Chapter Thirty-Three
[Êàðòèíêà: img_34]
In some ways the day was normal. We woke, breakfasted, then we were allowed our advent calendars. The children squealed as they opened their doors and got rewarded with chocolate. George and I waited patiently as Toby and Summer then opened ours and handed us our cat equivalent to chocolate. A very nice treat indeed. It was one of our Christmas traditions I would have been happy to keep going all year.
But the day wasn’t normal, because it was opening night. We were all excited, nervous, and ready to go all at the same time. The dress rehearsal had been so special, it gave us a confidence in the show that really pushed us all forward. We had also become far more sure about our ability to make it a success. Even with the small mistakes made, which, by the way, I didn’t notice, the audience had loved it and that was what mattered. The best news was that all three shows were now sold out. The local paper had written a piece saying the show was ‘full of Christmas spirit’ and as a result we had sold allthe tickets. Donations had also been coming in. Our house was full of gifts that had been wrapped for the people in the shelter; there were so many that Tomasz was going to collect them with his van and we were going to deliver them after the show was finished, just in time for Christmas.
I had mixed feelings thinking about the show being over. It would be sad in so many ways but also good. We could think properly about Christmas then, which we hadn’t had much time for, although the turkey had – thankfully – been ordered. The children had written their letters to Santa and were excited but also tired because there was a lot going on at school on top of the show. Actually, we were all quite tired. We had rehearsed and rehearsed, and now we were coming towards the end. Sad, but happy too. We had a lot to look forward to after the show but I might miss being a sheep sometimes. I would definitely miss the applause.
‘We are going to be so worn out when this is all over,’ Snowball said.
‘I’m already quite exhausted,’ Hana replied. Poor thing, she did look weary.
‘Hey, maybe after Christmas Theo will start sleeping more,’ I chipped in cheerfully.
‘We can only hope.’ She did sound a little dejected and I hoped George wasn’t giving her a hard time, but he was off practising his prancing so I couldn’t ask him.
I managed to look out and see that the hall was packed full of people. People who had paid money to come and see us. I knew some of them were friends and family of the cast but still, it made me feel proud and warm inside. It really did make me think of embracing the show business bug, as George said. How he had it after his very brief appearance I will never fully understand, but here, with the lights and the audience and the music, it was intoxicating. Perhaps Ishould have been a showbiz cat!
Barbara was doing funny vocal exercises, which she said would help everyone warm their voices and they were all going along with her. Vic and Heather had fully forgiven her now, which meant the rest of their singing group followed suit.
‘Meowwwwwww,’ I tried to join in but I couldn’t make the right sounds. Everyone laughed.
‘Oh Alfie, you are such a funny cat,’ Barbara said. I still couldn’t quite get used to the fact she seemed to like us now. Trust was hard to give to someone who had tried to injure you more than once, but I was trying.
‘We have our own warm up,’ George said, to me, Snowball, and Hana.
‘We do?’
‘Yes, swish our tail, raise our whiskers, stretch our paw and say Mewmewmewmew.’
None of us thought it was doing anything at all, but we humoured him.
And then the curtains opened, the lights came on, the music started and the dancers began their dance.
The first proper night of our Christmas show began.
I decided, after three long shows, that I wasn’t actually cut out to be a showbiz cat after all. It was the last show and I was exhausted. It had all gone swimmingly, Pickles didn’t fall off the stage but he had lost his antlers a couple of times and somehow managed to get covered in glitter. Theo was sick over Sylvie when she was holding him, but it was only a little bit and he slept brilliantly through two of the shows, which they said meant he would be awake all night.
Barbara sang a bit too loudly in her solo part and in the group songs but no one seemed to mind. I think she was still a bit disappointed to be a wise man as she did make a bit of a meal out of her‘we come bearing gifts’ line. Ralph the vicar had already invited her to join his church choir and she’d said she’d love to. We cats were purrfect as well, not a paw out of place. We really were very good sheep, even if I do say so myself. I think everyone, on the whole, did a very good job.
It was time for the last scene of the last paid-for show.
‘I have an idea,’ George whispered to us as we had now been relieved of our sheep costumes. ‘Why don’t we go on stage one last time and we can pretend to sleep by the fire and then we can get up and join in with the last song.’
‘That is a great idea, George, let’s go!’ We couldn’t persuade Snowball and Hana, who were taking a break and having a rest, but we both went on stage and when the curtain opened we were pretending to be asleep by the fire.
The set was really quite lovely, a fake fire glowed in the hearth, a mantelpiece with stockings hung, and in front of the fire sat a mince pie and a glass of milk. There was a big tree, sparkling with lights and decorations and presents– which were fake and had been rescued a number of times from Pickles’ trying to eat them, and an armchair.
Harold was relishing his role as Santa. He mounted the stage saying‘Ho, Ho, Ho,’ and swung his sack around to put it down. Then he made a fuss of the mince pie and milk and if he was surprised we were there he didn’t show it. Maybe he’d had acting lessons from his new friend Barbara, I thought. He sat down in the chair, and he started snoring, which sounded real and a bit like a freight train. There were some giggles from the audience.
Toby, Henry, Martha, and Summer came on stage in their pyjamas all yawning and stretching, as if they had just woken up.
‘Let’s see if he’s been,’ Henry said.
‘He has, he has,’ Martha said.
‘But look, he’s still here,’ Summer exclaimed.
‘Wow, that’s amazing,’ Toby finished. However, as it turned out. Harold had actually fallen asleep and he kept snoring as Toby and Henry prodded him. The audience laughed as if it was part of the show. I looked at George.
‘Let’s go wake him,’ I suggested. We got up and jumped onto Harold – Santa’s – lap, mewing with all our might.
‘What the hell?’ he shouted, startling awake. The audience laughed again. ‘I mean, Ho, Ho, Ho, I’ve been rumbled.’
As the children and Santa walked to the front of the stage to sing the final song, George and I joined them, and as Harold threw sweets into the audience, I felt quite emotional. Yes, we would be doing it again for the Sunday Lunch Club, but not with everyone, and so, really, this was our last full show. And it had been wonderful. As the audience clapped and cheered, George and I took our bows– which we still couldn’t quite master. But, we really were showbiz cats right at that moment.
Aleksy, Connie, and Claire climbed on stage and Greg from the shelter came up with them.
‘We haven’t got the final figure yet as money was still being donated, but we have raised at least three times as much as we set out to do,’ Aleksy said and everyone clapped.
‘Thank you for coming to our show, it has been a real pleasure to work on and thank you to the cast who worked so hard, the backstage crew for all their amazing work, and, well, just thank you to everyone for making it such a success,’ Connie said. Aleksy and Connie held hands. Their confidencehad grown amazingly since doing this. Smiles were so bright and everyone radiated happiness. It was a moment I never wanted to forget.