‘Look at this fluff, Tallulah!’ she said, showing me the wad of fur she was pulling out of the brush. She put it in a plastic bag. ‘I’m saving your fur and one day I’m going to make something with it, a heart-shaped cushion, or a cushion that looks like a cat’s face.’ She said, ‘Then I can keep you for ever, Tallulah.’
I stayed in her bedroom, thinking I’d better keep an eye on her. Instead of sleeping, I sat on the table next to her laptop, and watched her begin her homework, sighing as she ticked boxes and looked intently at the computer screen. We heard Max coming in with Amber, and he came slowly up the stairs and tapped on TammyLee’s door.
She rolled her eyes.
‘What?’ she asked, without looking up from her work.
‘Can we have a chat?’ Max looked different after his walk with Amber. His cheeks were red and his eyes brighter.
‘No, Dad. I’m really tired right now. And I’ve got homework.’
Max hovered in the doorway.
‘I hoped we could make peace, and … move on,’ he said.
‘Yeah, yeah, Dad.’
‘I do appreciate what you do for your mum,’ said Max quietly. ‘I know it’s not easy for you, but, for what it’s worth, TammyLee, I do love you. At the end of the day, I do. And I do care about your future.’
Finally, TammyLee looked at him.
‘Yeah, yeah,’ she said again. ‘I know you care and stuff, Dad. Look, I’ve got an exam tomorrow and I need to do this homework. Will you leave me alone … PLEASE?’
Max looked upset and bewildered. TammyLee sighed. She got up and gave her dad a hug.‘It’s OK, Dad. I’m sorry I sounded off at you. But please … go and watch the news or something.’
I meowed at Max and he had the sense to back off and go downstairs.
‘If it wasn’t for you, Tallulah, I’d go mad,’ said TammyLee.
‘Probably true,’ I thought, and sat patiently by her laptop, pretending to doze.
‘You’re SUCH a good cat,’ she said, and that made me feel better, especially when my angel drifted into the room and hung around by the bookshelves, shimmering with joy.
‘You’ve done a brilliant job today, Tallulah,’ she said, and I basked in the encouragement. Then she said, ‘Thank you,’ and covered me in stardust. My fur tingled with joy. It was the first time on this planet that someone had said thank you to me.
That weekend, I learned a lot more about the river.
Mid-morning, we set off in the hot sunshine, with Max pushing Diana’s wheelchair and TammyLee in front leading Amber. A bag bulging with towels and picnic stuff was stashed in the pouch at the back of the wheelchair, and TammyLee had even put in a sachet of my favourite chicken-and-rabbit cat food, and some biscuits for Amber.
‘I don’t think you should let Tallulah come,’ Max had said. ‘We should shut her in.’
But TammyLee trusted me, and she knew how much I needed time outside.
‘She’s my cat, and she’s not a prisoner,’ she said. ‘She’s coming, if she wants to.’
‘Don’t blame me if she gets lost,’ said Max.
‘Tallulah can sit on my lap if she gets tired,’ said Diana, her eyes luminous in her pale face. ‘Come on, darling.’ She patted the rug over her thin knees, and I jumped up and travelled the first bit in Diana’s arms. ‘We’ll all look after you, Tallulah – we love you to bits.’
‘It’s the other way round,’ I thought. ‘I’m looking after you.’
I was a happy cat now. I loved my family, I had my own dog, and I adored TammyLee. Life was just perfect now. I felt exuberant as I jumped down and chased after Amber, who had been let off the lead. We belted towards the river and I could hear laughter behind us.
‘I LOVE the way that dog’s tail goes round and round when she’s running,’ said Diana.
‘She uses it as a brake,’ said TammyLee. She’d got her long hair tied in a loose ponytail at the back of her neck, and she wore a black vest with a green dragon on it. Her bangles flashed in the sun, and she had long jeans with frayed edges that brushed the floor, and a slit in each knee, which I loved to play with when she was sitting still. I’d get my paw in there, pull out a thread and play with it. Instead of her clonky shoes, she had soft sandals and she’d painted her toenails a witchy green to match the dragon. For once, she looked free and happy, snatching at seed headsof grass as we walked along.
Until a shadow fell over our day.
I’d never heard Amber growl before, but she was growling now, her soft muzzle curling to reveal the gleam of her impressive set of teeth. Her hackles were up along her spine.
‘Amber!’ TammyLee grabbed the dog’s collar as three young men came slouching round the corner. Amber barked, and TammyLee’s aura turned to cracked glass. I figured Amber was barking at the tallest of the three lads, who was in the middle. His hair was standing up in a stiff ridge, and he had rings in his lips and eyebrows.
Alarmed by Amber’s behaviour, I climbed a post and sat on top. I wanted to look at the eyes of this muscular young man who Amber didn’t like. But he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking at TammyLee, his eyes moving over her whole body, up and down. He and his two mates stood across the path in front of us.