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‘He’s still not doing his homework, he’s had so many detentions, he’s getting bad grades, and being rude to his teachers. He stays up late – we see his light on, playing games and he even fell asleep in class the other day. The school have called in his parents this week to have a serioustalk about him, I’m sorry to say,’ Dustbin explained.

‘Oh dear.’ I knew that this would be very stressful for Tomasz and Franceska. And, although I adore Tommy, he can be his own worst enemy. His parents work so hard and are such good people, I wasn’t happy at the idea of him worrying them so much. I didn’t want him in trouble either, it neverended well. I realised that I would need to get involved.

‘Franceska said he’s still grounded and he’s mad because you know how he likes to go hang out with his friends. Aleksy is trying to keep the peace but he can’t really say anything to his brother right now, and Tomasz even said that Tommy was going off the rails and needed taking in hand.’

‘What are they going to do?’ I asked. I had taught Dustbin well. When we first met he was more interested in rodents than people. Look how far he’d come.

‘They don’t know. Tomasz has said Tommy has to start working in the restaurant, washing dishes to keep him out of trouble, and Tommy said that is unfair, but I have a feeling it might get worse before it gets better, Alfie.’

‘Poor Aleksy is trying,’ Ally added. She had also become an asset. ‘But he doesn’t know how to get through to Tommy either. You hear the two of them arguing quite a lot. Tomasz was supposed to take him and Connie to the homeless shelter yesterday after school, but because they got called into see Tommy’s teacher, Tomasz was late. They went in the end, but Aleksy accused Tommy of ruining things for everyone. Tommy said Aleksy was a “goody-goody” and Aleksy said Tommy will end up in jail if he carries on this way.’ My eyes widened. Surely it couldn’t be that bad?

‘I’ll have to think of something.’ I knew it would come down to me to try to find a way to fix this – most things did. I didn’t mind, it was my job. Dustbin kept the rodents under control, I kept the humans under control. I have to admit I think his job is easier though, even though I’mnot keen on rodents.

‘I know you’ll come up with something,’ Dustbin said. ‘I hate to see Franceska so worried, Tomasz helpless … They think that if he doesn’t shape up he’s going to be in real trouble.’

‘Hmm. I get it. He’s always been a bit wild and he’s never liked school work the way Aleksy did … I’ll think about it, talk it over with Snowball maybe, see what we can come up with.’

‘Speaking of Snowball, how is she?’

‘Yes, she’s good. Harold has had a bad cold so she’s stayed in quite a lot to keep him company; she’s got such a good heart. I know sometimes she still misses her old family too but she and Harold are pretty close. And of course George is there a lot – and me – so she’s never really allowed to be down for long.’ Snowball used to live next door to us many years ago. Her family had moved away, which was sad for me, but just last year they had to go overseas and couldn’t take her with them, so she moved in with Harold. It was a wonderful surprise.

‘Life can throw a lot of changes at us, can’t it?’ Dustbin asked. He wasn’t wrong.

‘Goodness, if we went through all of them we’d be here all week. Right, shall we go and scratch at the door and see if they have any treats for us?’ I suggested. I had to think of a way to sort Tommy out, but before I even thought about coming up with an idea, I knew that it would be easier to do so once I had a full tummy.

I always managed to think better after food.

After a little bit more time spent with Dustbin and Ally and some delicious plump sardines, I headed back to Edgar Road. As I entered through the cat flap I could tell the house was empty, and I wondered if George was still next door. After taking a quick rest, I went to see Snowball, who lived near the end of the road. Edgar Road is quite a big street, with different types of houses on it, and that means we have a lovely mix of people and cats. As I walked past Tiger’s old house – would I ever stop thinking of it like that, I wondered – I saw Oliver, the Barkers’ new cat in the window, though he was not so new now. I felt a pang and, as if sensing this, he raised a paw at me. I greeted him and walked on. I was happy the Barkers had got a cat after Tiger, but I also found it hard – the dichotomy of life. I knew they gave Oliver a good home and he was a splendid cat. And, of course, every cat deserved a loving home, but it was still hard to have a reminder of Tiger being gone every time I passed.