Thirty-Three
Flora hopped from foot to foot in barely concealed excitement. And to keep herself warm as it was absolutely freezing. Mind you, it was the 21st of December – the shortest day of the year and one not known for being hot and balmy.
‘Hurry up, Dad, they’ll be here soon and you can’t keep everyone waiting in the cold while you tie a pretty bow!’
‘I’m nearly done, stop moaning at me.’
‘Where’s Sally? Maybe she’ll be able to produce something better.’
‘She’s in the house, getting everything ready for later, when this is over. Now, how does that look?’
Her dad stepped out of the way and Flora got her first glimpse of the dark purple satin ribbon which stretched across the doors into the rescue hall. They’d chosen purple to match the logo and colours the rescue had adopted, using the hue of ripened brambleberries as their inspiration. Today was the day the rescue facility was being officially opened although no four-footed residents would come in until January.
‘Yes, that looks great. Let me get some photographs for the website and social media pages.’
She clicked away with her camera, laughing at her dad as he made a hasty exit out of the way to ensure she didn’t click him too. He’d never been one for having his picture taken.
‘When is everything due to kick off?’
‘In approximately,’ she twisted her wrist to look at her watch, ‘twenty minutes. Which means they’re going to begin arriving any time now.’
‘Okay. So, are you happy with how it all looks?’
Her dad walked over to stand beside her and they took in the new appearance of the barn. The old, heavy wooden doors had been removed and replaced with light-weight, automatic, cream coloured, composite doors with glazed windows on the upper half. The other doors and windows on the building had been replaced to match and the barn now looked fresh and inviting. When you walked through the doors, into the little vestibule, a left turn led you to the lift for the surgery upstairs. They’d agreed this would be beneficial not only for disabled access but also for elderly dogs or clients who might struggle with the stairs and any heavy deliveries which needed to go up.
Directly in front, as you walked through the outer doors, was a vast window which reached right up to the ceiling above. This gave potential new feline slaves the opportunity to view the cats within without disturbing them unnecessarily.
To the right of the window, were the interlocking doors. A security feature which ensured none of the inhabitants could make a break for freedom.
Across the top of the refreshed entryway, the new signage had been hung. It was dark purple with cream writing which declared this was the “Bramblebush Cat Rescue” and a picture of Herbert’s handsome ginger face adorned the bottom right corner. Four brass, swan-neck lights were placed above it to light it up on the darker nights.
The rescue looked smart and professional which Sally was hoping would inspire confidence in the public and bring them forth to make adoptions.
‘I think it looks grand, Flora, I really do.’
‘Me too, Dad.’
Just then, they heard the rattle of the cattle grid in the distance.
‘I think our guests are beginning to arrive.’
Flora grinned at her dad.
‘I would say they are. We’d better go and let Sally know. I’m sure she won’t want to be greeting Pete Wallace with her pinny on!’
‘It gives me the greatest of pleasure to declare the Bramblebush Cat Rescue officially open.’
Flora moved this way and that, clicking furiously on her camera to ensure she had plenty of photographs of this momentous occasion. She knew that the more she took, the better the chance of getting a couple of good ones.
She stood back to one side as the small crowd gathered in the courtyard applauded Pete before following him and Sally inside where a small buffet and refreshments had been set up. She continued to take photographs of the smiling guests and, once inside, she would hand out small flyers with the website address on so they could go online later and view them. With a bit of luck, some sharing may also be done which would help to spread word of the rescue.
After grabbing a cup of tea to warm herself up, Flora continued taking photographs as she strolled among the guests. After about half an hour, she couldn’t believe her luck when she saw Pete standing alone and quickly moved across before someone else could step in and claim his attention.
‘Er, excuse me, Mr Wallace…’
‘Oh, hi Flora, how are you? Are you involved with this venture?’
‘You… you know who I am?’
Flora gulped in surprise as she felt her cheeks warming up.
‘Of course I know who you are. In my position as Lord of the Manor, it’s my duty to know all the residents in the village.’
‘Oh, right… I see…’
Pete burst out laughing.
‘Flora, I’m messing with you. I know who you are because your team keeps giving the “Rock ‘n’ Rowlands” a run for their money on the Tuesday night pub quiz. They say you should know your opponents but that doesn’t seem to be helping us win against you that often.’
‘Sorry about that, Mr Wallace. I’ll see if we can dumb ourselves down a bit.’
Flora felt herself relax as she bantered back.
‘Thank you, we would appreciate that, we need all the help we can get. And please, call me Pete. Only my solicitor calls me “Mr Wallace” and that’s usually when he has bad news for me.’
‘You’re too kind. Anyway, I was hoping to ask you a small favour if I may and if it’s not too rude…’
‘Ask away, how can I help?’
‘I’ve volunteered to manage the website and social media side of things for the rescue as Sally’s already tied up with the B&B and will be even busier once the cats begin to arrive. One thing that could give us a real boost is if you would agree to be our patron. I appreciate it’s a big ask and understand if you would like some time to consider it—’
‘No, you’re fine. I’ll do it.’
‘You will?’
Flora had to stop herself from shaking her head to check she’d heard correctly.
‘Absolutely. In fact, I’m honoured to be asked.’
‘You are?’
‘I am. When I met my wife, she came as a package deal with two rescue cats, Tony and Adam. Until then, I’d been very much a dog person but they have taught me just how special cats are and I am thrilled to be able to help this great cause in any way. I should also add that Sukie would throttle me if I were to decline.’
‘So, you don’t mind if I tag you across social media when I load the photographs up onto the website?’
‘Not at all. And, if you pass me one of those flyers, I’ll get my IT dude to add you to my website. Hopefully, that’ll get you more attention.’
‘Oh, wow! Thank you. I wasn’t expecting that.’
‘Like I said,’ he gave her a small wink, ‘my wife would kill me if I didn’t!’
Flora couldn’t help but laugh at Pete’s cheeky expression and understood then why half of the world was in love with him.
‘Now, talking of my darling Sukie, I must go and find her before she signs our home up for fostering duties. I dread to think what I could be going back to.’
He gave her a soft pat on the arm and wandered off, peering over the heads of the guests as he looked for his lady.
‘You okay there, Flora? You’re looking a bit shell-shocked.’
‘Err… yeah… yes. I’m… errr… fine. Sorry!’ She turned to Sally who was looking at her with a bemused look on her face. ‘Pete Wallace has just agreed to be our patron. I can’t believe I actually asked him and, more to the point, I can’t believe he actually said yes!’
‘Oh, Flora, that’s fantastic news. Thank you so much. What a coup that is. The publicity his name will generate will be immeasurable. Well done! He’s even nicer than I originally thought.’
‘He was. He was nice and kind. I’m glad he’s agreed to help.’
Just then, Essie came over to join them and they were sharing the good news with her when a commotion over by the large jungle-gym style climbing frame Matt and Bob had built for the cats caught their attention. They looked across to see three women standing together, trying to look innocent, although they suspected one had just attempted to clamber up onto the small chute. The first lady was elegantly put together in her pressed slacks and twin-set, the second looked like she’d just parked up her Harley Davidson in her jeans, Motorhead t-shirt and leather jacket and the third was a tiny bird-like creature wearing an incongruous combination of a long flowery-print dress with a pair of Doc Marten boots.
‘Flora,’ Sally whispered, ‘who are those women?’
Before Flora could reply, Jenny Rowland appeared by their side and said with a sigh in her voice, ‘I’m afraid those three are with me.’
Flora, along with Sally and Essie, spun round to look at her.
‘The one who looks like she’s stepped off the front page of “Vogue for OAPs” is my mother, Bernice. The woman who looks like Boudica with a bad case of PMT, is my old neighbour and now my mum’s best friend and partner-in-crime, Sadie, and do not be fooled by Rose’s frail, delicate appearance – that woman has a stubborn streak wider than the English Channel and she’s tougher than those boots she’s wearing!’
Jenny moved her gaze away from the octogenarians behaving badly and turned it towards Sally.
‘You will also be thrilled to know that all three have signed up as volunteers for the rescue when it opens.’
The four women turned their heads as one to watch the antics of Rose trying to fit on the cat slide and Flora, never one to miss an opportunity, lifted her camera and took a shot. This one was definitely going on the website. After all, who didn’t want to see photographs of happiness, be it cats or, in this case, old ladies?