Alfie in the Snow

It had been a few days since we’d foiled Aleksy’s running-away plan, and according to Dustbin he and Connie seemed to have been a bit put off the idea; Aleksy hadn’t mentioned running away when he’d listened to his snatched conversations. That gave us some time, thank goodness, and we could focus now on the nativity and then Christmas. Although George and I were on good terms, I knew the first Christmas without Tiger would be incredibly hard for him, for both of us, and I was mindful of that. I was also feeling the stress of the past couple of weeks. So much had happened: Tiger, Harold, George and I, Hana and getting George into Hana’s house, and of course the attempted runaways. It was a lot for any cat to cope with, and the strain was definitely being felt. Yes, I was coping, yes I was grieving, and yes I was exhausted with the emotion of it all.

I didn’t feel like myself at the moment. There was something missing, and everything felt as if it was such a huge effort. I wanted to enjoy Christmas and all that entailed but I was also dreading it, knowing it was the first one without Tiger. I missed her, and that was exhausting too. I didn’t like to complain but all I wanted to do was to yowl in pain. But of course I couldn’t do that.

Thankfully we had Tommy’s caper to distract us. I was still unsure about the finer details of how they were going to pull it off, but for once I didn’t have to worry about that. It wasn’t my plan, I was just an innocent part of it. That made a refreshing change to be honest. It was almost like having a day off, and that was how I was going to look at it. After the drama of the last few days and the ache that I carried constantly from missing Tiger, no one needed a day off more than me.

Thankfully, it really was a day off for me, as I needed more than anything to catch up on some rest. Claire was helping at Harold’s house; everyone else, including Marcus, was working, so she was supervising the new carpets. George was visiting Hana. Aleksy and Connie were both at school and I would be seeing Aleksy later, so I didn’t have to worry about him for now.

I spent the day catching up on my sleep, before making a quick visit to our friends. I also checked on the Barkers, a habit I’d got into. Since Tiger had passed away they never left the cat flap open, of course, so I couldn’t go in, but I just felt that it was my duty to go by and see their house. If I saw them I would try to be friendly, and they did pet me kindly; I could tell they felt Tiger’s loss keenly. We all did. Grief hung over Edgar Road, despite the approach of Christmas. The Barkers hadn’t even bothered to get a tree from what I could see through their front window, which meant they must have been in a bad way. I felt so bad for them; I understood how they felt, after all.

I added them to the list. I didn’t know how I could cheer them up when I couldn’t really cheer myself up, but I was concerned. I knew Tiger would have wanted me to try and I owed it to her, so I would do all I could. But time was ticking on, and problems were piling up, and I was shrouded in grief, so it was all so hard. When I got home, I took another nap.

The light outside was beginning to fade as I heard the door open and Aleksy and Tommy appeared. Luckily, George and I were in the living room and were ready, having had something to eat and groomed ourselves thoroughly.

Aleksy picked me up and told me I would have to hide in his jacket. Tommy did the same with George.

‘Quick,’ Tommy said. ‘Before Mum notices I stole the key.’

‘You didn’t steal it, you borrowed it,’ Aleksy replied, far less dramatically.

‘I know, but the grown-ups might not see it that way. Anyway, we better go, I told Mum we’d meet her at the school so we could get good seats.’

‘We need to get the best seats to watch what you’ve got planned,’ Aleksy said, and I agreed. I noticed he stopped at the gate to Connie’s house and looked longingly up at the window. He didn’t mention anything about the other night to either me or Tommy.

‘Come on, honestly her mum will come round, I heard Claire say that,’ Tommy said, patting his brother on the shoulder and nearly dropping George in the process. ‘Oops, sorry George, I must be more careful.’

‘Meow,’ I yelled from the warmth of Aleksy’s jacket. Yes you must.