PATCH'S STORY CHAPTER TWO

 MY STORY

Yes, we live in France and very happy we are here. Although recently things seem to be changing. Whereas the most important thing for her was the garden it seems that she goes there less and less. She was out there all the time, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. When I was younger I used to be out there too. Sometimes I'd play in the grass and catch mice and things. Did I tell you, that's why we are here me and my sisters. It seems that the Boss brought two cats here with her from England but they both died. She was very upset and grieved for a long time and I heard her tell someone that she didn't really want any more cats. She even painted a portrait of one of them. Anyway, what happened apparently she was overrun with mice. One even ran across her bed when she was on the phone. They had taken over the kitchen and chewed every thing in sight. Then her friend rang and said that a cat had given birth to five kittens in her wood pile. She said that she would have them all. Well Sylvaine, the friend, already had half a dozen cats so she brought the three of us over. Apparently she couldn't catch the rest. So that's why we are here. We moved in and the mice moved out. The three of us occasionally catch one and bring it for the Boss to see how we do our job but that does not please her. She creates a right fuss and makes us take them out again. You would think she would be pleased since we are only doing the job that she adopted us for.

Now where was I? I was about to say how things seem to be changing. She doesn't go into the garden much lately, not even to cut the grass. Grass cutting has always been a big feature of our lives here. Well there's so much of it. I have heard her say that it takes six hours to cut it all. I keep out of the way when she is doing it. I don't like the machine she uses, horrible noisy thing it is.

Strange things are happening. A couple of months ago the Boss had just got back from visiting a garden sale with a friend. She was just about to ring her tennis mate to see if she could go to her's to watch the match when a French couple just turned up and knocked on the door. They looked in every room in the house, they inspected the garden and then they all sat around the table in the conservatory and talked for a very long time.

I didn't think anything about it at the time because it seemed a bit like the Monday Group. Have I mentioned the Monday Group? No?  She has this group every Monday for her French and English friends to get together to speak French. They also play games and drink tea and eat cake, a lot of cake. Someone always brings a cake. Lorrain's are the best because she bakes her own. The Boss rarely provides one and if she does it's shop bought. Occasionally when she has baked a cake they make so much fuss about it you'd think it was ambrosia.

I know everything because I listen and remember. They don't see me because, as I said before, I hide under the settee. 

 As I started to tell you things seem to be changing. She spends everyday filling boxes. I didn't think much about it at first because I thought she was just decluttering. It's not that though because she is piling the boxes up around the house. Then last week she put loads of things outside on tables and people came and I think they bought stuff. At first I thought ok she is decluttering but no. The piles of boxes just are just getting higher.