‘Thanks but I am going to concentrate on relaxing when I’m here. Anyway, I’ll leave that to the kids.’
‘I agree,’ Tomasz said. ‘I’m not so fond of the water,’ he added.
‘Meow,’ I agreed.
Later, the men put the children to bed, apart from Aleksy and Tommy, who were told to get washed and ready before being allowed to play on their tablets in the smaller living room. The adults then decamped to the larger living room. Claire and Jonathan were on one sofa, Franceska and Tomasz on the other and Polly and Matt squeezed together on an armchair. I sat on the arm of the sofa, looking around at all the adults I love. There was so much harmony in the air, I felt as if life was calmer than it had been in a long while.
‘So how is Edgar Road?’ Claire asked. ‘I know we’ve only been away a week but it feels like ages.’
‘Nothing much to report. Vic and Heather are making sure we behave ourselves, that’s for sure,’ Jonathan laughed.
‘So how is it down here? I mean, the builders seem to be making progress.’
‘Oh they’re so much easier to deal with than London builders,’ Polly said. ‘They turn up when they say and they don’t skive. I’m loving Colin.’
‘Hey!’ Matt laughed. ‘The kids seem to love it.’ He smiled, indulgently.
‘They do, and it might have rained today but we’ve had three good beach days, and they’re all getting on pretty well,’ Polly said.
‘There is only one fly in the ointment,’ Franceska said. I knew Franceska and Tomasz would always be Polish but they certainly had the hang of British sayings.
‘What?’ her husband asked.
‘Oh, there’s our neighbour. I’m sure you’ll meet her. She’s called Andrea and she came to see us,’ Claire started.
‘That’s nice, isn’t it?’ Jonathan asked.
‘No, not only does she look as if she’s just stepped out of a beauty salon but she thinks she’s the Queen of Sheba,’ Polly said.
‘She turned up with her cat who’s called Chanel,’ Franceska added.
‘Oh, and she invited herself back when the kids were all asleep, and said she was happy to slum it.’
‘OK, so she’s a snobby well-heeled woman with a funny-named cat?’ Jonathan looked amused.
‘She asked to buy the cottage,’ Claire replied.
‘Oh?’ Tomasz looked confused.
‘And of course we told her it wasn’t for sale,’ Polly explained.
‘But she said she wouldn’t take no for an answer and said she always got what she wanted,’ Franceska said, shuddering. Franceska was the most easily intimidated of all the women.
‘Did she make you an offer?’ Jonathan asked.
‘Jon, Seabreeze is not for sale. But she did say she’d pay more than the market value.’
‘Why does she want it so much?’ Matt asked.
Good question, I thought. I still didn’t trust her motives.
‘Oh, she banged on about how important it was to her to preserve village life and she didn’t like us interlopers taking the best property.’
‘She’s got a point,’ Jonathan said. Judas, I thought.
‘Jon, we are going to fall out if you don’t stop it. Anyway, I do not believe she wants to buy it out of a sense of community spirit. She owns the big house to the left, she acts as if she owns the village in fact. I think there’s more to it.’
‘I’m going to ask Colin next week,’ Polly said. ‘Maybe she knows something we don’t.’
‘Whatever her motives, Seabreeze is not for sale,’ Claire reiterated.
‘You love this cottage already, don’t you?’ Jonathan said, sighing.
‘I do, and so do the kids. It’s just perfect.’
‘Then we won’t let anyone buy it off us,’ Jonathan said, loyally. I wondered where that had come from.
‘You’ve changed your tune,’ Matt said, echoing my thoughts.
‘Everyone seems relaxed, the house is going to be gorgeous when it’s finished and I for one am suddenly appreciating getting out of London. I had my doubts, mainly financial, but this … well, seeing you and the kids so happy seems priceless.’ Ah, there was my sentimental Jonathan again. I rubbed against him. ‘And what about you, Alfie? Do you and George like it here?’
‘Meow!’ I nuzzled him to tell him I absolutely did.
‘Right, well let’s have a toast, to our holiday home.’ Jonathan picked up his beer bottle.
‘To Seabreeze Cottage,’ the others said.
‘And to many, many happy holidays here,’ Claire finished as they all clinked glasses.
I left them chatting. It was getting late but I wanted to stay awake. I went to the kitchen and ate a little more fish that was in my bowl on the floor. I then went and hid in the utility room. If anyone was visiting us at night, I would be ready for them.
‘Yelp!’ A voice woke me up and I leapt. I found myself nose to nose with a big cat, who looked a bit like a leopard. He didn’t look exactly pleased to see me. What was it with these village cats?
‘Hello?’ I said. He sprang back and glared at me. ‘Do you live here?’ I asked.
‘I do. I did. But then you arrived. I was hoping you’d leave so I’ve been watching the house but it seems you’re not going anywhere.’ He sounded gruff.
‘I’m Alfie,’ I said, in a friendly manner. ‘We don’t exactly live here, me and my kitten George, but you see our families own it and we are on holiday.’
‘Cats don’t go on holiday, even I know that.’
‘Well I know most people think that but, guess what, we do! Anyway, it’s a long story but we’re here for the summer.’
‘Right and what am I supposed to do?’
‘I don’t know, where’s your family? You don’t belong to Great Aunt Claire, do you?’
‘I have no idea who you’re talking about. I live here, alone. Or I have done for quite a while now. Very happily I may add.’
‘You don’t have a family?’
‘No.’
‘But—’
‘Listen, I don’t have time for this. I need my sleep. I am out finding food all day and then at night I come back and sleep. It’s my life. That’s all you need to know.’
‘Hey, you can have some of my food. There’s bowls out, for me and my kitten George, but we are very good at sharing. Or I am, anyway.’
‘Humph. That’s kind, but I’m used to looking after myself.’ He wasn’t exactly warming to me.
‘Well if you change your mind …’ I heard footsteps. ‘My humans are coming to clear up, probably before bed, but I won’t disturb you if you want to stay here.’
I didn’t quite know what else to say or do. The cat wasn’t very friendly but then I remembered being homeless and I didn’t want to make him think he couldn’t stay here. It sounded as if it was his home anyway — well, as far as he was concerned.
‘I’ll stay out of sight, just until I can find another empty house to live in.’ He still didn’t sound friendly.
‘OK then, sleep well and you know we don’t mind you being here. What’s your name?’ I asked.
‘Gilbert,’ he replied. He eyed me suspiciously, I raised my whiskers in what was meant to be a welcoming way.
‘Alfie, where are you? It’s time for us all to turn in,’ Jonathan said and I quickly turned to face him, but I didn’t need to worry, Gilbert had slunk back into the shadows as if he was never there. If it hadn’t been for his scent I would have thought I’d imagined our entire exchange.
Chapter Seven
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‘What do you mean, another cat?’ George asked the following morning. I’d already checked the utility room but there was no sign of Gilbert.
‘He’s been living here, I don’t know why, he wasn’t exactly forthcoming. But he said he doesn’t have a family. Anyway, he was hoping we would have left but he’s been sneaking in at night and leaving before we get up. I’m hoping to see him again and find out more.’
I was a nosy cat, I’ll admit, but I was intrigued by this cat who seemed to think of Seabreeze as his home. I wanted to know why he didn’t have a family and also make sure he knew that he could stay here; after all, we weren’t going to be here the whole time and it seemed a shame for the house to be totally empty. Most importantly I didn’t want Gilbert to be homeless, I still remembered how awful that was. I also thought I might persuade him to make himself known to the humans; I didn’t doubt that they would all welcome him the way I wanted to.