We made our way to the end of the street and found all our Edgar Road cat friends waiting for us. It was like a party. A leaving party, I guessed.
‘You’re all here,’ George exclaimed excitedly, bounding from cat to cat.
‘Of course we are,’ Rocky said, gruffly.
‘We wouldn’t miss a party,’ Nellie added, nestling into George. If Tiger was George’s mum then Nellie was like his favourite aunt.
‘Although I nearly didn’t make it, I was eating one minute, then the next I fell asleep. Must be old age.’ Elvis wasn’t a young tom, and I could sympathise with him. Sometimes I found myself drifting off to sleep these days. I wasn’t as young as George, but then I wasn’t ready for old age yet — there were lives in this old cat yet!
‘Well I’m glad you did make it,’ I said warmly. Tiger looked very pleased with herself.
‘We have been friends for a long time now,’ she said. ‘Since Alfie moved here really, and it’s just amazing to see that we’ve all remained friends.’ It was true we had.
‘It’ll be strange without you guys this summer,’ Elvis mused.
Just then there was a rustle in the bushes and my friend Dustbin, who lived with Franceska and Tomasz, or more accurately in their yard, appeared. He was a feral cat who worked for the restaurant in return for food, a job which suited him perfectly. When I first met him I was a little intimidated by this wild cat, but he had a heart of gold.
‘Wow, Dustbin, you’ve come!’ I was touched. He lived a few streets away and was always busy keeping the rodents under control. Not my kettle of fish, or rats more accurately, but Dustbin loved his work.
‘Wouldn’t miss it, Alfie,’ said Dustbin. ‘Seeing you and the boy off. It’s going to be strange not having you popping round.’
George and I stayed with Franceska’s family quite often, which meant we got to spend time with Dustbin. He was a truly good friend.
‘It won’t be the same without the lad,’ Rocky said, sounding emotional.
‘Um, you do know we’re going away for a few weeks, not forever,’ I said, wondering why everyone was so emotional.
‘We know that,’ Nellie said. ‘But you know how much we see of each other. It will be strange not to see George. And you too, Alfie,’ she added as an afterthought. Despite the fact that some said I was quite a vain cat, I was used to playing second fiddle to George.
‘We’ll be back here before you know it, and then we can tell you all about our summer.’ I tried to lift everyone’s spirits.
‘Yes, we’re going to the seaside,’ George explained.
‘I know and not many cats are lucky enough to go to the seaside,’ Rocky said.
‘I am so very lucky,’ George said. ‘But now I want to play hide and seek.’ He ran off before anyone could answer. The rest of us cats looked at each other, indulgently. There were only two bushes but we always had to pretend it took us ages to find him. That was what you did with kittens.
We spent a lovely afternoon, seeking with George, playing with leaves and sunbathing. When it was time to go, I knew I would miss each and every one of my friends, but then I also knew we were going to have such a great time on holiday that time would fly by. We would be back before we all knew it.
I still felt a bit emotional as I sat on my back step with Tiger that evening. George had gone to bed with Toby, and Tiger and I were going to say our last goodbye. According to Claire, we were going to be gone for about six weeks. I didn’t know exactly how long that was but it sounded like a fair amount of time. I had been away before but not for this long and we were leaving the others behind. I kind of understood now that being left was the hard part, although of course we were coming back.
‘Don’t you go going off with any of those seaside cats,’ Tiger said, not meeting my eyes.
‘Don’t be silly,’ I replied. ‘I have all I need back here. Yes, we are going to have a lovely holiday but you know my job will be looking after George. Goodness knows what mischief he could get up to, not to mention the humans.’
‘Of course. I know it’s supposed to be a holiday but I’ve got a feeling you’ll have your paws full. Look after our kitten, won’t you?’ her voice urgent.
‘Oh, Tiger, I know you’ll miss him, but I promise I won’t let him out of my sight.’ Just thinking about that made me feel tired. Hopefully it would be a bit relaxing as well. What was I thinking? Looking after George was the least relaxing thing ever. But I wouldn’t change it for the world.
‘I know you’ll take care of him, but take care of yourself too.’
‘I’ll miss you, Tiger, and I will really look forward to seeing you when we get back.’ I wasn’t sure how to express myself, but I was trying.
‘Good, and make sure you do miss me. Alfie, I love you more than all the cat food in the world.’
‘And I love you more than pilchards.’ I nuzzled into her neck. We stayed there for what seemed like ages in comfortable silence. That was what I liked about my relationship with Tiger; we knew each other so well, nothing needed saying, and that was how I liked it.
A shadow loomed over us and I looked up to see Salmon. He used to be my nemesis, but since George went missing in the summer we had called a truce. It had been the worst time of my life not knowing where my kitten was and all our cat friends had rallied to help, as had Salmon. He was very fond of George, if not so much me.
‘Salmon,’ I said. Tiger scowled; she still wasn’t his biggest fan. To be honest he was a bit of a busybody, like his owners who ran the neighbourhood watch and lived opposite us. They made everything that was going on in Edgar Road their business.
‘I was going to say goodbye to the lad but I’m guessing he’s in bed?’ he said, sounding gruff. He didn’t really know how to be friendly, but it wasn’t his fault.
‘He is, Salmon,’ I said, kindly. ‘But I’ll tell him you came by. Are you alright?’
‘Yes, just so you know I’ll look after things while you’re away. I mean, you know, keep an eye on things.’
‘What things?’ Tiger asked.
‘I’ll make sure everything is OK, Alfie,’ Salmon said. He raised his tail. ‘My owners are going to see yours to say the same. Anyway, have a good trip and hope the lad enjoys himself.’
I raised my whiskers at him and then he left.
‘You could be friendlier,’ I said to Tiger.
‘And you could be less so,’ Tiger retorted. ‘Anyway, I better get back, supper will be waiting. Bye, Alfie.’
She sounded sad but I didn’t prolong the farewell, I understood how she felt, and I knew that by snapping at me, it would make it easier for her. I hated goodbyes too, even temporary ones.
When I let myself back in through the cat flap, Claire and Jonathan were on the sofa together. The doorbell interrupted them. I went to wait by the door, having been warned that it was Vic and Heather Goodwin, Salmon’s owners.
‘Oh God, we don’t even get five minutes’ peace,’ Jonathan muttered as he opened the door.
Before he could say anything, Vic and Heather were inside the house, a skill they seemed to have. Without being asked they made their way to the living room.
‘Well this is a surprise,’ Claire said, standing up. I went to join her, as did Jonathan. Vic and Heather always made us feel guilty for some reason, as if we had done something wrong. That was always how it was with them. And Claire and Jonathan didn’t invite them to sit down — they weren’t being rude but they’d done that once before and Vic and Heather had stayed for hours; we all thought they were never going to leave and Jonathan said if they’d stayed any longer they would have claimed squatters’ rights! It was always better not to be too welcoming — we’d learnt the hard way.