Page 52 of Waiting for a Bright New Future

Tibby got the message. She stood up, stretched her forelegs and jumped off the bed. Then the cat paused and looked around at her audience. Robert bent and clapped loudly again next to Tibby’s ear. “That will teach it not to come in again.”

Tibby hissed but stood her ground.

“It’s made our house stink and it’s no right to be here.” George made a move towards her.

Stuart could feel the cat’s confusion and fear. He pushed past his brothers and picked her up. “It’s OK, I’ll put her outside.”

“And you need to put measures in place to make sure it doesn’t come back.”

Tibby was starting to struggle in Stuart’s arms. He whispered in her ear to calm her. “Hey, Tibs, relax. No one’s going to hurt you while I’m here.”

“Did you just call that cat, Tibs?” Theresa was closer to him than he’d realised.

Stuart closed his eyes and allowed his eyeballs to roll heavenward.

“It’s not a stray, is it? It’s your cat.” His sister-in-law sounded triumphant. “I thought it looked too comfortable and at home on the bed.”

Tibby added claws to her wriggling-to-escape movement. Taken by surprise, Stuart dropped her and she raced ahead of them down the stairs and into the kitchen. She pawed at the large box Stuart had put against the back door to hide the cat flap. There was no point pretending anymore. He pulled the box to one side and Tibby clattered through the flap. Stuart remained next to the grey plastic cat door and faced his brothers. He tried to make himself tall. He thought of Florence and her motherless grandchildren. In his imagination they were pale little waifs with ridiculously low life chances. He had to shield their pet from harm. He took a breath and tried to puff out his chest. If he could attempt to speak in front of a full audience at speakers’ club, he could speak up for himself now.

“We can’t allow you to keep pets or carry out unauthorised enhancements.” Robert emphasised the last word as though Stuart had built a huge conservatory without planning permission. “The cat must go.”

“You have seven days,” George added. “And we will be checking up on you.”

Stuart took another breath. This was a crossroads in how he let himself be treated by the rest of his family. He could tell Florence to find a new home for Tibby and break her heart and the hearts of her grandchildren. Or, he could stand up for his rights to live in this house in any manner he chose.

He’d never before stood up to Robert and George. They were years older than him, they had life experience; as he’d come up to each stage in life, they’d both been through it before and therefore had always known better. His father had always backed up his elder sons on this. It was taken as read in the family that George and Robert knew best and would make the decisions.

“We’re going above and beyond by letting you have a rent-free year here.” Robert’s voice broke into his dithering. “That agreement does not allow pets.”

Cindy was looking uncomfortable. Stuart held out half a hope that she might stand up for him but she glanced at Robert and then remained silent. Theresa was nodding in agreement at everything the two men said.

“That agreement makes nomentionof pets.” Stuart tried to keep his voice as level as Robert’s and spoke slowly. As far as he could remember, the agreement also contained no mention of lodgers but he wasn’t going to bring Florence out into the open unless forced. “Allowed or disallowed.”

The men exchanged a shrug. The lack of an immediate response gave Stuart the confidence to continue arguing his position.

“I don’t think the agreement mentionedinspectionvisits either. So you are only here because I’ve given you permission. My patience has run out and therefore it’s time for you to leave.” He moved towards his brothers, making flapping gestures with his hands to shoo them into the hall and in the direction of the front door.

Robert started to move and then stopped, turning to face his youngest brother. “You are getting away with this on a technicality. As you well know, that agreement was drawn up in a rush and therefore doesn’t contain all the clauses of a usual rental agreement. But you do have a responsibility to leave this house in excellent condition.”

Stuart raised his hands. “Oh! I’d totally overlooked the excellent décor, wonderful bathroom and up-to-the-minute kitchen.”

Robert narrowed his eyes. “Don’t kill me with sarcasm, kiddo.”

Cindy’s eyes sought his, saying,I’m sorry.

George said, “I think the worm is trying to turn.”

Stuart’s fists clenched — he wanted to lash out at his brothers. But they were gone. As their cars revved over the gravel he thumped, hard, on the inside of the front door until his fists hurt.

* * *

“He was spot on, wasn’t he, your big brother?” Florence beamed at him. “The worm is turning and I’m so proud of you! And Tibby’s proud of you for not buckling under pressure and making her homeless.”

Stuart held back from admitting that he’d stood up for himself more for the sakes of Florence and her grandchildren than Tibby herself. “It didn’t help my cool composure when I spotted your dressing gown behind the door.”

“Ah! But you proved yourself on that score too. Now, I can’t sit here all evening massaging your burgeoning ego. My public beckons.”

Triumphing over his brothers had left Stuart buzzing and feeling he could move mountains. He spotted Slowcoach making his way across the lawn. If there were diamonds, and if there was a safe way of retrieving those diamonds, that would elevate him further in Florence’s eyes. He brought the tortoise inside, fetched his father’s old magnifying glass and tried to spot if there was an extra ridge along the edge of Slowcoach’s shell, indicating a false layer. Nothing. He ran his finger around the edge of the shell, trying to find a place where a second shell might not fit quite so snugly and a gap could be felt. Nothing. He wondered if the diamonds would show up on an x-ray or ultrasound. Sure that a solution would come to him, he spread newspaper over the lounge floor and contemplated Slowcoach. He searched the internet. Nothing about diamond smuggling using tortoises. He wondered if Jayne had been winding him up and he’d fallen straight into a gullibility hole. He didn’t think she’d do something like that but he wasn’t yet brilliant at reading people. The day’s confidence began to leak away.

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