‘Really? Why?’ I asked, I thought it was a good idea.
‘Well Tommy said it was dumb, but you know what he’s like lately, and Aleksy said that it was so important he didn’t want Tommy to mess it up. So Tomasz got really angry, more than I’ve ever heard him and he said that Tommy better get involved and do a great job or he could forget Christmas, and Aleksy should support his brother by giving him a fair chance. No one, not even Franceska, spoke for a while after that.’
Tomasz was a big man but so, so gentle, so it took a lot to make him lose his temper. This was a lot.
‘So Tommy’s still not really behaving himself?’ I had hoped Jonathan’s talk, along with the exclusion from school, would be enough to get him to turn things around. But no. My only hope now was that the Christmas show would do the trick.
‘I really think this Christmas show is going to bring everyone closer together again,’ I said, optimistically.
‘You know it was Dad’s idea, don’t you?’ George said, puffing his chest out and sounding proud of me. I was touched.
‘I know. It has Alfie written all over it,’ Dustbin said. We all grinned.
Tommy came downstairs with Franceska and they fussed over us.
‘Nice to see you here, Alfie, George,’ Franceska said.
‘Mum, do I have to come to the restaurant? Can’t I stay at home?’ Tommy asked as he gave George a cuddle.
‘No. You have school work and I need to make sure you’re doing it.’
‘It’s not fair,’ Tommy whined.
‘I think it’s very fair. You’ve put me and your dad through a lot and the school said you are not going to pass any exams if you go on the way you are doing.’
‘Not another lecture,’ he said, rolling his eyes.
‘Meow.’ He was being really rude. And poor Franceska looked as if she didn’t know whether to shout at him or cry. I nuzzled her and ignored Tommy. He really was being a brat but I knew, deep down, my Tommy was there somewhere. I just had to figure out a way to get him out.
George and I hung out with Dustbin for a while, enjoying our snacks, and then took our leave. I hoped Tommy being part of the show would finally bring him back to us. I thought that if everyone got involved it would be the best show ever and as Dustbin said, a way of bringing everyone I loved together. Thinking about it, it might have been one of my best ideas yet.
George left to go and see Hana and I made my way to the recreation ground, hoping that some of our other cat friends would be around. I was buoyed up from a good morning’s work and I felt confident that although Tommy had got into a lot of trouble, it was the wake-up call he needed to start being better. He had even been doing his school work when we left, so that was definitely a good sign. Nellie and Elvis were there as I approached and I filled them in on my latest news. Just as I finished, Salmon joined us.
‘Ah, glad you’re here, Alfie, I thought you might like to know that I have news.’
‘What news?’ I asked. Damn Salmon; that cat knew I couldn’t resist gossip but he was circling around, taking his time with it.
‘That woman who was horrible to you, the new one? She came to visit us last evening. Her name is Barbara and my humans went to see her the other day but she wasn’t in, so they left a card with our address and neighbourhood watch details on …’ He stopped to examine his paw.
‘Get on with it, Salmon,’ Nellie said. She didn’t have any patience with Salmon at all and so said what the rest of us were thinking.
‘All in good time. Her husband died, so she’s on her own and she said that she was forced to sell her house and move here, into the flat which is smaller than she’s used to. She also said she was very lonely.’
Ah, that was interesting. As you know, I’m an expert in lonely people, and I had thought that that might be the case when she was horrible to George and I. But then, I didn’t understand – if she was lonely, why she was so horrible to us and polite to the Goodwins?
‘She didn’t pay me any attention though,’ Salmon added. ‘So I still don’t think she’s a fan of cats, but she told my owners that she would be happy to help out with any neighbourhood watch businesses, so that’s interesting.’
‘Thanks for telling us,’ I said kindly. I knew the way to keep getting information was to ensure Salmon was onside. ‘I really appreciate it.’
Nellie shot me a look, maybe I was overdoing it a bit.
‘Anyway, that’s all I have to say about that. So I’ll be on my way.’
Salmon was really a strange cat but I was actually very fond of him, in my own way.
I was mulling over what he’d told me when George arrived.
‘Oh George,’ Nellie said, immediately fussing over him. She was like an aunt to him and had taken a more maternal role with him since Tiger’s death.
‘Nellie, let’s go climb the tree,’ he said, jumping around. Nellie also climbed with him, something I was unable to do, due to a fear of heights.
‘I thought you were with Hana,’ I said.
‘She’s not feeling too good. She was sick earlier, she thinks it was something she ate.’
‘Oh no, I hope she’s OK. Is Sylvie or Marcus going to take her to the vet?’ I asked.
‘Nah, she says she’s better now, just tired. I think she must have had a bit of dodgy fish or something and you know how busy they are with Theo. She doesn’t like to make a fuss.’
‘But you will go and check on her later, make sure she’s OK?’ I didn’t like vets, they weren’t bad people but it’s just not nice being prodded and poked, to be honest. However, even I knew they were valuable if you were ill. And I was a cat who liked to make a fuss.
‘’Course I will, but she’s fine. Honestly, you are so dramatic.’ George bounded off to the tree with Nellie right behind him. I took umbrage with his remark; after all, I was just being concerned for her. I was the sort of cat who wanted to make sure everyone was alright.
Elvis and I both lay shaded by the bush, watching George and Nellie enjoy the tree climbing, and savouring a few minutes of peace and quiet.
‘Do you think I’m a drama cat?’ I asked Elvis.
‘Oh Alfie, you know you are. But we wouldn’t have you any other way.’
‘Don’t go too high,’ I shouted to George who waved his paw at me dismissively.
‘I rest my case,’ Elvis said as he raised his whiskers.
Chapter Eleven
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Even I thought it was a bit of a harsh punishment as Tommy sat around our kitchen table with Summer, Toby, Henry, and Martha, and an array of colouring pens, charged with making the audition posters for the Christmas show.
‘Right,’ Aleksy said, in his stern voice. ‘I need at least ten posters, because we can photocopy if we need more, and I’ve written out what each one needs to say. Tommy, you are in charge of writing – maybe do capital letters as you are neater with those. The rest of you, I want you to draw Christmas things around the writing so it looks enticing.’
‘What does enticing mean?’ Martha asked.
‘You know, really good so people will want to join in,’ Aleksy said. ‘I’m going out, to look again at the hall, so I’ll be back in an hour to check your progress.’ He was taking being in charge very seriously.
Tommy groaned and I saw Claire, who was babysitting baby Theo, stifle a giggle. Aleksy left, and Claire went to the living room with Theo. Pickles followed her, and George said he was going to go next door because Theo was here, so it would probably be nice and quiet. That left me as really the only adult left supervising the poster making.
‘Right, let’s get on with this because the sooner it’s done the better,’ Tommy moaned.
‘What should I draw?’ Henry asked.
‘Whatever,’ Tommy replied with a sigh.
‘Why are you so mean now? You used to be our friend,’ Henry said, sounding sad.