Weeks passed, and Angie did nothing but sit in the window, stare out at the garden, and cry. She did talk to Laura when she came, bringing flowers and hugs. One day Laura showed her the snowdrops standing stiffly in the winter wind, crowds of them under our apple tree.‘I can’t bear to look at them,’ Angie said. ‘Graham and I planted them together when I came here. I can’t look at anything beautiful any more. Only Timba and Vati.’
When Leroy was there, she made an effort to be happy, giving him what was left of her joyful spirit. Leroy was not convinced.‘Why are you sad, Angie?’ he asked, and brought her little gifts of cards he had made and pictures of lions he had drawn.
‘That’s brilliant!’ she gasped when he handed her a detailed drawing of a lion, done in white on black paper. ‘You’ve got the curly mane so well, and the paws … but … there’s something powerful … it’s his eyes! They’re really alive.’
Leroy glowed.‘It’s my best picture,’ he said, ‘but you can keep it. I’m doing an even better one.’
Angie proudly put the picture in a frame and hung it next to the poster of the White Lions above the fridge in the kitchen.
‘Shouldn’t you be taking things down, not putting them up?’ asked Graham.
‘Oh don’t you worry … I’m making plans.’ Angie looked at him coldly.
‘What plans are those?’
‘That’s for me to know, and you to find out.’
She picked me up and carried me outside into the crisp blue light. The noontide sun was pale and bright, and the twigs of the apple tree glistened with frost. A single apple still hung there, like a reminder of fruitful times. The snowdrops trembled a little as some creature disturbed them.‘A bee!’ shouted Leroy. ‘Look, Angie. It’s massive. Why is it out in the winter? It’s too cold for bees.’ He sent a puff of breath steaming into the light.
‘Oh she’s got a fur coat,’ said Angie.
‘But where does she live? And how do you know it’s a she?’
‘It’s probably a queen bumblebee,’ Angie said, ‘and she’s got a cosy nest under some long grass.’
‘She’s brave,’ said Leroy. ‘Queen bees gotta be brave.’ Not for the first time Leroy’s words did something to Angie. She stood up straighter, and carried me to the gate from where we could see the distant landscape.
‘See those dark blue hills, Timba?’ she said. ‘That’s where we’re going. Far away, over those hills and across a shining river. We shall find a little terraced cottage with a garden, my mum’s old place.’
‘Am I coming, Angie?’ asked Leroy, his face anxious as he sidled close.
‘Yes, you’re coming.’ Angie smiled. ‘And Timba and Vati. But we’ve got to cross our fingers and hope I get a job.’
‘Is your mum there now?’ Leroy asked. ‘She could be my nan.’
‘Sadly no, Leroy. She would have loved to be your nan, but she died three years ago, and left me the cottage. It was let to a young couple, but now it’s empty … so we can go there. We might have to decorate it … but you’ll help me, won’t you? It’ll be fun.’
‘Can I paint lions on the walls?’
‘Yes, you can paint one lion on one wall. I’d love that.’ Angie began to sparkle, like her old self.
‘What about my mum?’ said Leroy. ‘She won’t know where I am.’
‘Yes she will. We’ll write the address down for her … and she can come and visit you.’
‘IF she turns up.’ Leroy looked sad. He kicked at the frosty grass with his small foot. ‘My mum don’t want me, do she, Angie?’
‘She does, Leroy. She’s just stressed and needs to be by herself for a while.’
Leroy shook his head.‘She don’t want me. It’s true.’
Angie gave him a cuddle.‘I care about you, Leroy. I’m here for you, no matter what. OK?’
‘And Timba?’
‘And Timba … yes, he loves you, don’t you, Timba?’
I did a purr-meow, and Leroy reached up to stroke me. We stood in the cold air, looking at those distant hills. Angie had given me a picture of our journey. Blue hills and a shining river, far away from where I was born. I didn’t want to go.
‘Don’t be scared, Timba,’ said Angie, reading my mind. ‘You and Vati shall travel safely in a beautiful padded basket in the back of my car.’
A few days later Angie opened her laptop, her aura brightening. She stiffened, then stared at the screen. She leapt to her feet and shouted,‘YES!’ and danced around the room snapping her fingers. ‘I got the job! Thank you, Universe!’
On the day of the move, I was so angry with Vati that I attacked him … for real.
‘I’m staying with Graham,’ he said firmly.
‘You can’t do that!’ I argued. ‘We’re brothers. We need each other.’
‘Then you should stay.’ Vati gave me a kiss on the nose, but I didn’t respond. I was too angry for kissing.
‘But I’m your protector,’ I said, ‘and we made a pact … two black kittens against the world.’
‘That was kitten stuff,’ Vati said. ‘We’re cats now.’
‘Angie rescued you so that we could be together.’
‘We have been together. Now it’s time to move on.’
‘Graham won’t look after you the way Angie does,’ I warned, ‘and Lisa doesn’t like cats.’
‘She likes me. She thinks I’m cute.’