Chapter 6
Ten years ago
I still remember the day he gave me that nickname. It was the same day he got his. The first day we were all invited to Hope Farm for Sunday Dinner.
‘Right, you two, straighten yourselves out.’ Granny fussed around us in the kitchen.
‘We’ve never been inside Hope Farm. You know how much of an old grump Mr Dixon was, and no matter how many times I hand delivered him some of our hen’s eggs, he never so much as invited me in for a cuppa.
Mr and Mrs Thorogood have been kind enough to ask us over, so the least we can do is look presentable. ’
Granny licked her thumb and swiped it across a smudge of dirt left behind from another afternoon in the treehouse with Jacob. In those last couple of weeks, the mud had become my second-best friend, after Jacob of course.
Each day, Callum and I met the Thorogoods at the treehouse.
Then Alfie, Will, Callum and Lizzie would disappear off into their battles and jousts, sometimes playing knights of the round table, other times pretending their sticks were light sabres, and Jacob and I would sneak away.
We collected bugs from all around the farm to introduce to our bug hotel.
We’d fashioned it together from bits of old wood from Grandad’s shed.
I didn’t want to touch the worms at first – their lack of faces had always freaked me out – but Jacob was never scared of anything.
He’d happily pick up any animal in need, whether a bird of prey, or a fox with a mean bite.
He once had to rescue a badger from a trap, and her mode of thanks was to attack his ankles when he set her back down, but Jacob never even flinched, just understood that she was afraid and in pain, and simply shepherded her off into the woods.
He was the bravest boy I knew, so I too, was learning to be brave.
After a few days out with Jacob, I stopped crying every time I fell over, my knees were torn and scarred from hopping across streams, or crawling through brambles.
I wasn’t afraid to follow Jacob anywhere, and soon, I gained the courage to lead him too.
The walk from Granny and Grandad’s to Hope farm wasn’t too far, but since the road out the front had no pavement or streetlights to guide us, and Granny wasn’t too stable on her feet, we had to take the longer route through the fields.
Everyone else walked too slow for my liking, so I skipped on ahead, following the way I’d watched Jacob leave.
Passing a row of trees and leaping over a dyke, I quickly found myself in the gardens of Hope Farm.
A pony grazed on the lawn, chewing on the long grass at the foot of a trampoline in the space that the lawnmower couldn’t quite reach.
Beside the flower bed, a trowel and a heap of soil lay as though forgotten in a hurry, along with various other garden tools dotted around the place.
The Thorogoods must have been having a hard time trying to make their new house a home between running the farm and keeping track of their three children.
I’d never seen their farmhouse before then.
Even from the back, it was a place of grandeur.
Windows lined the brick on three different floors, their panes teasing a glimpse inside, and each room wore a different wallpaper that caught the evening sun in a rainbow of colour.
Some of the old brick was crumbling, shadows of old climbing ivy still lingered around a few of the sills.
It was clear that old Mr Dixon never gave it much attention.
A little section of scaffolding was wrapped around the corner of the house, and at the very top board, a pair of spindly legs were swinging back and forth over the ledge, at the same height as some of Grandad’s oldest apple trees.
Jacob noticed me at the bottom of the garden and waved from the top of his tower.
He looked so natural at the same heights that made my stomach ache just thinking about, as though he was born to live in the wild like Tarzan or Mowgli, and he only lived like a normal boy to appease his family.
Sliding down the scaffold with skill, he met me at the bottom, and though I never told him, I was glad he didn’t expect me to climb up.
‘Did you come by yourself?’ he asked when he got close to me. I noticed the rips in his shorts and the grazes on his knees.
‘No, they’re just slow. When did you fall over?’ I frowned at him. He was much more balanced on his feet than I was at that age, and his scarred knees even then were so tough it took a lot to tear the skin.
‘There’s a kitten that’s been abandoned in the barn,’ he started excitedly. ‘And I was trying to catch it to feed it, but it was faster than me.’ He shrugged as though the scratches were nothing.
‘A kitten?’ My concern for Jacob’s injuries vanished at the mention of a furry friend in need.
‘Yeah. One of the farm cats must have given birth and forgotten about it. I’ve been leaving food out for her, but I need to catch her to get a good look and make sure she’s okay,’ Jacob said casually.
‘Can I see her?’ I grasped him by the arm in anticipation.
Jacob didn’t answer me, only stared wide-eyed, and I realised maybe my tight grip on his forearm was cutting off a little of his circulation.
‘Sorry,’ I murmured, releasing him with hot cheeks.
He was blushing too. ‘It’s just Mum and Dad say we can’t have a cat in our house back in London,’ I continued, ‘but they’re my absolute favourite.
They’re wild, grumpy, and so unbothered by people, unless they choose you.
And if you’re their person, it’s like being the queen – you’re the most special thing in the world.
I’d love to be someone’s special person like that. ’
‘You’d be lucky getting this one anywhere near you.’ Jacob didn’t look at me when he spoke. I reminded myself to not get too physical when I was excited. ‘But I’ll show you.’
I threw my arms around his neck and drew him into the tightest hug I could muster.
‘Jacob? Are the neighbours here yet? Dinner’s almost ready.’ Jacob’s mum’s voice came from behind a screen door. It startled us both, and I pulled away quickly.
A beautiful woman emerged from the back door and spotted us.
I’m sure now she was trying to contain her grin.
Sian’s dark hair was long, but swept away from her face in a pony tail.
Jacob must have gotten his freckles from her, because they decorated her nose and cheeks like fairy dust. ‘Oh, hello. You must be Ava.’
‘Hello, Mrs Thorogood.’ I felt like my whole skull was on fire, but she didn’t seem to notice.
‘Please, call me Sian. Are your granny and grandad on the way too?’ At the mention of them, they rounded the corner of the hedge and came into sight with Callum in tow. ‘Perfect, just in time. You kids come on in, and get your hands washed and ready for dinner.’
Even though dinner was at the top of my list of excitement only minutes ago, I felt a little deflated. I hesitated for a moment, but started following her in.
Clearly, the disappointment was evident on my face, because Jacob leaned in close and whispered, ‘Don’t worry, we can sneak off after pudding. Mum always talks too much to notice that we’re gone.’
So, with that promise, I strode into the Thorogood farmhouse with my heart on fire.
When all of the pleasantries were out of the way, we sat down for dinner.
I didn’t think I’d ever seen Jacob without dirt under his nails or his hair in his face, but, that night, he sat beside me, scrubbed within an inch of his life.
Callum sat on the other side. Our plates were only placed in front of us less than five minutes ago, but already, the peas were the only things that remained on my brother’s.
Alfie had promised him a look at his stick sword collection in his bedroom after dinner, and I’m sure Callum had been too impatient to chew properly.
‘You’re lucky we have all three boys here tonight.’ Mr Thorogood chuckled to himself. ‘Getting all three of them in one room at once is a mammoth task these days.’
‘Even just getting Jacob inside is the hardest task. I reckon I’d have better luck teaching the pony sign language most days,’ Sian added.
Jacob only stared at his plate, and I felt his knee bounce on his chair beside me.
‘I don’t blame the lad,’ Grandad said. ‘Bit of fresh air in his lungs, there’s no better place to be than outside.’ He winked across the table at Jacob in support and my best friend lifted one corner of his lips in thanks.
‘Harry has always been the same,’ Granny added. ‘Only comes home for feeding, just like one of the animals.’
‘Exactly!’ Sian swigged her glass of wine. ‘Some days, I even have to wrestle clothes onto him.’
‘Or hose him down in the garden when he comes home like The Creature From the Black Lagoon.’ Mr Thorogood clapped Jacob on the shoulder with a wide palm. I realised then that Jacob never had much to say when there’s a crowd of people. He was staying silent.
‘He’s like a dog,’ Alfie said with a mouthful of mashed potatoes that padded out his cheeks like a hamster stocking up for hibernation.
The Thorogoods actually had a dog: a fat Labrador that moved so little when it was lying down that I had actually thought he was a rug when I walked in. Jacob wasn’t anything like that.
‘Maybe he’s a wolf.’ I shrugged. ‘They don’t need to wear clothes, or have baths. They have a double coat and the outer layer is waterproof.’
Jacob looked up from his plate with a grin. He was missing one of his front teeth and he poked his tongue in the gap. ‘I like that,’ he murmured, but only loud enough so I could hear.
Both of us were grateful when the topic of conversation shifted to Will and his upcoming year 6 SATs tests. Jacob finished his meal with a little glow in his face.
When all of the plates were cleared away and coffee had been offered to Granny and Grandad, Jacob and I finally had our opportunity to escape. We pulled on our wellies and I grabbed my jacket, but as always, Jacob braved the chill evening with bare arms and bare legs.
‘You really are a wolf, aren’t you?’ I said as he led me. ‘Adapt to any sort of climate, snowy, wet, or warm.’
He shook his head, but threw it back to howl into the night.
‘Alright, Wolfie, my ears are ringing now.’ I rubbed my left lobe with a smile.
When we reached the barn, he paused for a moment at the door. ‘I’m telling you, she’s fast. Even if you do get near her, I reckon she’s a biter, or a scratcher at the very least. You sure you’re ready?’
I nodded eagerly. If Jacob wasn’t scared of grumpy badgers, I wasn’t going to be scared of a tiny kitten.
He slid the barn door open, but the insides were shrouded in darkness.
Jacob wandered in as though he’d memorised the steps he needed to take.
Reluctant to follow him, I waited for a moment, working up the courage and convincing myself that there are no monsters in barns – just a cute kitten.
At the very worst, there could be rats, and I was sure the friend we’d come to see must have dealt with them already.
Jacob emerged from the darkness with two torches in hand, and passed one over to me. ‘Come on,’ he whispered. ‘I can hear her near the grain.’
Following the path we marked out with our lights, we tiptoed around machinery and hay bales until Jacob silently gestured to the sack of grain in the corner.
On top of it, a tiny tortoiseshell kitten was curled up into the folds.
Its tiny belly, bloated from whatever Jacob had fed her earlier, rose and fell with each of her deep sleepy breaths.
Looking to Jacob, I could just about make out the features of his face in the glow of the torch.
He was cracking a smile. I was sure my own face was a sight to behold.
I couldn’t decide whether to squeal or cry, so I did neither, and I could feel all the pent-up emotion burn on my cheeks as I widened my eyes and mouth.
Jacob gestured with his head for me to take a step forward.
Approaching slowly, I held my breath, trying not to let even a single exhale disturb her.
When I was within touching distance, I slowly reached for the little slither of chicken that I had stashed away in my pocket from dinner.
Very carefully, I held it out towards her nose.
The little pink button twitched once, twice, and then she peeled her eyes open.
As soon as she spotted the meat, she set to work, chewing away as though she hadn’t eaten for days.
With one piece down, I fished out another, and another, until she was happy enough to let me stroke a single finger down her back.
The fur rippled at my touch and I shivered with the contact.
I looked back at Jacob with a mix of triumph and smugness, but he only watched on in wonder, as though he’d just watched me land a triple backflip off the top of the tractor.
Once all my chicken was spent, I sat down on the floor, a dusting of old wheat and grain under me.
I could feel each scrap poking painfully, but I didn’t care.
I encouraged Jacob to sit down beside me, and he did exactly that.
Still holding my breath, I waited, and waited, until the fabric of the grain sack we were leaning against crinkled, and a small sleek shadow leaped down.
The cat crawled into my lap with a stretch and a purr.
‘I think I’ll call her Hope,’ I whispered.
‘Amazing,’ Jacob breathed in a whisper, careful not to scare her away so soon. ‘If I’m a wolf, then I’m sure you must be part-cat.’ He hummed for a moment and then added quietly, ‘Kitty.’
I couldn’t hide my grin. I was someone’s special person.