She had nowhere to go. Nothing to eat but a sausage roll and several cups of weak coffee from a vending machine. To make matters worse, her leg still hurt where she’d been kicked by a bovver kid on Aggro Row. – Jill was right on the edge staring at the abyss; when she saw the cat, hiding under the bush, she could not help but smile.
Then mew.
Jill mewed to the cat, but the cat only grew shyer and shrank back further under the bush, so she lay down on the grass to be at its level.
The cat stared at her out of the bush, and Jill stared back. They held this position for what seemed like a little unbothered age.
Jill closed her eyes and dared to dream; when she opened them, the cat had crept up to her and was nuzzling her ear. Hello, there, it seemed to say.
Jill started giggling, and the cat jumped aside, startled.
She watched it and waited for it to come back into her arms.
Tentatively, she cupped her hands under its belly and picked it up; it did not seem to mind.
Jill still had some change in her pocket; she bought a tin of cat food from a corner shop and took the cat back to her box under the dual carriageway.
Amid the rubbish that had been dumped there she found a piece of cord and tied it to the cat’s collar. She did not want the cat to run away. But she need not have worried. It was cold that night, and the cat and she huddled up together in the blanket to keep warm.
The next day they went for a walk; the cat following on the lead, and sometimes in her arms, which was where it was when they met Danny coming down the street.
Jill had not seen Danny for quite a while. The last time they met he’d been especially animated about some funny or weird thing that had happened to him on the streets, but he now appeared rather slow and confused – stumbling over his words, as she clocked a cut just above his eye.
“Look, Danny,” she said. “Have you seen my cat?”
But Danny had that far-away look, and she knew she would not get much out of him, so she started walking off on her own.
“Here,” he said, calling after her, “has it got a name?”
“Not yet.”
“I know, let’s call him Taboo. Because we are taboo.”
Jill laughed and Danny laughed, too.
“Hello, Taboo,” he said, bending down to stroke Taboo as if he was suddenly amused and taken by Taboo.
“You’re a nice fella, aren’t you, Taboo?”
He stroked Taboo under his chin, and Taboo began to purr, as they walked together up the street.
They were going well, it seemed, when Danny started losing the thread again.
“Danny,” said Jill, “are you okay?”
Then something got into him, and he stopped in his tracks and started shaking his head furiously.
“I ain’t gonna put up with anymore of this. No, sir. No.”
Taboo was startled and ran to the end of his lead.
“Danny, what’ you doing?” said Jill. “You’re frightening Taboo.”
“Sorry, Taboo. I ain’t much cop, Taboo.”
“Come on, we’re going to the shelter,” she said. “They’ve got food.”
“Food,” said Danny. “Do I want food? – Anyway, remember there’s no room at the inn.”
“Don’t be silly, Danny,” said Jill. “Let’s go get something to eat. We can get something for Taboo, too.”
At the night shelter Jill recognised one of the volunteers whose name was Alix.
She smiled and Alix smiled back.
Then Alix saw Taboo.
“Sorry,” she said, “you can’t bring him in.”
“We can’t go in without Taboo,” said Danny, waking up. “He’s part of the family.”
Suddenly, he was the old, chatty – slightly sarcastic Danny again.
“Oh, come on, luv, it IS Christmas.”
“Alright,” said Alix, who was rather fond of cats. “Don’t tell anyone. Put him under your coat.”
“The Lady has spoken,” said Danny. “We must respect the rules. Under the coat he goes.”
The night shelter was in the parish hall. As it was Christmas, there were quite a few guests – mainly blokes of a certain age, and young blokes like Danny, but some young women like Jill and some older women like Mrs. Haversham.
“You’ve been so kind to us, Miss,” said Danny, holding Taboo up to give Alix the paw. “What can I do for you?”
“Nothing,” said Alix.
“I know,” said Danny, suddenly animated again. “You got a pen?”
Alix fished in her pocket.
“And paper?”
They found the back of a flyer for a jumble sale. Danny sat down at the table and started drawing.
“That’s really good,” said Alix, peering over his shoulder. “You’ve got talent.”
“Britain’s got talent, Miss,” said Danny, “but to be honest I just wanted Taboo at the table.”
Alix smiled and stuck her finger to her lips.
“Happy Christmas, Miss,” said Danny, and he gave her the picture.
Supper was a three-course meal: broccoli and stilton soup, followed by turkey, roast potatoes and all the trimmings. And as it was Christmas, there were also crackers.
Danny and Jill pulled their crackers and read each other their jokes:
What do you call a blind reindeer? (Answer: No eye deer.)
Why couldn’t the skeleton go to the Christmas party. (Answer: he had no one to go with.)
When the main course was doled out, Danny turned his nose up at the sprouts, said he just wanted turkey. “That’s what I came for – turkey.”
“Turkey!” he shouted to the room.
Everyone including Jill was embarrassed. Why did Danny have to make an idiot of himself?
“I just want turkey, don’t I, Jill?”
“Alright, Danny if that’s what you want.”
Meanwhile, Jill had seen someone she knew and went over to wish them Merry Christmas. When she turned around again, she saw Danny slumped over Taboo.
Should she hide Taboo? – Never mind, no one seemed to care. Everyone was having such a good time for once. There were Christmas carols and a Christmas cake baked, it turned out, not by a celebrity chef but one of the volunteers who had read the recipe on line. Yet before she knew it, it was time to leave the shelter.
Jill went to fetch Taboo and found him pawing and mewing at Danny.
Alix could not have been more upset.
“I told you we couldn’t have the cat in here,” she said.
“It’s a bit late for all that.”
“Will you take him?”
Jill picked up Taboo and said:
“I think you’ll find he’s already left.”
Alix still had the Christmas card in her hand.
“Have you seen his drawing? – He made me a Christmas card.”
“Funny that,” said Jill. “Thought the only thing he could do was score.”