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A loud cooing caught Skimbleshanks’ attention as he did his regular patrol of the railway station. Trouble? It didn’t sound like the odd sounds humans made when they were distressed. He jumped up onto the window sill of the stationmaster’s office, and saw a crowd of humans watching a familiar Cat. A Calico Cat, sitting up on the bench and looking around for something.
It was Mungojerrie. Skimble paused, he hadn’t known Jerrie was coming to the station today. Then again, although Mungojerrie wasn’t particularly secretive, he didn’t always think to share his plans. He was a chatty young Cat, but tended to keep his problems and more serious things close to the chest. A by-product of his time with Macavity, Skimble thought sadly, Rumpleteazer was much the same. He had informally adopted the two when they first came to the Junkyard, recognising that their cheery bravado was covering a much less happy situation. The three of them were quite close now. As he watched, another Cat appeared, and Skimble instantly knew why Jerrie had forgotten to tell him he was coming.
Jerrie jumped off the bench and ran over to where Coricopat had come, nuzzling the other with a wide grin. Skimble felt himself smile along. Jerrie was completely enamoured by Coricopat. If he had Cori on his mind, which was often the case now, most other things tended to slip his mind – not telling Skimble he was visiting the station, for example. From his elevated position, he was able to look closely at Coricopat. The Tom was difficult to read, in his opinion, but Jerrie did not seem to have any trouble doing so. He thought Cori might be happy right now? Mungojerrie seemed to be chatting animatedly at him, but yes, Skimble thought he could make out a subtle smile on his face. He didn’t have any problem with Coricopat, the Tom was quiet, but he always came across nice. Frankly, Skimble was delighted that Jerrie was so taken with him.
Knowing Jerrie’s past and his difficulties trusting, it was initially surprising he latched onto Cori so firmly, but when he thought back, he honestly couldn’t remember a time when Cori had lied, or tried to hide something. That must be what it was. Although he wasn’t overly expressive or talkative, he was honest, and straight-talking. Skimble knew that Macavity wove an intricate web of lies and deception, so Cori’s demeanour must be a soothing balm for Jerrie. His company and affection came without caveat, no strings attached.
He knew Jerrie’s feelings ran deeper than friendship. He could see it in the way he nuzzled close to Cori, intertwining their tails as they walked next to each other. Skimble knew Jerrie had been wanting to tell him something recently, but he hadn’t quite worked himself up to it yet. Clearly, it was about this. Whether or not Cori felt the same way, Skimble could not tell. He could be patient though, he thought, jumping down to the ground and snaking out to the waiting hall. He kept hidden from the other two Cats. Honestly, he had no concerns, he was just being nosy. They were engrossed in conversation. He couldn’t hear Coricopat’s quiet voice, but he could hear Jerrie’s booming laugh and loud chatter.
Oh, he felt a tug of affection pull at his heart, so strong it nearly hurt. Jerrie was giving Cori a sort of tour of the railway, and he had just referred to the mail train as “dad’s train”. Jerrie had never called him dad before, at least not to his face. He had remarked before that Cori was easy to talk to, but that was a fairly large emotional confession, wasn’t it? Jerrie must feel completely safe with him, to speak so openly. If being with Cori allowed Jerrie to be so confident in himself and his expression, then Skimble would welcome him to the family with open arms.