Alfie in the Snow

It seemed George, clever George, had worked it out by listening to me and also to Hana. Hana had said she knew the boy went to school with Connie and also he’d been to the house, which must have been Aleksy. Dustbin had heard Aleksy call her by her name. Perhaps all the trauma with Tiger had taken me slightly off my game, but it hadn’t even occurred to me. I guess no one could blame me though. I suddenly felt like crying. Aleksy and Connie were beginning their relationship and mine was ending. Oh dear, I was back to being selfish.

‘Well, I think it’s great,’ I managed. ‘Aleksy is a good boy, Sylvie should be pleased that her daughter has met a lad like him and not one of those horrible ones that hang around the park sometimes with their trousers half way down their bums.’

‘Oh Dad, you do sound old sometimes,’ George teased. ‘It’s just fashion.’

‘I do not,’ I replied. ‘And fashion isn’t always right.’

‘Actually, you do a bit,’ Dustbin agreed. ‘Reading between the lines, it seems that Sylvie is a bit overprotective of Connie, not only with everything that has been going on but also because her life in Japan was very sheltered.’ Dustbin was a pretty perceptive cat.

‘It was,’ George added. ‘Her school only had girls in it, and she didn’t really have any friends that were boys, let alone boyfriends. Hana told me that.’

‘Is Hana the cat who never goes out?’ Dustbin asked.

‘Yes, and she’s my new friend,’ George replied. ‘And we talk through the glass door. It’s a bit strange but we’re making it work.’ He sounded so grown-up, I was proud.

‘Anyway, so her mum doesn’t know about Aleksy?’ I checked.

‘No, and Connie wants to keep it that way for a while, because she is worried that she’ll go mad and stop her from seeing him,’ Dustbin continued. ‘But that’s all I know.’

‘It’s a lot,’ I said. ‘And I wish he’d tell Franceska and Tomasz. They won’t be angry with him, in fact they would probably be able to help.’

‘But you can’t make him tell them,’ Dustbin pointed out.

‘Well, actually I probably can,’ I said, and we all laughed.

Although my feelings about Tiger weighed heavily on me, I was relieved to find out the only thing wrong with my boy Aleksy was that he had his first ever girlfriend. I found it quite moving; he was growing up. They all were, and that included George. As much as you wanted to protect them all, you couldn’t protect them from everything – I was learning that the hard way. The problem was my children were too.

‘So, what are you going to do, Alfie?’ Dustbin asked.

‘I’ll think of something,’ I said. ‘But in the meantime, do you think someone might be out soon with left-overs?’ I felt a bit hungry after all this emotional activity.

‘I’ll stand at the door and they’ll think I am too cute to resist,’ George said, and he did just that. It didn’t take long before one of the staff came out with a bowl of food for each of us; it never failed to work.

I was aware that some people would wonder how I could think of my stomach at a time like this but I knew that I needed to keep my strength up. Whatever happened the next few days, weeks, or however long I had my precious Tiger, I would need it all, and with the humans adding in their issues to my already complex emotional mix, I knew I needed to make sure that I was in peak physical condition. Even if my feelings were broken and they would never ever recover, I would have to get through this. Too many people relied on me: George, my human kids, the adults, and now we had Sylvie, Connie and Hana to take care of.

As I ate I realised I was needed by many, and most of all, Tiger needed me. I would somehow have to reassure her that it was going to be alright, that she shouldn’t be scared, that she mustn’t fret about leaving us behind because George and I would somehow cope. I knew that she needed to be at peace and the only way for her to do that was for me to ensure she didn’t worry. I had no idea how to do that, but I knew it was right at the top of my priority list. I still didn’t know how I was going to be able to say goodbye to her but I needed her to think that I would be fine, and most importantly that George would too.

‘Are you alright?’ Dustbin asked. ‘You don’t quite seem yourself.’ I looked at him, his kind eyes, his scruffy fur, and I wanted to tell him everything, but then I looked at George sitting beside him, gazing hopefully up at me, and I knew I would keep it to myself for now.

‘I’m fine, just thinking about all the work we have to do to fix our humans,’ I lied.

‘Oh well, you know I’ll help you with anything you need. I’ll keep my ears open with Aleksy anyway and if there’s anything urgent I’ll come to you,’ Dustbin said, reassuringly.

‘And you don’t have to worry about me, Dad,’ George said.

‘No, son, I know,’ I lied, for the second time that day. 

Chapter Thirteen