Daniel glanced at Nicky and nodded. ‘You’re right there.’
‘Would you like a cup of tea or something, Tony?’ Nicky asked.
‘No, thank you, I’m sure you’re busy. I just came to thank you again, really, for your help. This is just by way of a small recompense for your time.’ He held out a carrier bag, adding, ‘It’s not much.’
‘Oh!’ Daniel blinked and went a bit pink. ‘There wasn’t any need…’
There was a clinking of bottles as he put me down and took the bag from Tony. I knew that sound quite well, of course, from my days at the pub. Daniel peered inside the bag and exclaimed: ‘No, really, you don’t have to do this!’
‘I insist. It’s the least we could do. If you hadn’t helped me out I’d have had to call someone from the garage in town, and you can imagine what they’d have charged me, just for my own stupidity in letting the battery go flat. It’s only a couple of bottles of plonk.’
‘And this too?’ Daniel asked, lifting something else out of the bag. It was a bowl of some sort, covered with that plastic stuff they call cling film.
‘Just a Christmas pudding,’ Tony said with a short laugh. ‘Chuck it out if you don’t want it.’
‘Of course we wouldn’t chuck it out,’ Nicky said, looking shocked. ‘But surely you want it yourselves for Christmas?’
‘My wife makes half a dozen of the things every year, love, and there’s only us, and my daughter and son-in-law. I think she wants to feed the entire village. She always gives one to the WI for a raffle prize, and one to the Scouts’ bazaar – not that they’re having one of course, this year, because of the hall.’ He shrugged. ‘If it’s any good to you, please take it and enjoy it. They’re good, I have to say, her puddings. There’s just too many of them.’
And, laughing again, he turned to leave. ‘Hope to see you both again before Christmas, anyway. Thanks again, Daniel.’
‘No, thank you, for these,’ Daniel said, still staring into the bag.
‘How kind of him!’ Nicky exclaimed after she’d seen him out. ‘Can you believe what he said? Just a couple of bottles of plonk? They look like good wines, Dan. We’ll have to put them away for Christmas Day.’
‘Yes, I suppose we should,’ he said, looking regretful.
She laughed. ‘And chuck the pudding away if you don’t want it! As if! How lovely – at least we’ll have that to serve up to my family now. I could even pretend to Mum that I made it myself.’
Daniel put both arms round her then and they clung together, laughing. It was so nice to see them happy for once. I purred my delight at them, walking round their legs, and it felt like we were all doing a little dance together. For a minute or two, you know, it actually felt warmer in that chilly little kitchen.
I didn’t get a particularly warm welcome, though, when I went back to Sarah and Martin’s house. Sarah had the hoover out – I always hated the noise it made, so I tried to run straight upstairs. But she saw me, turned off the hoover and called out to me in quite a stern voice:
‘Yes, you might well run away, Oliver! Look at the mess I’m having to clear up in here. Three baubles broken, pine needles everywhere, tinsel strewn through the lounge…’
‘Sorry!’ I squawked in Cat as I scarpered up the stairs. ‘I got carried away.’
I was worried she might be so cross with me that she’d go and get the new cat straight away and send me packing. I slunk into the girls’ bedroom to hide under one of their duvets.
‘Cats!’ I heard Sarah exclaim out loud to herself. ‘Almost as much trouble as kids.’
I couldn’t quite work out whether that was good or bad. But just before the hoover started its noise again, I was surprised to hear her laughing to herself.
Phew! Perhaps she still loved me after all.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Tabby and I had another early start the following day, and again I wasn’t looking forward to it. However strongly I’d insisted on Tabby coming with me back to the Big House, I didn’t really feel brave about it at all.
What’s that, Charlie? You think I must have been a brave cat to go back after what happened? Well, it’s nice of you to say so, little one. But honestly, my paws were shaking as I went to call for Tabby on the way there.
‘Morning!’ I said as he came out of his cat flap, looking like he’d just woken up. ‘Blimey. Didn’t you get much sleep last night? Your fur’s all over the place.’
‘Had a bit of a late one out on the tiles,’ he admitted, yawning. ‘There’s a new little Burmese moved in just down the road here. Cute as anything – slim little paws, beautiful green eyes…’
‘Tabby!’ I was so taken aback, I almost forgot how nervous I was about our destination. ‘You’re still going through all this trauma with Suki about giving her kittens! How can you…’
‘Oh, I think Suki will come round, you know, after the chat we had yesterday,’ he said breezily. ‘And meanwhile, there’s no point letting the grass grow under your paws, Ollie.’
I had to laugh. ‘You’re incorrigible,’ I said. ‘But I can forgive you anything, as long as you’re still up for coming with me this morning.’
‘I’m not up for it at all, actually. I think you’re a nutcase. But you’re right, I can’t let a little fella like you go into danger on your own, without the protection of someone bigger and braver and more macho like me.’
‘Oh, give it a rest,’ I said, nudging him with my head in a friendly way. ‘Let’s get going.’
As we walked up the hill together I started telling Tabby my worries about Sarah and Martin getting a new cat.
‘So what?’ he said. ‘You’re not living with them forever, are you? And not just them, anyway – I thought you said you live in the house next door too? All right for some, having two homes to choose from.’
‘I know it sounds nice, and yes, I am lucky. But I’d rather be back with George than with either of them. That’s not going to happen for ages, though. They haven’t even started rebuilding the pub yet, have they? And if Sarah and Martin don’t want me anymore, I’ll have to live with Nicky and Daniel permanently.’
‘Don’t you like them?’
‘Yes, of course I do. But they’re both out all day, working, and the house is really cold, and they’re not usually very happy because of the money thing humans worry about all the time. I’d feel ever so lonely if I couldn’t go to Sarah and Martin’s house too.’
‘I see. But why do you think they’ll chuck you out, even if they do get a new cat?’
‘I’ve been a kind of replacement for their old one who got run over.’
‘Oh yes, poor old Sooty.’ Tabby nodded at me. ‘That was horrible, poor chap.’
‘I never met him.’
‘He was quite old, didn’t go out a lot. I reckon that was why the car got him – he couldn’t run away fast enough. Shame about the little human, too – broke her paw, didn’t she?’
‘Yes. She’s sweet. They say I’ve cheered her up. But if she gets a permanent new cat, that’s obviously going to be much better for her, isn’t it.’ I sighed. ‘And the new cat won’t want me around.’
‘It might do. After all, Ollie, you wouldn’t pose too much of a threat to another male.’
‘Well thanks!’
‘Don’t mention it. And on the other hand, it might be a female.’ He nudged me and gave a little suggestive mew of laughter. ‘But of course,’ he added, ‘that’d be wasted on you, wouldn’t it.’