They were whisked into the surgery. Angeliki went through a door and indicated for them to take a seat outside.
‘Wait here. I’ll do an assessment and be back out.’
Will reached down and gave Grace’s hand a squeeze.
‘I think this little one has got a chance. He or she is obviously a fighter.’
Grace gulped back the tears.
‘But why would anyone do that? Leave a bag of kittens to die out in the middle of nowhere.’
Will shrugged.
‘All the islands have a problem with too many cats. It’s cruel, but not everyone loves them. The feral cats are often diseased. And it costs money to have them put down, so sadly this isn’t uncommon.’
Grace couldn’t bring herself to speak. She’d lost her own cat, Clooney, in the spring, one of the reasons that pushed her to apply for the job in Greece. The big ginger tom had been the last tie to the house where Phil had spent his final years. They’d downsized to the tiny cottage when both girls finally left home, and Clooney had had a fabulous time in his later years, roaming the nearby fields catching mice that he liked to bring home to show them. He’d died in his sleep one night at the age of nineteen, and she’d found him, stiff and cold, in the morning. Those poor little kittens on the ground had had no chance at any kind of life. She didn’t think she could bear it if the grey kitten didn’t make it either.
‘But there is progress.’
Grace tried to focus on what Will was saying. He was in his default position, fact mode.
‘A group of vets, including Angeliki, have banded together to sterilise as many cats as possible on the island. People pay what they can, and many cats are sterilised for free because of donations from others.’
Grace knew Will was just talking to keep her mind off what was going on in the other room.
‘When a cat is sterilised, the vets cut a little triangle in its ear to show it’s been done. You might have seen that and wondered if the cat had been in a fight.’
Grace had in fact wondered that very thing, but she wasn’t going to admit it.
Will was still working hard to distract her.
‘You do realise, that if this cat survives, we’re going to have to name it after one of Will and Grace’s best friends? It will be either a Jack or a Karen.’
He had managed to make her smile.
Angeliki bursting through the door made them both stand up.
‘OK, she’s very weak, and she’ll have to stay with me for a couple of weeks, as she was really too young to leave her mother, but… I think she’ll make it. Keep in touch, and we’ll talk about the next steps.’
Will enveloped Grace in a tight hug, before thanking Angeliki profusely.
‘That’s wonderful. Of course, I’ll cover any costs.’
Grace could hardly see through her tears of relief.
‘Karen it is then.’
ChapterSixteen
It was time to face the firing squad. Grace had dressed in her smartest outfit, a navy cotton skirt and a white shirt. She knocked at the door so hard her knuckles hurt. She’d hate to sound half-hearted.
‘Come in.’
Grace had to conceal her surprise when she realised that both Giannis and Elena were standing behind the desk. He’d given her the impression that it would be just him.
‘Sit down, Grace.’
Giannis pointed to the chair in front of the desk, which made her want to ask where the hell else did he think she was planning to sit? On the ceiling? Maybe he was nervous too. There probably wasn’t much call for sackings at the language school.
