time I had no idea what to do. The problem was I could feel trouble brewing. I could feel it in my fur.

  Hana, George and I stand poised by the front door of Hana’s house to greet the families. George and I snuck over early, entering through the cat flap, because we were so excited. Hana’s house used to be a quiet and immaculate place but hurricane Theo had changed things somewhat. Now, there was baby paraphernalia all over the place, and it was also pretty noisy. Theo was a beautiful baby but he had a strong set of lungs on him.

  On the upside, it was also a happier home now. They had had challenges when they first moved in. Sylvie and Connie arrived from Japan after an upsetting time – divorce. Connie struggled to settle in England, and worried about her mum, but then Sylvie met Marcus, and now they’re a family, which baby Theo helped to complete.

  Hana took a bit of time to get used to life in Edgar Road too. In Japan her life was very ordered but in Edgar Road, well, let’s just say order isn’t something that we do very well.

  Claire, Jonathan, Toby and Summer arrived first as they only had to come from next door. Claire made a beeline for baby Theo, practically grabbing him out of Sylvie’s arms, and Summer, who was fascinated by babies, and played with dolls a lot, attached herself to her mum’s side, begging for a hold. Sylvie, who is usually quite uptight, sat Summer on the sofa and said she could give Theo his bottle. Polly, Matt, Henry and Martha arrived next with Pickles, who was allowed to join us as long as he behaved himself. He never behaved himself, though, as he set about licking everyone. Martha immediately wanted a turn with Theo; this baby was in demand. Just as a row threatened to break out, Sylvie said there would be enough time for everyone to hold Theo. Poor thing, he was going to spend the day getting passed around like a parcel. It reminded me of when George was a tiny kitten. Everyone wanted him then, too. They lose interest when you get bigger. It’s a fact of life; I can tell you that from personal experience. Not a terrible one, I might add. There are benefits to not being manhandled all the time. Theo could look forward to learning that when he got a bit bigger.

  ‘Where’s my grandson?’ Harold boomed as he arrived with Marcus, carrying Snowball. I raised my whiskers at her, I was pleased to see her but we would wait to greet each other properly when she was on the floor. Harold treated Snowball as if she was his baby sometimes, even though she was a fully grown cat, like me.

  Years ago now, Snowball and I had a rocky start to our relationship – for some reason she was immune to my charms – but I won her round eventually. And yes, I do have a few charms, I’ll have you know.

  Harold put Snowball on the floor, and we rubbed noses.

  ‘Here, Dad, sit down and I’ll pass Theo to you,’ Marcus said. See, just like a parcel.

  The doorbell went again and Franceska, Tomasz, Aleksy and Tommy were on the doorstep.

  ‘Sorry we’re late,’ Franceska sounded stressed.

  ‘It was this one’s fault.’ Tomasz gave Tommy a gentle push into the house.

  ‘I wanted to hang out with my friends, not be here,’ Tommy said, sounding surly.

  ‘Yowl!’ I chastised him. He rolled his eyes at me. Where was my fun Tommy? He went into the living room, sat in the corner and folded his arms. Goodness, he looked sulky, even worse than Summer did when she didn’t get her own way, and that was saying something.

  ‘I am so sorry,’ Franceska said to the other adults as they made their way into the kitchen. ‘But he’s impossible. He wanted his phone back but we had to stand our ground, so he won’t be good company today.’

  Even the kids knew to give Tommy a wide berth as they looked at him suspiciously. Aleksy and Connie shrugged, but didn’t even try to speak to him. Only Pickles seemed oblivious as he went up and licked him. Tommy didn’t even acknowledge the poor dog, as he sat with a scowl on his face. Eventually Pickles got the hint and slunk away.

  I noticed Franceska nudge Aleksy.

  ‘Tommy, why don’t you come with us, Connie’s got a new Xbox game.’ Aleksy was trying. He was being kind, just how I’d taught him.

  ‘Nah.’

  Aleksy rolled his eyes at his mum and he and Connie went upstairs.

  Apart from Tommy, it was a lovely, busy, cheerful family day. The kids played nicely, baby Theo seemed to enjoy the noise and the chaos, which was lucky as he would have to get used to it. The food was certainly delicious; Snowball, Hana, George and I had a feast. Poor Pickles was rationed though because, as usual, he was on a diet.

  ‘You know, it’s time to start thinking about Christmas,’ Claire said, as lunch finished and the kids went off to play. My ears pricked up at the word Christmas – it really was a wonderful time of the year.

  ‘Oh God, Claire, not yet, surely we get a few weeks more of normality before we mention the C-word,’ Jonathan retorted.

  ‘Bah humbug,’ Claire shot back. ‘And it’s practically November, or it will be next week.’

  ‘Claire is right, we need to be organised. Last year, there were lots of us, and this year there are even more to invite, because we have our Sunday Lunch Club,’ Franceska pointed out.

  ‘And, that’s a lot to cater for, so we need to plan it,’ Polly agreed. ‘Not just the food, but transport, presents … Wow, we do have a lot to think about.’

  ‘We can open up the restaurant for a big lunch,’ Tomasz offered.

  ‘But we should divide tasks, so that there’s not too much for anyone,’ Matt said, being sensible.

  ‘And as I’m at home at the moment, I’m happy to pitch in,’ Sylvie said. ‘Theo and I can do some baking or something like that.’

  ‘Right, so it’s settled,’ Marcus said. ‘We’ll have a big Edgar Road Christmas again, and as it’s Theo’s first Christmas, we’ll make it perfect.’

  ‘If we’re having it at the restaurant it won’t be on Edgar Road,’ Harold pointed out. Normally Harold didn’t like Christmas, but since meeting us, and having Snowball, he actually seemed to be changing his tune. If only Jonathan would do the same. ‘I can be in charge of the guest list, if you’d like. To make sure that no one we know is on their own on Christmas Day,’ he offered, a little bashfully. Harold wasn’t used to being helpful – even Marcus, his own son, said that, so this was new for him. I believed George could take credit for that change in him. With my help of course.

  ‘Great, so if we can only sort out that son of mine, we’ll be all good,’ Tomasz said, scratching his head. I felt sorry for him. Tommy and he had always been so close, both being into the same things, and having similar personalities. Aleksy was more like his mum, sensitive and serious.

  ‘I’ll have a word,’ Jonathan offered. ‘I’m not an expert at teenagers but it’s worth a go.’ I purred and rubbed his legs to show him I approved, although we all know that he was doing it because Claire had told him to.

  I sneaked out to find Jonathan and Tommy in the back garden. Jonathan was clutching a bottle of beer, Tommy looked sulky.

  ‘Listen, mate, I don’t know what’s up with you but trust me, if you keep getting in trouble at school there won’t be a job in finance for you when you leave.’

  ‘I just don’t like school. They tell us what to do all the time and don’t even give us a chance to have any thoughts of our own,’ Tommy replied, looking at the ground. The most he’d said all day.

  ‘Mate, that’s life sometimes. If you want things you have to play the game.’

  ‘But why?’ Tommy asked.

  ‘You want a job like mine, right?’ Jonathan asked.

  ‘Yeah, I want to make loads of money and I really like the idea of
working with stocks and shares, I even read about it,’ he mumbled.

  ‘So why the hell are you behaving like a jerk then?’ Jonathan asked. Not one to mince words was Jonathan, but in this instance I agreed with him.

  ‘I dunno,’ Tommy looked at the ground. ‘I guess I just get fed up with everyone telling me what to do like I’m some dumb kid.’

  ‘You’re behaving like a dumb kid,’ Jonathan pointed out. ‘Sort out your grades, sort out school and get your parents back onside and maybe, just maybe, I’ll get you some work experience in my office.’

  Tommy’s eyes lit up. He looked really pleased and he even almost smiled.

  ‘Really?’

  ‘But you need to sort your act out first. Because I’m not going to help you until you start behaving yourself. Deal?’

  ‘Deal,’ Tommy said.

  ‘And if there’s more to it than just being a bit fed up with school or being a teenager, then you tell me. Don’t mess up your future, Tommy; honestly, it’s not worth it.’ Jonathan ruffled Tommy’s hair and then went back into the house. He looked relieved as he did so.

  I felt, perhaps, that Tommy needed some support, rather than more telling off, so I went up to him, gently pawing him.

  ‘Ah, Alfie, sorry I didn’t make a fuss of you. I’m just so annoyed all the time. I don’t know why half the time either.’

  ‘Meow.’ I rubbed his legs. He was still my Tommy, but he was also a teenager and I knew, from experience, how terrible being a teenager could be. Not only for humans, by the way. When George had his teenage phase I despaired as he refused to tell me anything. Thankfully, it passed eventually, and I hoped that with Tommy it would do the same.

  ‘I just feel so angry and then I feel sad that I’m angry. I don’t like to push everyone away but I don’t know how to stop. Does it make sense?’