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He handed Elsa a thin flat parcel wrapped up in paper with hearts on and Elsa started to tear it open curiously. She’d already opened her big present – the bike she’d asked for – plus lots of cool stuff for Pepper, including a squashy igloo cat basket, which he’d completely ignored so far. She had no idea what this present could be, unless maybe it was a book about looking after cats.

Sara helped her pull off the last of the paper and the two girls stared down at a picture frame with a photo of a beautiful chestnut-brown tabby cat. She was gorgeous, but quite thin, and she had big golden eyes. She was gazing at them out of the picture and she looked worried.

“Oh! Is it Jemima?” Elsa asked, remembering how Mrs Bell had described her. “Is it for Pepper, so he knows what his mum looks like?”

Dad was grinning at them.“There’s an envelope!” he said, rubbing his hands excitedly. “You have to open the envelope as well.”

“Oh…” Elsa picked it out of the wrapping paper and tore it open. Inside was a sheet of paper headedAdoption Certificate.“‘David, Sara and Elsa Parsons, congratulations on adopting Jemima’…” she read. “Jemima? Dad! You went and got her from the shelter!”

“I really wanted to have her here on Christmas Day, but she’s still feeding the other kittens,” Dad explained. “Anna, the lady who organized it all, said she’s pretty sure the kittens will have new homes soon. Apparently they’re quite unusual, being born late in the year, so there aren’t many kittens around wanting homes right now.”

[Êàðòèíêà: img_39]

“And then Jemima can come back here.” Elsa hugged him, but then she looked worried. “What about Mrs Bell? Won’t Jemima think it’s weird she’s not around?”

“Possibly,” Dad agreed. “But Anna seemed to think that she’d get used to it. She’s very timid with the shelter staff, apparently, so Anna leaped at the chance of Jemima going back to her old home, even if it is with different people. She thinks Jemima’s more likely to settle here than anywhere else. Though you have to realize she’ll probably never be as friendly as Pepper.”

“I don’t mind,” said Elsa. “I hated it when Mrs Bell said how scared she was, being taken off to the shelter. And we could take photos and send them to Mrs Bell, couldn’t we?” she suggested.

“That’s a very good idea.” Dad looked pleased with himself. “Good surprise?” he asked hopefully.

“The best!” Elsa reached down to grab Pepper, who was just about to leap into the lower branches of the Christmas tree again. “Pepper’s going to think so too. And if we have Jemima, then he won’t be lonely when me and Sara are at school.”

Pepper wriggled grumpily in her arms. Why wouldn’t they let him climb that tree? It smelled good, and it was full of things that sparkled and jingled and rustled when he patted them with his paws. But every time he got anywhere near it, someone always whisked him away.

“Here, you can play with the tinsel you’ve already stolen,” Elsa told him, dangling it over his nose, and Pepper lunged at it, hugging the tinsel close and growling at it fiercely. He wasnot going to give it back.

He lay there on Elsa’s lap, wrapped up in tinsel and patting the glittery fronds every so often. He was getting sleepy now. Trying to climb the tree so many times had worn him out. He yawned, showing all his tiny needle-sharp teeth, and then purred as Elsa rubbed under his chin.

“You’re staying with us, and now your mum’s coming back too,” Elsa whispered. “We’ll have two cats. Oh, I can’t wait to tell Lilly.”

Pepper purred sleepily and rolled over, snuggling up against Elsa’s hand and nuzzling her. He stretched one paw over her fingers determinedly.

He wasn’t letting her go.

46. THE SADDEST KITTEN

Isla pushed away her plate, leaned her chin on her hand and sighed.“You’re so lucky,” she told Hailey over the noise of the school dinner hall. “I wish we could adopt a kitten.”

“I don’t see why you couldn’t have one,” said Hailey. “You love cats – you always play with Pickle when you come round to mine and he really likes you.”

Pickle was Hailey’s beautiful black cat and Isla loved making a fuss of him. He even sat on her lap sometimes, when she and Hailey watched TV. Then Isla would sit like a statue, hoping he’d stay.

She shook her head sadly.“I’ve asked my mum and dad loads of times, but they always say no – Mum thinks Chloe and Sienna are too young. They’re only four and she says they’d chase a kitten around too much.”

[Êàðòèíêà: img_3]

Hailey scraped out the last of her yogurt, looking thoughtful.“I suppose they might. But we’ve had Pickle since before I was born. I don’t think I ever chased him. Maybe Max did? I don’t remember it, though.”

“Yeah, but Max is sensible,” Isla pointed out. “Chloe and Sienna are … not.”

“They aren’t that bad!” Hailey said, giggling.