Charlie the Kitten Who Saved a Life

‘Yes, it came up yesterday when Nicky was here.’ I rubbed my face against his. ‘I’m sorry, Ollie, I’m so worried about Caroline myself now, I can’t think straight.’

‘I know. I was pretty worried when I heard the news. Is there anything I can do? Shall I stay and play with you for a while to cheer you up?’

‘If you don’t mind, I think I’d rather be on my own with the family.’

‘Of course.’ He looked so sad, it made me feel guilty, but it was no good – I just couldn’t get myself back out of the black mood that had come over me. It wasn’t until he’d gone that I realised I hadn’t even told him about the TV people, and about being called a hero and a life-saver. It just didn’t seem so important or clever anymore.

Julian told Caroline that evening about going back to the doctor’s in the morning. I was lying on the rug next to baby Jessica, tickling her with my tail and my whiskers to make her giggle. Even the fact that Laura wasn’t telling me off anymore about the possibility of germs, was making me sad, because she looked so anxious and distracted, it felt like I could have sat right on Jessica’s head and she still wouldn’t have reacted. Not that I was going to do it, of course. I really loved little Jessica these days.

‘Oh,’ was all Caroline said about the doctor’s. We all waited for her to start protesting and complaining about it, but she didn’t, and in a way that was worse.

‘It’s just a precaution, Caroline,’ Laura said. ‘We’re sure there’s nothing to worry about, but you must admit, you’ve been so tired all the time.’

‘Yes,’ she said.

‘It’s probably the after-effects of the concussion,’ Julian said.

‘Or even just the new school,’ Laura joined in. I got the impression they were both trying to sound cheerful. ‘You know, the longer day, the extra work, carrying all those books …’

‘Yes.’

‘So that’s probably what the doctor will say,’ Laura went on.

‘But we just thought we’d make sure,’ said Julian.

There was a long silence, during which Caroline came and lay down on the floor next to me, and started playing with me and Jessica.

‘OK,’ she said eventually. ‘Can you make the appointment for after school? Otherwise I’ll have to have a note.’

I worried all the next day. I almost couldn’t eat my lunch. When Laura finally came home after the doctor’s appointment I was so relieved that Caroline was with her, and hadn’t been taken straight to the hospital, I purred all round her legs for ages while she sat at the table having milk and biscuits. But it wasn’t until Julian came home from work that I found anything out.

‘Dr Pearson says the bone marrow biopsy looks conclusive,’ she said. ‘He’s sure there’s no mistake. I asked him whether he thought we ought to repeat it just in case.’ She glanced at Caroline. Again, I was expecting her to howl in protest, but she just sat there, listening, playing with the thing that turns the TV on and off.

‘And?’ Julian asked anxiously.

‘Well, he said he’d like to get a couple more ordinary blood tests done first, to check for other possible reasons, before we go down that road.’

‘What sort of other reasons? Did he agree that it might be because of the concussion?’

‘He did seem to consider it. But he said there could be any number of reasons – it was like he didn’t want to commit himself until we’ve got the results of the blood tests. So I’m taking Caroline to the health clinic in Great Broomford for those, first thing in the morning. Dr Pearson will have the results by Wednesday.’

Those next two days seemed twice as long as normal. I almost couldn’t eat my breakfast, lunch or dinner. I tried to keep myself busy by amusing Jessica, by chasing birds in the garden and playing in the fallen leaves, but nothing seemed to work. When Oliver called round I was almost too anxious to meow with him at all, let alone start telling him the story of my time in Mudditon. When Caroline came home from school on Wednesday afternoon, Laura was waiting for her with Jessica already in her car seat, to take her straight back to the doctor’s. They went off without even saying goodbye to me. I meowed at them from the window as Laura drove away, but I knew it was because, like me, they couldn’t think of anything apart from the test results. They were gone for so long, Julian got home from work before they returned.

‘Why are they taking so long, eh, Charlie?’ he asked, bending down to stroke my head.

‘I wish I knew,’ I meowed.

‘I’ll try calling Laura’s phone,’ he said, and I sat up straight in my bed, watching him as he held the phone to his ear. Laura must have answered quickly, because the next thing he said was: ‘Where? The supermarket? Why the hell … Laura, I’m sitting here worrying myself sick, waiting for you to come home. At least tell me what the doctor said.’

Then he frowned, said ‘OK. Yes. See you in a bit, then.’ And, turning to me, he added, ‘She can’t even talk to me right now, because she’s at the checkout. Honestly, Charlie – women! What a time to choose to go shopping.’