‘Ours is not to reason why,’ said Mollie. ‘But I can’t say I’m not relieved.’
‘Me neither. Although I guess that rules out me moving into his enclosure when Gerard moves into Marieke’s place!’
‘You know I’d offer you a place if I could,’ sighed Mollie.
‘I know,’ Bella smiled. ‘And I’m a big girl. Something’ll come up.’ She wished she felt as optimistic as she sounded, but the last thing she wanted to do was add to Mollie’s worries. Shemustget onto the internet tonight and find something. Marieke had suggested the start of next month as a possible date to move Gerard in, and Bella didn’t want to delay too long.
‘Well, I’ll be off then.’ Mollie gave her a parting smile. ‘See you on Monday.’
‘Cheers, Moll,’ Bella smiled back, and then turned her attention to the cat. Poor thing, she thought. The kittens, once weaned, were likely to go to good homes, but the mother would be left for longer, if past cases were anything to go by. Barely more than a kitten herself, she didn’t look even a year old.
‘It’s all right, lovely,’ Bella murmured as she gently placed the tabby down on the floor. In the corner were two bowls, one with a gentle wet cat food that hopefully shouldn’t upset her stomach, which might well be delicate after such an ordeal, and one with clean fresh water. Bella and Mollie would monitor her over the next few days, see how much she ate and drank, and adjust these accordingly. Then, when she’d had her kittens, as soon as she’d weaned them, she could be spayed. This was a cost that Purrfect Paws would incur and hopefully recoup once she was adopted.Ifshe was adopted.
But what to call her? Bella was often the person who gave the rescue cats their names – she enjoyed thinking of the perfect moniker that summed up the character of each cat that came into their care. She liked to consider their circumstances, their markings, and the little things that, as she got to know them, gave them their personality. Over the time she’d worked at Mollie’s, she’d riffed on the idea of wanderers. Ari – full name Ariadne – had been a particular favourite, or the amusingly named Roly, a play on the name of Sir Walter Raleigh, when a particularly large Russian Blue came in, who’d obviously been feasting on leftovers from the takeaway shop in Everscombe and had the girth to prove it, but as she looked at the tabby female, for the moment, nothing came to mind.
‘How about we sleep on it?’ she said softly. Making sure, with one last sweep of the enclosure, that everything was safe, clean and secure for the very expectant mother, she carefully locked the door and headed out on the final checks for the night.
Her last visit was, of course, to Monty.
‘I hope you know how close you came today,’ she said as she topped up his water bowl and checked his litter tray.
In answer, Monty opened one eye a crack but managed to glare back at her all the same. Bella rather got the feeling he knew exactly what she was saying.
‘For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re still here.’ She reached out a hand, mistakenly assuming that Monty would be too sleepy to lash out. As she felt the lacerating swipe of his claws on her wrist, yet again, she realised, belatedly, she was wrong. But tonight, she didn’t mind. She was just glad he was still around to have a go.
26
After a busy few days, Noah had driven down to Lower Brambleton late on Friday night, not getting to Jack’s cottage until well after midnight. Too knackered to even make himself a cuppa, he’d fallen into bed and crashed out. He’d had a new mattress delivered to the cottage that evening, and hefted it upstairs when he’d arrived and found it tucked in its box in the open porch. Since it was so late, he hadn’t bothered bringing the old one back down – that could wait until the morning.
He woke up eight hours later to another beautifully sunny day. Was there any other sort, here in Lower Brambleton, he thought with a small smile. Every time he visited, the sun seemed to be shining. Swinging his feet out of bed, he mulled over what he had to do today. The rep from the foam removal company was coming over at twelve, and the grass in the back garden needed cutting, as well as the privet hedge, which was reaching well over ten feet high now. Lucky that the neighbours were away, he thought, or he was sure he’d be getting old-fashioned looks over the wall of the front garden.
But there was one thing he needed to get sorted out before the contractor came at midday. He glanced at the clock in the kitchen. By the time he’d had a shower, coffee and breakfast, the hands were nudging up to 9a.m. Mollie had emailed him earlier in the week to come in and discuss Monty’s future at half past nine, so he’d better get going. He felt nervous, not for the first time since he’d got his prospective plan straight in his mind. He hoped Mollie would help him to convince Bella, should she need convincing, that this idea would be the best thing for them all.
‘Morning, love!’ Mollie’s cheery tones greeted him as he pushed open the door to Purrfect Paws.
‘Morning,’ Noah replied. He gave her a smile. ‘How’s Monty?’
‘Fully recovered from his near-death experience!’ Mollie replied. ‘And grumbling at everything in sight.’
‘Situation normal, then.’ All the same, Noah was relieved that Monty hadn’t suffered any ill effects from the sedative.
‘So, what’s the plan then, Noah?’ Mollie, while diplomatic, had a tendency to get to the point swiftly.
‘Well,’ Noah began, ‘that’s something I could use your help with, if you’ve got a sec.’
‘Come into my office,’ Mollie smiled. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’
A short time later, Noah paused for breath. ‘So, what do you think?’
Mollie’s gaze regarded him levelly. ‘It’s an idea,’ she said tentatively. ‘But it’s not me you have to convince.’
‘I know. But do you think she might possibly go for it?’
‘That’s not the question you should be asking,’ Mollie replied. ‘What you should be asking is, what happens if she doesn’t? Is Monty going to be in the same situation in six months’ time as he was on Monday, when you and your brothers decide you want to make the same decision? If so, then perhaps you should revisit it now. Monty’s existing here, Noah, and we’re trying to give him a good life, but existing is all he’s doing. Is that situation easier to live with than the choice you nearly made on Monday?’
Noah dropped his gaze. ‘I don’t know. But this is the best plan I’ve got. If Bella doesn’t go for it, then… I suppose I’ll have to think of other options.’
Mollie sighed. ‘Monty’s old, Noah. He might not have much longer. And for what it’s worth, I think that your idea, in theory, is a sound one. But I’d never want to predict Bella’s reaction to anything.’ Mollie paused, as if debating whether to tell him something. Biting his lip, Noah waited.
