Charlie the Kitten Who Saved a Life

‘I’m fed up with it, Charlie. I can’t imagine why I was looking forward to the new baby coming. Daddy’s never got time for me now. I feel like I’m just in the way.’

I knew how she felt. Only the previous day I’d been shouted at for bringing a nice fat woodpigeon in through the cat flap. I thought they’d be proud of me, as it was the biggest one I’d ever caught, but oh no, there was a lot of squawking and carrying on about germs and the baby, and Laura shooed me back outside while she got rid of my prize trophy.

‘At least they’re not saying you’re a danger to the baby and shutting you out in case you attack her,’ I pointed out to Caroline now, in Cat, but of course, she still hadn’t bothered to learn our language so she just stroked me and nuzzled the top of my head.

‘And as for this holiday!’ she went on crossly. ‘It’s going to be awful! Thank goodness Daddy’s finally agreed to let you come with us. At least I’ll have you to keep me company. I’m going to go mad, stuck in some boring place with no friends, for a whole month.’

Listening to Caroline’s complaints, I must admit I was beginning to feel quite anxious about this holiday thing. Nobody apart from Julian seemed to think it was a good idea, and even he was getting stressed whenever it was mentioned. I wondered whether my humans were ever going to start being happy and cheerful again like they used to be.

One day soon afterwards, I was sitting on the kitchen windowsill washing my whiskers after my dinner when I heard raised voices again in the dining room.

‘Eat your dinner, Caroline,’ Julian was saying.

‘Don’t want it.’

‘What’s wrong with it?’ Laura said. ‘You’ve always liked spaghetti bolognese.’

‘Well, I don’t now!’ Caroline sounded like she might be going to cry. ‘I keep telling you, I don’t like meat anymore. I’m not hungry.’

‘You’re hungry enough when it comes to biscuits and sweets!’ Laura retorted. ‘We’ll have to stop all those treats if you can’t eat your dinners.’

‘You’ll make yourself ill if you don’t eat properly,’ Julian told her.

‘Maybe I am ill!’ Caroline said. ‘Maybe I’ve got the leukaemia again. Not that you’d care!’

I’d stopped washing, sitting very still while I listened to all of this. I didn’t like to think that Caroline might be ill again. I don’t think Julian or Laura liked it either, because after she’d gone off upstairs to her bedroom again, they were talking very quietly together about her hospital appointment in London the following day. Apparently Julian was taking her there instead of going to work, and he and Laura both sounded worried about it.

‘Some of the symptoms are just the same as before,’ Julian said. ‘The tiredness, pallor, loss of appetite …’

‘But she’s so cross all the time, too!’ Laura said. ‘I can’t seem to get through to her anymore. I know she’s worried about starting the new school. Do you think it’s that?’

‘Surely not. She’ll soon settle there when she starts. No, I think she’s probably as frightened as we are, about the thought of being ill again. That’s why she’s being so snappy. We should try to be understanding.’

‘Well, I’m glad you’re seeing the consultant tomorrow. Let’s hope he can reassure us.’

They went off early in the morning in Julian’s car to catch the train from Great Broomford. I hung around indoors for a while, thinking Laura and Jessica might like my company. I’d found an old toy mouse of mine behind my bed, and after I’d got bored with playing with it on my own in the kitchen, I thought it might be nice to let Jessica have a turn with it. I trotted into the lounge with it in my mouth. Laura was sitting in one of the armchairs, reading the paper, so she didn’t see me come in, and Jessica was lying on a blanket on the floor, staring at the ceiling and making funny little noises as she kicked her back paws in the air. I dropped the toy mouse onto her face and waited to see if she’d realise she was supposed to play with it, but her eyes went wide with surprise and she shook her head so that it fell off onto the blanket next to her. I sat down next to her head and waited. She smelt nice and clean and I quite fancied lying down with her and seeing if she’d stroke me. But just then, Laura turned a page of her paper and glanced down at the baby.

‘Charlie!’ she said, throwing the paper down. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Looking after Jessica,’ I meowed. Wasn’t it obvious?

‘Get away from the baby’s face,’ she said. ‘And … what on earth is that?’ She bent down and picked up my toy mouse. ‘What is this revolting dirty old thing doing in here? I don’t want it on Jessica’s blanket!’ She picked it up and sighed at me. ‘Honestly, I can’t take my eyes off her for one single minute while you’re around, can I?’