Chapter 15
The next Saturday morning, having had a hectic week of yet more newcomers into the rescue centre and feeling guilty that she hadn’t spent as much time with him as normal, Bella approached Monty’s enclosure, determined to make up for it.
The scratch on her wrist that he’d gifted her the previous weekend had almost healed, and since she had no desire to get a matching scratch on the other arm, she chatted away to him while she sorted out his litter tray and then gave him his breakfast bowl, but made sure to give the old moggy a wide berth.
The cat, hearing her voice, lifted his head from his front paws, gave her a filthy look and settled down again. Clearly he’d missed her, despite all outward appearances to the contrary, if he was sulking more than usual.
Bella sighed. They’d tried changing his food and offering him toys. They’d added extra things for him to climb on, but Monty hadn’t shown much improvement. Bengals loved to climb, but he seemed to have lost interest in that. Even taking into account his age, he was lethargic and very, very sad.
‘What are we going to do with you, old fella?’ Bella murmured. She picked up the miniature rod with the catnip-scented fish on the end of the line and dangled it in front of Monty. Monty responded with a low, ominous growl.
‘Well, I’m going to help you, one way or the other,’ Bella said. ‘You might not appreciate it, but I’m actually quite fond of you, really.’
‘Glad to hear it!’ Mollie’s amused tones from behind her made Bella jump. ‘He needs all the friends he can get right now.’
‘He’s got me, whether he wants me or not.’ Bella turned around and smiled at Mollie. ‘And you, of course.’
An uncertain expression flitted across Mollie’s face before she hid it with her usual bright smile. ‘Of course.’
‘What’s wrong, Moll?’
Mollie shook her head. ‘Donations are down this month. Much as I hate to admit it, we’re going to have to think about other ways of raising money if we’re going to keep our guests in the manner to which they’ve become accustomed.’
‘I can update the social media pages for you, if you like.’ Bella knew how much Mollie hated working on ‘the socials’ – she far preferred being hands on with the cats, or working in the charity shop that also helped to fund the centre, than having to spend time hawking for the cash that was continually needed to keep Purrfect Paws afloat.
‘Thanks, love. We’ve got to find homes for Clover and her kittens soon, or we won’t have any capacity for new arrivals.’
‘Leave it with me – I’ll take a few shots of them looking cute and write a couple of posts for the Facebook page after I’ve done the morning rounds.’
Mollie beamed. ‘You’re a star.’ But the light from her smile dimmed a moment later.
‘What we could do with is a massive cash injection. We’ve been lucky, over the years, with people leaving us money in their wills, and local support has always been good, but I worry that, with so many other demands on their cash, people who might normally spare us a few pounds are having to put their money elsewhere. ’
‘What about the supermarket donation bins?’
‘Slow but steady.’
‘I can do a run in the van this afternoon if you like, pick up what’s there?’
Mollie smiled. ‘That would be helpful.’ But still Mollie seemed uncharacteristically downbeat. She was usually the person who pulled everyone up around her, and Bella was concerned that she didn’t have her usual cheery resilience. ‘What else is on your mind, Moll?’
Mollie gave her a smile that seemed somewhat forced. ‘Don’t you go worrying, love. I suppose I’m feeling my age this morning.’ She stretched her arms above her head. ‘It’s been a busy few months… but then, kitten season always is, I suppose.’
Bella nodded sympathetically. ‘You might want to think about slowing down. Maybe taking a break?’
Mollie laughed. ‘Perhaps once the summer’s over I can take a few days off, but at the moment, it’s all hands on deck.’
‘Well, I’ll sort the socials out for you, and if we don’t have lovely homes for those kittens and their mum by the end of the week, I’ll do my Saturday shift for free!’
Mollie laughed. ‘It’s not that bad, love! Besides, I thought you needed every penny you could get, too?’
Bella had filled Mollie in over a coffee about the possibility that she might have to move out of Marieke’s place soon, and Mollie had been typically sympathetic.
‘Don’t remind me,’ Bella groaned. ‘At this rate, I’ll be moving into Monty’s enclosure!’
Seeing Mollie’s smile remaining on her face, rather than disappearing as it had done earlier, Bella’s spirits lifted.
‘It won’t come to that, I’m sure,’ Mollie said. ‘As I said, I’d offer you a bed at mine, if I had one, but I’ve got my grandson as a lodger while he’s doing his apprenticeship in Taunton, so space is a bit tight. You could always have the sofa, though, if things get really dire.’
‘Thanks, Moll, but I’m sure something’ll come up.
’ Bella sounded brighter than she felt, but she didn’t want to add to Mollie’s stress.
The truth was, she didn’t know where she was going to go when she moved out of Marieke’s, and while she knew Marieke wouldn’t throw her out on the street, she was all too aware of the space issues of a small terraced cottage.
Resolving to scour later, after updating the Purrfect Paws socials, she hoped she might find something suitable.
The problem was, although she’d passed her driving test, she couldn’t afford her own car and was reliant on her bicycle to get further than around the village.
Marieke hadn’t given her a timeframe as yet, but judging by how keen her landlady was on Gerard, it wasn’t going to be long.
Bella didn’t fancy having to make polite conversation with Gerard over the breakfast table, and she knew the allergy issue would be a deal breaker eventually.
Heading through to the area where the rescue cats were housed a little later, Bella passed Mollie’s office. Her ears pricked up like a stray cat hearing a can opening when she heard Mollie on a call. She knew she shouldn’t eavesdrop, but she was worried about Mollie’s low spirits.
‘Yes, I can see why you might come to that conclusion,’ Mollie was saying. ‘It’s understandable, given the circumstances.’
Bella hovered to the left of the doorway of the office, so she couldn’t be seen by Mollie as she continued her conversation.
‘Yes. The cattery has a regular vet who can make the arrangements. You’ll need to come in and sign the paperwork and arrange a date from there.’
Arrangements? Bella’s heart lifted. It sounded like an adoption was in the offing. Hopefully, that meant a home had been found for one more of the kittens, and that would be one less mouth for Purrfect Paws to feed.
‘All right, then. I’ll arrange the paperwork.’ Bella zoned back into Mollie’s side of the conversation. ‘If you want to move quickly, you could pop in this morning and sign it off.’
As Mollie ended the call, Bella tried to look as though she hadn’t been lurking outside the door by rustling some papers on the reception desk and shoving a few in a drawer. When Mollie didn’t immediately come out of the office, she waited a few seconds before poking her head around the doorframe.
‘What was that about?’ she asked to Mollie’s back. Mollie had got up from the desk and was rummaging around in the filing cabinet by the window of the small office. ‘Have we got a new owner?’
Mollie didn’t say anything at first, and as she turned back around, her expression was far from happy. ‘I’m afraid not,’ she said, with a resigned sigh. ‘That was Noah Hathaway. He’s asked me to contact the vet to have Monty put to sleep.’