‘Have you seen Hana?’ Aleksy asked Barbara.
‘No I haven’t, honestly. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt any of your cats,’ she said quickly.
‘I was asking not accusing,’ Aleksy said.
‘Hey, we’ll find her, son,’ Harold said, putting his hand on Aleksy’s shoulder. It must have crossed some people’s minds that Barbara might have had a relapse, I know it crossed mine.
‘Hana, Hana,’ Franceska and Sylvie were both shouting. There was still no sign.
We carried on looking, getting more and more frantic. She can’t have disappeared into thin air.
‘Um, George, Alfie, I think you better come back here,’ Dustbin said. ‘Backstage.’ We followed him. Because the final scene was the Santa scene, the Nativity set had been moved into the area behind the stage. As we approached, we could all hear a noise which sounded strange, alien almost.
‘What is it, have you found her?’ George asked.
‘Um, yes, and you better come,’ Ally said. Thank goodness Dustbin and Ally had kept their word and come to see the show, they were pretty good at finding people, as Dustbin had helped me a long time ago when Snowball got lost.
We made enough of a racket to get Connie to follow us yet again, Aleksy with her. I hoped nothing was wrong as Dustbin led George to the stable and the manger where baby Jesus had been lying on a soft blanket– in case Theo turned out to be allergic to hay – not that long ago.
‘Oh my,’ George said. ‘Hana, are you alright?’ I couldn’t see what was going on but George’s eyes were like saucers.
Hana made a small noise but she didn’t sound alright. I tried to get nearer, but it wasn’t easy.
‘Mum, you better come,’ Connie shouted, and the adults rushed over. I still couldn’t see what had happened as I got pushed further back, panic building in my fur.
‘Oh my goodness she’s had kittens,’ Sylvie said. I looked at George who was staring into the manger and standing very still.
‘Kittens?’ I thought, what on earth?
‘Jonathan,’ Claire shouted.
It was crazy for a few minutes.
‘Is there a vet here?’ Marcus shouted, as he held on to Theo.
‘How did this happen?’ Jonathan asked Claire. ‘I thought you’d had George, you know …’ He made a scissor sign, but I had no idea what that meant.
‘I thought you did,’ Claire said, scratching her head.
‘And Hana was a house cat so it didn’t occur …’ Sylvie added.
One of our Sunday Lunch Club pushed through; a man who I think went to the Barkers’ house.
‘I used to be a vet, let me through,’ he said.
I sat down. Kittens? I was in total shock. As, it seemed, was George, who still hadn’t moved.
‘Can we see them?’ the children all said as they tried to push through.
‘Give them space, darlings, just for now,’ Polly said, holding them back.
‘Mother and three babies are fine,’ the vet declared. I really wanted to see them, so I finally managed to snake my way through legs to where George was standing. Lying in the manger was a very tired Hana, and three kittens who looked like a cross between both of them. I felt absolutely choked up. My kitten had kittens.
‘It’s a Christmas miracle,’ Toby declared.
‘Kittens born on Christmas Day, in a manger, like Jesus,’ Summer added. ‘Can we call one of them Jesus?’
I hoped we could not. Imagine calling him in from outside, that was, if there was a him. I couldn’t tell, they were so tiny, so beautiful; it really was a miracle.
‘Oh my goodness, George and Hana have become parents,’ Claire wiped a tear. ‘This is truly miraculous.’
‘Amazing that no one noticed the cat was pregnant,’ Jonathan said.
‘We’ve been so wrapped up with Theo, I feel so guilty,’ Sylvie said, she was crying too, but I hoped they were happy tears. Marcus hugged her.
‘All’s fine here, you’ll need to get them home carefully, make sure they are fed and after Christmas, take them to your own vet for a proper check-up,’ the retired vet said. He looked quite nice, for someone who used to like prodding and poking us about, anyway.
‘What an end to the best Christmas ever,’ someone said as they all toasted Hana and her babies with their sherry or mulled wine.
Franceska was crying and Tomasz had his arm around her, with Aleksy and Tommy close by. Sylvie was holding baby Theo, and Marcus and Connie stood beside her. Polly and Matt had their arms around Henry and Martha. And Claire, Jonathan, Toby and Summer were all huddled together. All our families and our new additions.
George and I stood a little apart as the retired vet cleaned up the kittens and suggested that they should transport Hana and her babies home in the manger, as it seemed safest not to move them.
‘There are two boys and a girl,’ he declared.
‘Can I hold them?’ Martha asked.
‘Not yet, love, but soon,’ Polly assured her. As many people as possible were crowded round the manger. George and I reversed ourselves to an open bit of space, because for now we couldn’t get near.
‘Are you alright son?’ I asked after a minute.
‘I’m in shock. Wow, Dad, I’m a dad. An actual dad. I mean … I had no idea … All this time, Hana was tired and a bit sick and then she put on weight but none of us had a clue.’
‘And now you’re a dad. To three beautiful kittens – two boys and a girl. Who would have thought it?’ I said, still stunned.
‘It explains so much. Poor Hana, not knowing,’ Snowball said as she joined us.
‘Congratulations, George, what a wonderful thing to happen,’ Dustbin said.
‘Well, I never. I think that a celebration is definitely on the paws,’ Salmon said, joining us.
‘What is it?’ Pickles asked. The humans had somehow dropped his lead in the fuss. I hoped he behaved himself.
‘Hana had kittens,’ I explained, still unable to fully process it.
‘Can I eat them?’ Pickles asked.
‘NO!’ we all shouted at the same time.
Somehow we all ended up back at Sylvie’s house; it seemed everyone wanted to check the kittens were alright. Franceska had driven them, with Sylvie in the car, and George had gone along with them. When they’d arrived home, Hana and the kittens had been moved from the manger to Hana’s soft cat bed.
‘Can we call the girl Holly?’ Summer asked,
‘Ah, yes that’s a lovely name for a girl kitten,’ Connie said. Um, I had to say I quite liked it.
‘Jesus,’ was suggested.
‘No, honestly, just no,’ Polly said.
‘How about Santa?’ Franceska suggested.
‘Oh, I really like that,’ Sylvie said and everyone agreed. ‘Santa and Holly and …’
George turned to face me and blinked. I understood immediately. I wasn’t sure how to convey it but I stepped on Jonathan’s foot.
‘Not again,’ Jonathan said.
‘Meow,’ I said, trying to paw his trousers. George then joined me. We took a leg each. Matt laughed but Jonathan was trying to shake us off.
‘What are they trying to tell you?’ Claire asked. Jonathan paused and looked at me. Finally I saw him seem to understand.
‘Oh, why don’t we call the last kitten Tiger? You know, after that cat that Alfie and George seemed very fond of – the Barkers’ cat who died,’ he suggested.
‘What a lovely idea,’ Marcus said. ‘Tiger is a great name for a kitten.’
‘But wasn’t she a girl?’ Claire said.
‘Yowl.’ It doesn’t matter, I replied.
‘It can be a boy’s name too,’ Aleksy said.
‘Mew,’ Hana said, quietly.
‘Meow,’ George added.
‘Purr,’ I finished.
Tiger was a very fitting name indeed, and a very fitting tribute. Jonathan was rewarded with a nuzzle.
‘My lad, a dad,’ I said to George as we snuck away slightly. ‘Who’d have thought it. I really can’t wait to see them properly.’ Emotion welled up inside me. My boy, my kitten, was a dad. I probably had to stop calling him my kitten now.