Alfie in the Snow. Rachel Wells

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      After breakfast, as the children all went to school, George and I headed out to see the other neighbourhood cats. Sometimes I felt as if I was far too busy, so many people – and cats – to see that it was hard to fit it all in. I was hoping to see Tiger as well, as I made my way to near the end of the road, where we often convened on a patch of grass we called our recreation space. It was quite isolated from the main road, and there were hedges to play in – George still loved a bit of hide and seek – and even a couple of trees. Best of all, our friends knew to go there.

      I had made many cat friends since being on Edgar Road. We had new ones coming in, and had lost one or two of our members, but the core group remained the same: Elvis, who was pretty much an old man now, Rocky and Nellie, but there was no sign of Tiger.

      ‘Alright, Alfie, George,’ Rocky said.

      ‘What’s going on?’ I asked.

      ‘Nothing much, you?’

      ‘We’ve got a new cat next door,’ I said, too excited to keep the news to myself. ‘But she doesn’t go out, or she didn’t in her old home, so we haven’t been able to meet her yet.’

      ‘Claire and Polly said they lived in another country,’ George said. ‘What’s that then?’

      Nellie, Rocky, Elvis and I all looked at each other. We were cats, after all, and not experts in geography.

      ‘It’s very far away,’ Elvis said, finally as if he knew. ‘We live in London, and other people live in other places which are countries.’ None of us, including him, knew if that was true.

      ‘Like Devon?’ George asked.

      ‘Exactly,’ I said quickly. After all, it didn’t really matter, did it?

      ‘So Japan, which is where they come from, is another country,’ George said. ‘And there, cats don’t go out, apparently,’ he added. I was surprised and pleased that he’d paid so much attention. He went off to hide under a hedge.

      ‘You can pretend to look for him today, Nellie,’ I said. She was like an aunt to George and also had more patience than I did. After all, George always hid in the same place and it did get a bit tiresome pretending that we didn’t know where he was.

      ‘OK.’ She grinned.

      ‘Has anyone seen Tiger today?’ I asked.

      ‘Nope. She’s been a bit elusive lately if you ask me,’ Rocky said.

      ‘I said the same to her but she said she just didn’t like the cold any more. Though I thought she might be here this morning.’

      ‘Nah, not so far. Although it’s still early.’

      We settled down to our activities, gossiping, watching George play and watching the world go by, and before long Tiger appeared. I was relieved to see her, and I’m not sure why I was worrying. It was just something I always did. I am a worrier by nature. And when, like now, life was coasting along very well, I tended to worry more.

      ‘Hey,’ I said, greeting her excitedly.

      ‘Calm down Alfie, you’re acting like you haven’t seen me for ages.’

      ‘Well, you weren’t out last night.’

      ‘No, sorry, I fell asleep after dinner again, and when I woke up, I thought it was probably too late. Honestly, I am not a fan of winter,’ she declared, examining her paw.

      ‘I love winter, I hope it snows,’ George said excitedly. He’d had his first experience of snow the previous year and he was a big fan. I was not; it was cold, wet and you sank into it, a bit like sand actually, which I also wasn’t too fond of.

      ‘Yes, well, George, you might not say the same when you get older,’ Tiger said, but indulgently. ‘Right, come on and we can go and climb a tree if you’re good.’

      They set off together to the nearest tree. All was normal as I watched George jump about with Tiger, then Nellie went to join them and they started a game of tag. Rocky, Elvis and I watched and caught up on more local gossip.

      ‘Salmon tried to tell us about your neighbours as well,’ Rocky said.

      ‘Of course, his owners will have gone around already, won’t they?’ I replied. Salmon was a pain and used to be my arch nemesis, but we were civil now. He lived across the street from me with the Goodwins who were the self-appointed neighbourhood watch coordinators on Edgar Road. Translation: they were incredibly nosy busybodies who annoyed most of us. But Jonathan had to admit that, with them around, Edgar Road was a low crime street. No one got away with anything. ‘What did he say?’

      ‘Oh, he was doing his usual, acting as if he knew more than he did, being cagey, but we’re used to it now. He didn’t even mention the fact they’d lived in another country, so my guess is that your humans found out more than his.’

      ‘Well that makes me happy,’ I said. I was still curious though. Our chat was interrupted by a commotion and we rushed to see George perched precariously on a high branch. My heart sped up.

      ‘Oh my goodness, George,’ I said.

      ‘Get down at once,’ Tiger was shouting.

      ‘He’s ever so high,’ Rocky exclaimed.

      ‘And СКАЧАТЬ