Alfie in the Snow

‘Well, that’s very kind of you, Henry, isn’t it Toby?’ Claire said.

‘I still don’t want to be Joseph though,’ Toby said; he wasn’t going to forgive so easily.

‘I think it’s great, one day I want to be Mary,’ Martha offered.

‘Why don’t you children go and play for five minutes before we leave for school?’ Polly suggested. They all went into the living room but as chatter started up, I realised that Toby was still not really talking. It seemed the nativity issue wasn’t going to be resolved that easily.

‘Right, I better go to work,’ Jonathan said, standing up.

‘Just a minute. We were on the way and we bumped into the Barkers, down the road. They were in such a state – turns out their cat, Tiger, has just passed away. She was very ill, they’re so distraught, poor things, but I know she and Alfie were friends. And George too, I guess,’ Polly said.

‘They were, really good friends,’ Jonathan said. They all looked at me, concern across all their faces. I started yowling and I lay down, finally able to fall apart.

‘And they say cats don’t have feelings,’ Claire said, bending down and stroking me.

‘Well they do, and none more than Alfie,’ Polly added, as I just let myself go.

‘That’s awful,’ Jonathan said. ‘They’re an odd couple, the Barkers, and although not particularly warm they did dote on that cat. Claire, we should drop round some flowers.’

‘I agree, and I’ll get a card,’ Polly said.

As Claire picked me up and cuddled me to her, I showed my grief, and thought that at least my humans were lovely people, and they would show kindness to the Barkers, and I would pull myself together and take care of George. I would also have to go and see our friends later, because they would all be very upset, and I would have to learn to put one paw in front of the other and carry on. But for now, I would just take some time to wallow in my distress. As I felt the warmth of Claire’s arms around me, I couldn’t do anything else. Hearing them say it, my humans, made it abundantly real and I nestled into Claire’s arms and let despair engulf me.

When everyone had gone out, and with still no sign of George, I cleaned myself and went out to see our friends, although it was the last thing I felt like doing. I understood George’s desire to be alone, I shared it in a way, but it wasn’t necessarily healthy and I needed to tell Tiger’s friends what had happened and also find my kitten. It was too much for him to go through alone, even if he did think that was what he wanted. I mustered the tiny amount of reserve strength I had and set out.

I noticed that Connie was going out as I left but I didn’t stop. I saw that Salmon’s owners were at the Barkers’ front door, and although they were terrible busybodies, I also knew they were friends and that they were hopefully going to be able to offer some small comfort to them in their hour of need. Again I didn’t stop.

I carried on to the recreation ground, wondering if anyone would be there. It wasn’t raining, but it was still bitingly cold, and a winter wind whipped around my legs as I walked. To say I arrived looking and feeling windswept was a bit of an understatement. I was relieved to see both Rocky and Nellie there when I arrived. No sign of Elvis, but they would be able to spread the word, and I was sure that Salmon probably knew already, so I wanted Tiger’s friends to hear as soon as possible.

‘Alfie,’ Nellie said, with a sympathetic expression on her face. ‘It’s good to see you, I was wondering where you were. We heard about Tiger.’

‘I take it you guys haven’t seen George?’ I said grimly.

‘No,’ Rocky said. ‘Is the lad alright?’

‘Oh guys, I’m worried about him.’

‘Oh Alfie,’ Nellie said, coming over to nuzzle me. ‘It’s all so sad. I’m going to miss her.’ She hung her head.

‘Me too, Alfie,’ Rocky agreed. ‘It’s the saddest thing, losing someone you love.’

‘And I know we all loved her, which makes all this so hard and not just for me. George said he needed time on his own but I really just need to know he’s alright.’

I found fretting about George was overtaking my grief. I thought of two places he might be. One was Hana’s house, but I discounted that on the grounds that he wanted to be alone. Then there was the house at the end of the street with the angry man. That made more sense. He could be hiding out in the garden, and no one would know he was there. Unless the old man saw him, of course – but if he wanted to be alone, hopefully he would have kept himself hidden.

‘What do you want us to do, Alfie?’ Rocky asked.

‘Well, I wouldn’t mind some help finding George,’ I said. I found it was a bit comforting being among friends but also people who loved Tiger too. As if they would prop me up and stop me from falling. I wanted the same for George.

‘Let’s go and find this jungle of his,’ Nellie suggested. The three of us were about to set off when we saw Elvis coming towards us with George by his side. The sight of him was a huge relief. We all waited, glancing anxiously at each other.