LITMIR.BIZ

      I was woken by George tickling my head with his tail yet again. I had opted to sleep on Claire’s bed, which was pretty comfortable, and also, I liked being near her when it was the two of us. I guess I felt that, without Jonathan around, I was her protector, the way I was when we first met. Claire was my first human on Edgar Road. She moved there after getting divorced and she was very sad when I first met her. I was lonely, she was lonely, it was as if we were meant to be together. She cried a lot and I comforted her, which in turn comforted me. We have an unshakeable bond and I love all my humans, I really do, but Claire will always have an extra special place in my heart. In a way it was meeting her that led me to meeting my other families, and then in turn I led Claire to them too.

      It took me a moment to remember where I was, before I realised that we were by the sea. On our holiday, in our home which, if all went to plan, would be our holiday home. I leapt up excitedly. Claire opened her eyes.

      ‘Hey, boys, are the children awake?’ she asked, just as Toby and Summer came running in.

      ‘Mummy, Mummy,’ Summer shrieked, jumping on Claire and as Claire laughed, Toby climbed next to her and hugged her.

      ‘Did you sleep well, Tobes?’ she asked, stroking his hair.

      ‘I did, Mummy, George kept me warm,’ he said and I looked at George, proudly. I saw the sun streaming in through a small gap in the curtains and I couldn’t wait to see the sea again.

      ‘Right then, who wants some breakfast?’ Claire said, moving the covers and getting up.

      ‘Me, me, me,’ Summer chanted, jumping on the bed, sending me up and down with her.

      ‘Meow,’ George said loudly. Claire laughed.

      ‘Right, children and cats, let’s get you fed.’

      It was so nice, us all being together, I thought; the kitchen was full of chatter and laughter. Yes, I missed the men but I could see this house, or cottage, or whatever it was supposed to be called, working already. Franceska was making a cooked breakfast, Claire was making coffee and Polly was organising the children around the table.

      ‘Mum, can I help?’ Aleksy said, as he joined his mum by the stove, which worked but had definitely seen better days. It looked a bit like the stove that my first owner Margaret had and I knew that that was very old.

      ‘Yes, darling, you can be in charge of toast.’ Luckily we had a new toaster.

      ‘And I’ll help you, Aleksy,’ Tommy said. Everyone was getting on harmoniously. It seemed that Lynstow, Seabreeze Cottage and the sea air were having a magical effect on us already. The children generally got on well but they also bickered a fair bit too. But not today.

      ‘Toby, do you want to play snap?’ Henry asked. Toby and Henry were of similar age, and Henry had been so sensitive in befriending Toby that he had made me proud. They were great friends, although it was more like Henry was his protector, because Toby needed it. Toby had made great progress since being with us, but he was still scarred and vulnerable and we all had to be mindful of that.

      But all my children were wonderful and I had done a good job with them, if I did say so myself. Aleksy, who was the oldest at nearly eleven, looked after them all and Tommy who was a bit younger, but actually almost as big, did too. In fact, all my children looked after each other. The older boys definitely looked out for the younger ones, and Summer and Martha as the youngest were taken care of by all. Honestly, no one would ever hurt those girls! Jonathan joked that if they ever dared get a boyfriend, the other boys would definitely scare them off! But it filled my heart to see how our families had grown and bonded, and really the idea of us all being together like this for our holidays was a dream come true.

      ‘What are the plans for today?’ Aleksy asked, as he spooned up a forkful of beans. I was sitting on his lap, hidden from view because the humans didn’t like us being so close to food, but anyway, apart from the egg, I wasn’t that keen on his breakfast anyway. George was sitting at Summer’s feet. She used to throw her yoghurt and George developed quite a taste for it. Although she didn’t really do that any more, he still lived in hope.

      ‘Well I thought we would all go to the beach. We’ll take a blanket for us adults and you children can take buckets and spades and just enjoy the sand.’

      ‘Can we go in the water?’ Tommy asked.

      ‘If the tide’s in, but it might be cold,’ Franceska said, reasonably. It was sunny, we could see that, but also it looked as if there was a bit of a breeze as the trees in the garden swayed gently.

      ‘Anyway, we’re only across the road if we need anything from home,’ Claire pointed out. ‘Pol, we’ll pop back for lunch and to see how it’s going.’

      ‘Of course, can’t wait to get them working,’ Polly said, referring to the builders who were due to arrive shortly. ‘Right, Henry, Martha, you be good for Claire and Franceska.’ They both nodded.

      Last night, after the children had gone to bed, Claire, Franceska, Polly and I had sat around the kitchen table, discussing plans for the house and drinking wine. Well I’d actually lain on the table, and dozed while half listening to them. Polly had already hired the builders, and they had done some of the work before we arrived – although, as the cottage looked as if it needed a lot more, I wasn’t sure what. But anyway,

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