Alfie in the Snow

‘I found him at Connie’s house and reluctantly he told me he liked her.’

‘Oh wow, you mean Aleksy has a crush?’ Claire grinned. ‘Now this calls for wine.’ I didn’t like to say anything but really these women would use any excuse for wine. If I was like that with catnip, I would never get anything done.

‘No, it’s not a crush, it seems that she likes him too. He has a girlfriend.’

‘Aleksy’s first love,’ Polly sighed. ‘Gosh, I remember my first boyfriend, Peter Spencer. I was twelve, he was in the year above and we held hands every lunchtime until he dumped me for an older girl. I was devastated.’

‘Oh God, I was much older than that, at least fifteen,’ Claire said. ‘Unfortunately I ended up marrying him.’

I raised my whiskers, this was news to me.

‘Really, he was your first husband?’

‘Yes, but we broke up for about two years, got back together at nineteen, and well, the rest is part of my pitiful history.’

‘Not sure these stories are helping,’ Franceska pointed out. ‘But I was a late starter. I didn’t have a boyfriend until I was seventeen. And no, it wasn’t Tomasz.’

‘That is so sweet,’ Claire said.

‘Ah, young love.’ Polly looked dreamy. Probably because we were all way past that.

‘And is Sylvie alright with all of this?’ Claire asked.

Franceska shrugged.

‘I don’t know, Connie hasn’t told her yet. Because apparently she’s so overprotective, that Connie is scared to tell her – which explains all the secretive behaviour – but of course I told Aleksy that she needed to tell her mum, as it was wrong to keep things from her, especially now I know.’

‘Did he know you were seeing Sylvie tonight?’ Polly asked.

‘Yes, and I said I wouldn’t lie to her, so he is going to speak to Connie about it.’ Franceska now looked worried. ‘It’s not fair that she doesn’t know and we all do. Aleksy wasn’t happy when I said that but us mums need to stick together. And then I made Tomasz give him “the talk”.’

‘You mean he hasn’t already?’ Claire asked.

‘Yes, we did do that, or Tomasz did, years ago, but he was so awkward that he kept swearing in Polish, and after he blustered through it Aleksy said they already did it in school. But this time I made Tomasz give him a talk about respecting women and not rushing into anything.’ I was slightly disappointed I hadn’t been there for that one.

Claire’s phone beeped with a text.

‘Sylvie’s on her way.’

‘That’s good, isn’t it?’ Franceska said.

‘Hopefully.’ Claire didn’t sound so sure.

Our nice relaxed girls’ night had taken a bit of a stressful turn, however I had to have faith. Sylvie was a lovely woman, sensible, and she fitted right in on Edgar Road, so what could go wrong?

I cowered under the kitchen table next to Polly’s legs. I felt as if she might like to dive under it with me. Franceska looked as if she was ready to cry and Claire’s eyes were as big as saucers. Basically, Sylvie hadn’t taken the news well. And that might be one of my biggest understatements.

I had gone with Claire to open the front door when Sylvie pushed past us both with barely a glance. I had to practically run after her, and when she got to the kitchen, she really lost it.

‘My daughter has just informed me that she’s got a boyfriend. And it’s your son.’ She glared at Franceska, who looked surprised and then a little afraid.

‘Well yes, we just found out—’ Polly started.

‘And you are all sitting here as if the most normal thing in the world is that my fourteen year old, who has never really been around boys much in her whole life, now after only a short time in London thinks it’s OK to have a boyfriend.’ Her eyes were on stalks. She was clearly distressed, and slightly unhinged.

‘Hey, it kind of is normal,’ Polly pointed out, then flinched because Sylvie’s eyes were blazing with anger.

‘Not for my daughter. She’s a good girl. She works hard, she gets straight As, she doesn’t care about boys and make-up and clothes. Well, she didn’t until your son corrupted her.’

‘God, Aleksy couldn’t corrupt Donald Trump,’ Polly tried to point out. I had to admire her insistence on not backing down; both Claire and Franceska seemed to have become mute.

‘Not the point,’ Sylvie shouted. But I thought it was the point.

‘Meow,’ I said, trying to convey that Aleksy was a lovely boy and any parent should be pleased it was him spending time with Connie.

But she ignored me; she was angry and started pacing up and down the kitchen. ‘We’ve had a huge upheaval and I knew it was a mistake letting her go to the local school. She begged me, said it would be a way for her to make friends who lived nearby, but somehow I am going to have to get the money for her to go to an all-girls’ school. Maybe if I tell her dad what she’s been up to he’ll cough up.’ She was muttering now as if she was talking to herself. She was definitely unhinged.