Page 34 of Not in a Million Years

‘You weren’t immobile. I almost sent you flying.’

He smiled. ‘But you’re…’

‘I’m what?’

‘Never mind. Look at that.’

Daniel pointed. In a clearing off to the side of the path was a rough wooden structure – just a box on stilts, really, with a ramp leading up to a ledge running along its base. On the ledge I could see a few metal bowls, some filled with water but most empty. In the side of the box at the head of the ramp, a small doorway had been cut into the wood.

‘So that’s a cat feeding station,’ I said. ‘Very cute. Now can we—’

‘Sssh.’ Daniel put his hand on my shoulder again, and I stopped talking and stood still, watching the doorway.

A second later, a face peered out, all wide amber eyes, ears and whiskers. Then, tentatively, the rest of the cat emerged onto the ledge. It was grey and white, skinny and sinuous as a ferret, with a long, stripy tail.

‘The cats up here will be properly feral,’ Daniel whispered, ‘not tame like the ones we saw last night in town. Let’s try and not frighten it.’

The cat looked at us, its eyes alarmed and its body close to the ground, tail held low. Then it seemed to decide we were no threat, sat down and started to wash, taking its time, paying attention to every paw and every whisker. When it was done, it stood, stretched luxuriantly and padded down the ramp.

‘Oh my God!’ My whisper came out more like a squeak. ‘Look at that!’

Following the cat was a small grey-and-white kitten. It was as round and plump as a cotton-wool ball, its tiny tail and four little legs looking as if they’d been poked onto its soft body. Its face was alert and curious, its legs still slightly unsteady as it followed its mother down the ramp.

‘There’s another one,’ Daniel breathed.

We watched as a second kitten emerged, looked around, then followed the others. The mother cat had reached ground level now and, with a glance over her shoulder that clearly meant ‘Get a move on, kids’ she began to make her way into the forest. The first kitten reached the foot of the ramp and hopped off, hurrying after its mother. The second followed. And, as we watched, three more emerged from the shelter, scuttled down the ramp, did identical little hops off at the bottom and scampered away into the trees.

‘Oh my God,’ I said again, breaking into giggles. ‘That was just so adorable.’

‘Glad we came?’ Daniel asked. His hand was still resting on my shoulder, I realised – but I didn’t move away.

‘One hundred per cent,’ I said. ‘How cute were they? Their little legs. Do you think they’ll be okay here?’

‘Who knows?’ His hand left my shoulder, and he brushed his hair back off his face. ‘Looked like the mum was doing her best – showing them where to find food and stuff. And with any luck they’ll get tame enough to catch before they have kittens of their own.’

‘And next time we come here, they’ll be hanging around the fish restaurant in town,’ I suggested.

And then I realised what I’d said: that there’d be a ‘next time’. And that there was a ‘we’.

‘Anyway,’ I added hastily, ‘cat interlude over. Let’s get moving.’

We turned to go back down the path. This time, I walked in front. I could hear Daniel’s footsteps behind me and the even rhythm of his breath. We reached the signpost, and I took a photo of it to send to the Girlfriends’ Club – Abbie, especially, would be obsessed with my story of the kittens, and I wished I’d thought to take a photo of them.

Watching Daniel when he saw the kittens had shifted something inside me, I realised. I mean, I’d never thought he was the kind of man who’d hunt foxes or pull the wings off flies for fun, or anything like that. But at the same time, I hadn’t had him as such a complete and utter softie. There had been something in his face – a wonder, a tenderness – that had awoken a similar softness in me.

I found myself thinking, This man would make someone an amazing father.

He just had to find a woman who’d put up with his maddening smugness and infuriating hair first.

‘So what do you reckon this eco resort place will be like then?’ I asked as we turned back onto the path leading up the hillside.

‘I checked out their website,’ he said. ‘Looks like peak woo. Lots of macrobiotic food and crystal healing and reiki and stuff. There’s even a sensory deprivation chamber.’

‘A what now?’

‘Sensory deprivation chamber. It’s, like, a tank you lie in, filled with highly salinated water, and they shut you in and you float in the dark.’

‘God! Sounds like a recipe for a claustrophobic panic attack.’

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