Alfie in the Snow

‘Yes, I think so. My sister has invited us to go away with them, but well, Connie and I aren’t used to being here yet, so I think staying might be best. I just don’t …’ Her voice cracked and I went to rub her legs. ‘I haven’t really thought about it,’ she said. Then she tried to smile.

‘You must come to us,’ Claire suggested.

‘Only if you want to, of course,’ Jonathan quickly added.

‘We’re all having lunch together, it’ll be loads of fun,’ Polly said.

‘Well, I hate to impose.’ Sylvie sounded uncertain.

‘Why would you be imposing? The more the merrier I say,’ Matt said.

‘And you can bring something,’ Franceska added. ‘Claire and Jonathan will do the turkey, we will bring potatoes and vegetables, Polly brings pudding.’

‘That doesn’t really leave much,’ Claire pointed out.

‘I’ll bring champagne,’ Sylvie said. ‘How about that?’

‘Well we never say no to champagne,’ Polly laughed. She was right, they didn’t. They didn’t say no to wine either, to be frank.

‘Great, that’s settled,’ Tomasz said. ‘We’ll have a proper traditional Christmas.’

‘An Edgar Road family Christmas,’ Jonathan added.

‘Let’s drink to that,’ Claire said and I licked my lips. I was thinking already about turkey and all the lovely left-overs that George and I would be treated to. I really did love Christmas, it’s my favourite time of the year. 

Chapter Ten

Never one to give up, I had found a way of introducing George to Hana. We both stood at her patio door and we had a conversation through the glass. We had to shout and sometimes words got a bit lost, but it was better than nothing. And Hana said she looked forward to our visits – well, I think that’s what she said, we couldn’t be sure. We’d started going round to see her most days. Remembering how Connie was worried she was lonely and bored, we took it upon ourselves to make sure she wasn’t.

‘Why don’t you try to come out?’ George asked.

‘I don’t know how, or if I’ll like it,’ Hana said. ‘And after watching Alfie get stuck in the window …’

The only window in the house that was ever open – and not always – was the one I had squeezed through. I wasn’t sure Hana, having never gone out, would be up to it. After all, it had nearly defeated me, a far more experienced cat.

‘Maybe one day I can come in and see you?’ George said but Hana obviously didn’t hear. Instead, she squinted at him.

‘What does “comtinbeya” mean?’

I sat back a bit and let them continue the conversation. I was right, George and Hana seemed to have hit it off, even in this unorthodox way. As I listened I marvelled at Hana’s nature. She was always sunny it seemed, she never complained, although to my thinking she had a lot to complain about. Her family were unhappy still. Although Sylvie put a brave face on when she visited my humans, she was still crying most nights and not coping as well as she was pretending to. Sylvie would let her tears drop onto Hana’s fur and Hana would try to comfort her, but she didn’t know what to do. And Connie was still being quiet and solitary. She barely spent time with her mum, despite Sylvie trying very hard. She spent most of her time in her room, on her phone, and Hana didn’t know what was going on there either. George told her Aleksy was the same and we all hoped it was just this illness known as ‘teenage hormones’, and that it would soon pass.

But although it seemed that Hana had a lot on her plate, she never complained, not even that she was stuck in the house alone for most of the day, and I thought we could all take a lesson from her.

‘It is nice that you come and see me,’ she said, or shouted, as we got ready to go home for lunch. ‘It does brighten up the day.’

‘One day you will come out with me,’ George said, confidently.

‘I don’t know about that.’ Her eyes widened. ‘But maybe one day you can come in. If they ever leave the bigger window open …’ We all glanced at the closed windows.

We bid her farewell, she put her paw up on the door, and George and I matched it on our side, before we set off back next door.

‘You know, if I was ever going to fall for a girl again I would probably fall for Hana,’ George said, sweetly.

‘And if you hadn’t sworn off them forever then I would probably give you my blessing,’ I replied with a grin.

I did have one resolution though. I’d heard it said that no one should be alone on Christmas Day, it was something I’d learnt throughout life and I didn’t want that for Hana either. If her family was spending the day with us, then she would too. I just had to figure out how.