John stayed on the sofa, watching her sleep for a few minutes, before carefully extricating himself out from under her legs. He lifted the fluffy throw off the arm of the sofa, where Debbie had diligently folded it earlier in the day, shook it and lowered it over her slumbering body. Then he kissed her softly on the head, blew out the candles and left.
24
I awoke the following morning to find the living room bathed in pale, wintry light. It was now the middle of December and, outside the window, the first fluffy snowflakes of the season were twirling in the air, landing softly against the glass. Clearing my head with a vigorous shake, I jumped off the sofa and padded past the shoebox, where Eddie was still fast asleep, his long limbs spilling over the cardboard sides. I leapt onto the windowsill and peered at the alleyway below, where the grey-brown hues of stone and tarmac were rapidly being erased by a blanket of white.
There was no sign of Jasper downstairs, so I nosed through the cat flap and, head bowed against the swirling flakes, hurried around to the passageway. As I walked, my paws left shallow dips in the deepening snow, and soon my paw-pads were soaked and freezing. I found Jasper in the churchyard, sheltering beneath the low branches of the rhododendron.
‘I didn’t have a chance yesterday to say thank you, for finding Eddie,’ I said, squeezing in alongside him, savouring his familiar scent and the warmth of his body.
‘You’re welcome,’ he replied contentedly.
We sat side by side, watching the snow fall silently in front of us.
‘Do you think Eddie’s okay, after everything that’s happened?’ I asked, trying not to betray my maternal anxiety.
‘I think Eddie is absolutely fine,’ Jasper replied levelly. ‘He had to grow up, fast. Learning to fend for himself came as a bit of a shock after such a pampered upbringing.’
I turned away, stung by the implied criticism; Jasper had always let it be known that he thought the kittens were over-indulged, and that they lacked the skills required to lead independent lives.
‘But he seems to have worked things out for himself,’ Jasper added hastily, sensing my hurt feelings. ‘What he lacks in street-smarts, he more than makes up for in charm.’ I turned and looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate. ‘By the time I found him, he had the whole neighbourhood queuing up to look after him. He could take his pick of at least half a dozen houses. There was never any danger he would go hungry,’ he said, in a tone of grudging admiration.
I felt a wave of relief mingled with pride. In retrospect, it seemed obvious that my friendly, loving boy would have no trouble finding people to take care of him.
‘That’s not to say he didn’t want to come home, of course,’ Jasper added, giving me an affectionate nuzzle behind the ear, as a delighted purr began to rumble in my chest.
Beyond the shrubbery, the sky had lightened to a milky white and the snowfall was beginning to ease. I edged forward and peered out from under the canopy of leaves. The honey-stoned church looked as though it had been glazed in white icing, and a single, determined robin fluttered from one snow-capped headstone to the next in search of insects.
‘Are you coming in for breakfast?’ I asked brightly, feeling my stomach start to growl.
Back inside the café, I stood on the doormat and shook the slushy ice crystals from my fur. Eddie had come downstairs and was pacing around the room, methodically scent-marking the table legs with his cheeks. Maisie followed a few steps behind.
‘What happened to your ear?’ she enquired, a note of sisterly concern in her voice.
Eddie puffed out his chest proudly. ‘Got into a fight with an alley-cat,’ he said offhandedly. ‘It was no big deal.’
Maisie’s eyes widened in alarm and, when Eddie set off towards the armchairs, she trotted keenly after him. ‘And what did you do for food in the wild?’ she asked eagerly.
Eddie paused and his gaze drifted to a point in the middle distance. ‘Hunting, mostly. It’s not easy, but you do what you have to, to survive,’ he said grandly.
On the doormat, I stifled an inward smile. Eddie’s account of his time ‘in the wild’ differed somewhat from Jasper’s version. I wondered whether Maisie would be quite so awestruck if she knew the truth: that Eddie had been doted on by a streetful of surrogate owners for most of his time away. Regardless of his bravado, however, I could not begrudge Eddie the opportunity to bask in his sister’s adoring admiration. I knew his blasé demeanour belied the terror he must have felt at finding himself homeless and alone. Let him enjoy his moment of glory, I thought, as I shook myself dry on the warm flagstones.
