I kept walking, down the row of high beds, looking for Ellen. A well-timed meow did the trick. Ellen sat up on her bed with a squeal of surprise.
‘SOLOMON!’
I must have leaped ten foot through the air from the floor to Ellen’s bed. Then I was purring and purring and she was kissing me and crying and smiling all at once.
‘How did you get here? You miracle cat,’ she breathed. ‘Oh it’s so good to see you.’
We had a few precious minutes before Joe came down the ward with a contingent of fussing nurses.
‘Livestock are strictly not permitted in this hospital,’ said the one in the dark blue uniform. I’d never been described as livestock before, but I thought she must be the boss, so I gazed lovingly into her eyes as I cuddled up to Ellen.
‘We will have to ask you to take him out immediately,’ said the boss sister, but she had eye contact with me and I could see that she was admiring me. ‘He’s a lovely cat but …’
Joe was very persuasive. I saw a different side to him as he talked quietly to the nurses, telling them about me.
‘He’s beautifully clean, and he’s good for Ellen. He’ll make her better. Look, she’s got more colour in her cheeks already.’
‘Solomon is a healing cat,’ said Ellen clearly from the bed. ‘Please, please let him stay. Then Joe will take him home.’
The sister looked at Ellen in astonishment, then at Joe.
‘That’s the first time Ellen has spoken to us since she’s been in the hospital,’ she said. She stood, frowning for a moment then she made an announcement. ‘I haven’t seen this cat. You’ve got one hour.’ She winked at Joe and walked briskly away, followed by the two nurses who were smiling.
‘Thanks. You’re a star,’ said Joe.
‘No,’ said Ellen, ‘Solomon is the star.’
[Êàðòèíêà: img_9]
THE MARMITE SANDWICH
Ellen came home after many weeks in hospital, but she wasn’t better. She wasn’t like the Ellen I knew and loved. Instead of a smile, she had a frown on her face. Her voice was loud and cross, and the sparkle had gone from her eyes. She snapped at John, and even at me. I was upset. I took to sitting in a corner, looking at her reproachfully and trying to find times when I could show her how much I loved her. When Joe was there, Ellen hardly spoke and when he was out she had frenzies of cleaning, or sometimes she just curled up on her bed and slept.
I asked my angel what was wrong.
‘Ellen is homesick,’ she said. ‘And she misses her piano. Music is important for Ellen. It feeds her spirit.’
‘So what can I do?’ I asked.
‘Just go on loving her,’ said the angel. ‘Her bigger problem is Joe. She has to find the courage to leave him.’
‘Well, he’s John’s dad,’ I said, remembering how proud I’d been of my kittens and how sad I’d been to say goodbye to them. At least I still had Jessica.
‘But where will Ellen go?’ I asked.
‘It’s Joe who has to go,’ said the angel.
‘And what will happen if Joe goes?’
‘There will be peace.’
Peace. I sat for a while in the angel’s veil of light, thinking of the times when Ellen had been peaceful. In the garden, playing the piano, playing with John or sitting with me on her lap. Times when Joe wasn’t there.
‘Pam will help you,’ said the angel. ‘She is a warrior.’
My angel was right. That afternoon, Pam came marching over to the caravan with a determined look on her face. She’d seen Ellen leaving to fetch John from school, and Pam was going to have a go at Joe.
She was wearing stripy mittens and a stripy hat that looked like a bumblebee. She took them off and sat down opposite Joe who was slouched in a corner, a can of beer in his hand.
I fancied playing with the bumblebee hat, but it wasn’t quite the moment.
‘You’ve got to stop this boozing,’ Pam said.
‘Why shouldn’t I have a beer? I’ve only had one today.’ Joe glowered at Pam. ‘I enjoy it. Get that do you?’
Pam leaned forward and wagged her finger at Joe.
‘Don’t you get bolshy with me young man. I know what goes on. Eee – the place stinks like a brewery. What did I do when Ellen was ill, Joe?’ Pam didn’t wait for him to answer but got up and wagged her finger right in his face. ‘I came in here and cleared up your cans and bottles. I did that for Ellen, not for you.’
I looked at Pam’s aura and it had sparks that flashed as she ranted at Joe. Jessica chose that moment to come out of her cupboard. She sat next to Pam, washing and smirking at Joe, while I stayed on the windowsill doing my Buddha act.
‘I’m not afraid of you.’ Pam’s eyes burned at Joe but he wouldn’t look at her.
‘Give it a rest, Pam,’ he growled, but Pam would not be stopped.
‘Poor Ellen. That’s what I say. OK, times are tough but you should pull together – not boozing and lying about the place while Ellen can hardly put food on the table. And look at John. When did you last buy him a decent set of clothes? He hasn’t even got a P.E. kit for school. Oh he’s cried to me about it, and I’m always giving him sandwiches, he’s always hungry. And these cats. They know where to come for a meal. And do you ever say thank you? Do you? Go on, answer me.’