Charlie the Kitten Who Saved a Life

‘Oh, he did say it might be adding to the problem, yes,’ Laura said, ‘although the anaemia is the real issue. But I must say, he agreed with what they told us at Mudditon Hospital – if Caroline hadn’t been taken to hospital, it could have been a different picture altogether. Can you imagine what might have happened if she and Grace had carried on wandering off on their own like that – while she was suffering from concussion, not to mention the bleeding from her wounds? It could have been … well, a catastrophe,’ she finished in a very quiet voice.

‘Thank God she went to hospital. So it looks like Charlie really did save her life,’ Nicky said.

‘Yes.’ Laura looked at me and smiled. ‘He did.’

‘It feels like we’ve got our Caroline back now, in more ways than one,’ Julian said, and I thought I could hear a funny wobble in his voice. Laura must have heard it too, because she put her paws round him and hugged him. He smiled at her and added, ‘And you’re so much happier too, darling, aren’t you? Now the baby’s started to settle down.’

‘Poor Laura was tired out, Julian,’ Nicky said. ‘What on earth did you expect?’

‘You were worried I might have had postnatal depression, weren’t you?’ Laura said, turning to Julian. ‘But Nicky’s right, I was just completely exhausted.’

‘Men just don’t get it,’ Nicky said, shaking her head. ‘Dan was absolutely useless too, after I had Benjamin.’

‘I know, I know,’ Julian said, smiling. ‘Well, we don’t like to admit we’re worried, you see …’

‘Excuses, excuses.’ Nicky laughed. ‘You’re all the same. If you don’t like us being tired and ratty, you should be looking at how you can help us. And honestly, Julian – I’m glad we’re close enough friends that I can say this to you now – it really wasn’t the most wonderful idea in the world, taking the family to Mudditon for a whole month and leaving them there to get on with it.’

Oh, at last, somebody was saying what we’d all been thinking right from the start! I rubbed my head against Nicky’s legs and purred.

‘I know,’ Julian said. ‘I think I realised I’d messed up, even before we got there, but I was trying to convince myself it was going to somehow make everything better. Instead, I’ll admit it, it was just a bloody disaster!’

‘Oh, come on, there were some good things about the holiday,’ Laura said, nudging Nicky and doing that thing with her eyes that humans call winking. ‘It was quite fun really apart from the girls running away, Charlie going missing, Caroline getting herself concussed and carted off to hospital, and … oh, well, none of us being able to relax on the beach because of the seagulls. But that pales into insignificance compared with the rest!’

‘Next year,’ Julian said, when they’d all stopped laughing, ‘you choose the holiday, right? That’s a promise.’

‘And Charlie can stay with us,’ Nicky said firmly. ‘Wherever you go, you’re not going to risk taking him with you again and letting him get lost.’

‘You’re on,’ Laura said. ‘Thank you. The cattery is supposed to be very good, though.’

‘No!’ I meowed. ‘I want to stay with Nicky. I’ll be really, really good! I won’t mess up her washing or get inside Benjamin’s cot or anything.’

‘I think he’s saying he’d rather stay with us,’ Nicky said, stroking me. Perhaps she actually did understand a bit of Cat!

‘Well, next summer’s a long way off,’ Julian said, ‘but we might take you up on it if Laura wants us to jet off somewhere exotic and expensive.’

‘Good idea!’ Laura said, and she did the winking thing to Nicky again. ‘Although to be honest, I can’t imagine exotic holidays being quite so easy with a baby in tow. And it’s funny, but despite everything, I’ve developed a kind of affection for Mudditon-on-Sea.’

‘You’re joking!’ Julian said.

‘No, I’m not. But we’re only going back if they’ve got a grip on the seagull problem. And as long as it’s only for a week or two, and you stay with us.’

‘Perhaps we could stay in a hotel next time instead of self-catering,’ Julian said. ‘And we’ll see if Grace can come along for Caroline.’

Nicky was laughing at them both as she got to her feet. ‘Well, I’d better get back or Dan’s going to start complaining that I leave him on his own too much with Benjamin! I’ll leave the pair of you to mull over your plans for next year, then – although I can hardly believe you’re already talking about going back to Mudditon again.’

And neither could I. After everything that happened, here they were already discussing going on another holiday! What on earth is wrong with humans? Why can’t they just enjoy playing in their own safe territories all the time, like we do? Although I must admit, just for a tiny moment, I allowed myself to imagine going back to Mudditon and somehow being able to catch up with my friends, the feral cats, again. But sadly, I knew it wasn’t really going to happen. I’ll never forget those boys, but they’re not part of my real life, my life here in Little Broomford with my family and friends. I’m a home-loving domestic cat at heart, and always will be.