‘He’s ever so high,’ Rocky exclaimed.
‘And that branch don’t look too secure,’ Elvis yowled.
‘Oh no, poor boy, what’s going to happen?’ Nellie asked. We all started panicking, running around in circles and yelping. As we came to a halt I noticed that George had started his descent. My heart was in my paws as I watched him climb down. I had discovered my fear of heights a long time ago, whilst being stuck up a tree. Not only that, but I’d had to endure the humiliation of being rescued by the fire brigade. It was all for love, but that was another story. Trees had not been one of my favourite things ever since.
‘What were you all shouting about?’ George asked innocently as he reached the ground.
‘Oh thank goodness,’ Nellie said, sitting down and looking exhausted.
‘George, you were so high, too high,’ Tiger chastised.
‘No I wasn’t. Look, I got down, didn’t I? Sometimes you adults panic about the most ridiculous things.’
Unfortunately no one could argue with that.
Tiger and I decided we’d had enough excitement for one day so we took George home. He was reluctant, having had so much fun. But while we were on our way I saw the next-door neighbour, Sylvie, and her daughter, Connie, in the street. I couldn’t resist making myself known to her.
‘Oh Connie, here are the next-door cats again.’
‘They’re cute,’ Connie said, bending down and petting us.
‘We’ll meet them properly later as we’re going over.’ Sylvie smiled in the way that people did when they weren’t really very happy. A fake smile, or putting on a brave face as I thought of it. We all did it, us adults.
‘Great,’ Connie said but I noticed how her shoulders sagged and she dragged her feet. Her voice definitely lacked enthusiasm.
‘Come on, if we get your school uniform sorted quickly then I’ll buy you some more exciting clothes.’ Sylvie was trying hard.
‘Fine,’ Connie said as they walked off.
‘I think those two need a lot of cheering up,’ I said. Tiger nodded her agreement.
‘Well, they’ve come to the right street,’ George finished.
They really had.
My slumber was disturbed by one of my favourite noises: my families. From my place on Claire and Jonathan’s bed, I heard the loud cheery greetings. I stretched and rushed downstairs where George was, as usual, centre of attention. I meowed loudly to make myself heard and Aleksy and Tommy came over and took turns fussing me. I nestled into them enjoying the warmth.
Our house, which wasn’t quiet at the best of times, became louder, more crowded, and heaps of fun. Claire and Jonathan’s was the biggest house which was why we all convened at ours, but Tomasz and Franceska came in loaded with food from the restaurant, Polly and Matt always had wine and beer with them, and the adults – which included me – would all go to the kitchen to prepare food and drinks while the children, with George in tow, went into the living room. The older children would set up games for the younger ones. I had noticed that lately Aleksy hovered a bit before joining the kids; he thought himself too grown-up and I had been warned what that meant. He was a new creature now, something called a teenager.
I had heard about teenagers, notably from Tiger whose humans didn’t have one but knew one who visited, and I’d had first-hand experience of one when I was in love with Snowball and she lived with a teenage boy who spoke monosyllabically and never smiled. Well, my Aleksy, who I had known for years, since I first moved to Edgar Road and before he even started school, was now one. He had had his thirteenth birthday last year, and everyone had made a big deal about him becoming a teenager, but I didn’t know why because as far as I could see there was nothing to celebrate. It seemed that turning fourteen hadn’t improved things at all.
It was about losing my sweet best friend – although he was always still lovely to me, I didn’t know if the real him would ever come back. Teenagers were not an exact science though, apparently, but this one, hovering in the hallway, looking at the phone clasped in his hand, ignoring everyone around him, had definitely become one of them.
Eventually he went into the living room.
‘Aleksy, help me make a den,’ Tommy said.
‘I’m busy,’ Aleksy mumbled and sat on the sofa doing something with his phone. Toby looked disappointed.
‘But Aleksy, you make the best dens,’ Henry complained.
‘Please,’ Summer asked, looking at him with her big blue eyes.
‘OK, but just for a minute,’ he sighed, as he started gathering the sofa cushions.
I went to the kitchen where Polly had just finished telling Franceska about Sylvie.
‘She’ll be here in a minute, but remember, guys, it’s been hard for her,’ Polly reminded them.
‘Hey, I lived in Singapore, remember,’ Jonathan said. ‘And I wasn’t exactly thrilled when I moved back here, so I’ll be able to properly sympathise.’
‘God, he’s right,’ Claire said. ‘I hadn’t thought of it before, but at least you and her can talk about expat life if needed.’
‘And also how, if you hadn’t left that sunny, fun-filled life, you’d never have met Claire, or had the kids,’ Matt joshed.
‘Hey, he is so lucky he got fired from his job in Singapore,’ Claire said.
‘Meow,’ I shouted.
‘Of course, you’d never have met Alfie either,’ Tomasz said and thankfully everyone seemed to agree what a terrible thing that would have been.
Throughout dinner, Sylvie and Connie were quiet. The younger children had been fed earlier, Tommy insisting on eating with them, and they were in the living room watching a DVD while the adults, Aleksy and Connie ate. Claire, Polly and Franceska talked about the local area, schools, and the men were polite, but no one wanted to ask too many questions. Aleksy and Connie sat next to each other but they weren’t exactly chatting either. It was fine but it did feel a bit awkward, rather than the usual conversation and bickering and teasing. I paced around the table, wondering what I could do to bring this evening to life, and then I had an idea. I knew I’d be in trouble, but I jumped on the table.
‘Alfie, get down!’ Claire screeched. Aleksy burst out laughing and then Connie looked at him and did the same.
‘Bloomin’ cat,’ Jonathan huffed, lifting me off the table and trying not to laugh.
‘He is such a naughty cat sometimes,’ Claire huffed.
‘But so cute.’ Tomasz grinned.
‘You two will be going to the same school when Connie starts on Monday,’ Claire said, the ice having been broken.
‘Really? What year?’ Aleksy asked.
‘Year Nine,’ Connie mumbled, but then she looked up. ‘I haven’t been to school in England before,’ she said. ‘So I don’t know much about it.’
‘I’m in the same year. Hey, listen, I can meet you and walk there with you if you want, I mean on your first day.’
‘Would you?’ She looked relieved, as did her mum.
‘Sure, I mean I know nearly everyone in our year and school’s OK, so I can help you meet people.’ Aleksy blushed; this was the most I had heard him say in ages.
‘That’s great, thank you Aleksy,’ Sylvie said. The teenagers looked as if they had said too much and glanced back at their plates.
Things got easier after that. Sylvie seemed to relax as she and Jonathan chatted about Asia; they both had been to lots of the same countries although Jonathan admitted never having been to Japan. At one point Polly went to check on the children, then Aleksy asked to be excused and Connie and he left, both grabbing their phones from the kitchen counter on their way out. I spent a while listening to the adults, satisfied that although it wasn’t quite there yet, Sylvie would make a nice addition to the group. I could still feel her sadness and she was guarded but when she smiled, or laughed, I could see that she was lovely.
I followed Aleksy to where he and Connie sat on the stairs.