This was, Kat decided, insanity, as she placed the last of Tommy's toys into the relevant box. It was unquestionable. Phil was a businessman, why were they leaving now when there was no sign of any new landlord? Why had he made it so that they'd had no choice but to close the pub an hour before, so as to have the boxes over at Number 23 by twelve? He'd make nothing out of that. He'd have made nothing out of it whatever time they'd closed at, but he didn't know that. She couldn't see herself being very fond of Alfie if she was in Phil's shoes, but there was a limit. He'd never been known for having a heart, in the same way as Ian had never been known for having a generous streak, but he'd make no money out of a pub standing empty; why was he pretending to be devastated at his cousin's relationship breakdown, a cousin that he'd clearly had no contact with ten years ago?
Tommy's toys had been the final thing to pack, and so it was time for the couple to move the boxes over to their new home. What was she thinking, new home? Alfie had been far less than delighted at the prospect of moving in with Mo, but at least he wasn't going backwards. She had bent down in readiness to lift one of their many boxes when Alfie appeared in the doorway, quickly making his presence known.
"Don't even think about it Mrs, not in your condition," he insisted, as if the baby's life depended on it. It was hardly a very heavy box, and in the early stages?
"Alfie, we've got twenty minutes to get this lot over the road," she reminded him, signalling the array of boxes that littered the floor of what had once been their lounge. "Unless you can carry three boxes at once, I'm going to have to help out."
"You can carry the photos. I'll go and grab some others to help; Terry, Ian…"
"Ian?" Kat laughed. "Like he'll do that for nothing. And how are you going to explain me not helping? We can't tell them yet Alfie," she urged him.
"Peter then," he suggested. "I'm Alfie Moon, I'll think of something."
"Just clocked the new landlord," Alfie announced as he hurried into the lounge of Number 23, carrying the last of the boxes. "Idiot."
Kat rose from her position arranging some of their possessions, approaching her husband. "Let's be honest, this new landlord could be the nicest person in the world and you'd still hate them," she spoke knowingly, as she attempted to comfort him.
"He's got a daughter called Nancy! Kat, if this little one's a girl," he started, his hand gravitating toward her stomach for at least the third time that day. "We can call her anything you like but we are not naming her Nancy!"
"Or Janine, Veronica or Roxanne," quipped Kat, in part because that was the type of quick witted person she was, and partly in an effort to stall the Queen Vic themed rant that was likely to ensue.
Alfie was uncharacteristically quiet following this remark, and Kat was beginning to fear that she had overstepped the mark in some way. "Are you okay, after last night?" she enquired caringly as she snaked her arm around his shoulder.
"Yeah; you said when they got engaged that his life insurance had better be up to date," recalled Alfie.
"I was joking; I didn't think she'd actually do it."
As he looked to the floor sadly, Alfie suddenly remembered that he had a rather unappealing bit of business to attend to. "I'd better go hand over the keys to this guy," he piped up, voice laced with disappointment.
"Phil's making you give the keys over?" Kat repeated, genuinely shocked. For her, that took a lot.
Nodding, Alfie began to elaborate, "He kind of implied that I'd be getting the same kind of treatment as I gave the Queen if I didn't…"
"Right," said Kat, borderline threateningly, making for the door. She was promptly tugged back by Alfie, who despite his obvious reservations and fears as far as her intended course of action went; was just as gentle with her as he always had been. His face was such that it almost tugged on her heartstrings as much as it had done a day previous, when she'd unveiled their little miracle.
"Kat, don't," Alfie urged her. "You and our little baby are everything to me; and the Tomster of course. Please don't start anything, I can deal with losing the Vic and the car but I couldn't take it if something happened to any of you," he spoke sincerely, looking Kat directly in the eye as he awaited her response, somewhat nervously, but understandably so. She wore the trousers in their relationship and always would do.
No wonder Roxy wanted him, Kat thought. No wonder Phil wanted Roxy to have him so much as to have resorted to this. Most blokes told you what they thought you wanted to hear, but he meant it. He meant every word he uttered to her. As she stared into his eyes, she could tell that he meant it with more vigour than he had meant many of the things that he had said to her over the years. She couldn't go against his wishes; with this she nodded her agreement.
"I can do this," he managed, probably telling himself more than he was her. "As long as I have you. Will you come with me?"
In that moment he was likely more vulnerable than most children. Knowing she could never refuse him anything, Kat jumped into his arms which he held out to her, only adding to the emotional intensity of the moment. "I love you," Alfie managed, as the two broke into tears once again, both for the life that they were about to hand over and more importantly for their tiny baby, their ray of hope as they faced up to an uncertain future.
The couple were soon making their way across the Square and over to the Vic, joined by Mo who had insisted upon accompanying them in the hope that the new landlords would also be running a cheap bar in an effort to make themselves popular with the locals. Free would be preferable obviously, but you couldn't have it all and she regarded herself as a reasonable person. Kat and Alfie had taken this walk many times in the past, often following a drama filled meal at the Slaters, when both were glad to be strolling away from the madness. Unfortunately for them, the minutes that were to follow would strip them of that luxury once and for all. Of course they were grateful for the fact that Mo had stepped in to keep them off of the streets, but Slater mansions as Garry had once termed it was far from their first choice of accommodation.
Kat and Alfie soon reached the Square gardens, with Mo so eager at the prospect of assumed free booze that she was about two steps away from tripping over their feet.
"Where is it you've been again Mo?" Alfie joked to this end. "Lynne's, or obedience classes?" He might have been a bit dim at times, but even Alfie wasn't stupid enough to refer to dog training classes in particular, for fear that she'd think he was implying something. He was familiar with the Slater temper, and it was something to be avoided at all costs.
"Oh shut up!" protested Mo, stomping out from behind the pair and not stopping until she had entered her old home. Alfie was undecided as to whether the fact that his comment had been met with Kat's usual high pitched giggle had worsened matters or not.
Upon entering the bar, the couple quickly spied Mo at a table in close proximity to the door at the end of the bar. She was accompanied by Cora, Patrick and a few of the more unknown faces from the Christmas party the week before.
"Blimey, at this rate she'll be taking up knitting!" Kat suggested in her usual repartee, having seen her former husband's eyes dart across to Phil and who she could only assume to be the new owner of the Vic. The light hearted comment did little to alleviate the negative emotions associated with the moment. As well as she knew Alfie, Kat had to admit that she probably couldn't list everything that he was feeling at this moment in time. Awkwardness, sadness, apprehension and probably embarrassment at this scene of Phil's making. She only hoped that the crunch as it were was not causing him to regret reuniting with her.
There was no doubt about it; this circumstance had been contrived purely for entertainment value. No other conceivable explanation existed as to why Phil had brought along Ronnie and Roxy for the occasion. It wouldn't exactly do much for his reputation if at fifty something, he had been reduced to not being able to do anything without his child-snatching cousin for back up. It would be among the most difficult things he had ever had to accomplish, but Alfie resolved that he would not give them so much as a jot of satisfaction.
With this in mind, Alfie tightened his grip on Kat's hand as he approached their table. "Mick, here's our keys for you mate," he began casually, extending his hand out for the new landlord to remove the small metal entities. He'd have preferred to simply throw them down into the middle of the table, but there was no way that the Mitchells would be running away with the idea that he was having a strop. "All the best," he smiled falsely, as Mick took the keys from him.
Whether or not the Mitchells had been convinced by this show of well-wishing toward the new owner of the establishment ought to have been the least of Alfie's worries, as a scene was currently unfolding at the other end of the bar.
"I don't like the look of this guy man," Patrick told the remainder of his table. He had come to accept that he would be out of a job, but it was an entirely different matter when you had reservations about the new management for reasons allied to the customer experience.
Swallowing the last of her G&T, Cora discarded her glass, not bothering to leave it on the table mat provided. "At least we could get a drink out of Alfie at OAP prices once in a while."
"I could get free ones." In typical Mo fashion, she always had to do two things; have the last word on any given subject and, most importantly, win.
"It ain't about the price of the drinks you know," added Patrick, causing one of the others to assume a more active role in the exchange.
"I say we vote with our feet, make use of those bus passes of ours and go down the Walford Taveners," suggested a woman of around seventy, her brittle auburn hair secured with a hair pin.
This suggestion was met with spontaneous applause, prompting those with a drink remaining to raise their glasses and Mo to sulk more than she had before. "That Phil wants to be ashamed of himself, throwing a pregnant woman out onto the street," she remarked, more than a little too loudly as she fought to dominate her friends. No sooner had the words been said than half of the bar's inhabitants were staring at the former landlord and landlady.
"Kat's pregnant?" Cora questioned, a little shocked and still too loud. They'd been back together for all of two minutes. Affairs weren't forgotten that easily; she knew that all too well having Max as a son-in-law, and Derek had certainly left his mark on her family. If people weren't looking before, they were now. Roxy was trying not to of course, as if avoiding the issue would make it go away, or better still, not have existed in the first place.
The only sound that could be heard was that of Bianca's chair scraping across the floor, as various pairs of eyes converged on the happy couple. "Nan!" hissed Kat, disapprovingly, before turning away from the locals and to Alfie. They exchanged glances, but without really having anything to confer about. It wasn't as if they could convincingly tell this number of people that it was untrue.
"Congratulations!" squealed Bianca, throwing herself in the direction of the happy couple. It was a welcome relief from the sea of shocked onlookers that they had been facing, short lived though they knew it would be. At least someone would be happy for them.
Turning back to face the masses, Kat gently patted Alfie's shoulder. A nothing gesture though it might be perceived to be by some, it exemplified the very fact that the pair always knew what each other were thinking.
Alfie let out a fake cough, one of those that people sometimes staged when nervous at the prospect of making a speech they knew was looming. He couldn't have cared less what was said about him; what bothered him was the derogatory comments that Kat would potentially have to endure. "For those of you who missed the human foghorn there," he spoke up, doing his very best not to allow his sense of apprehension to show through. "Yes, me and Kat are expecting a baby. We're very happy," he added, as Kat smiled up at him, admiring the calm and collected manner in which he had handled the situation. Almost anything would have appeared as such after the bust through the window moment, but this had been something else.
The couple stood, the picture of happiness, joy and elation, awaiting the onslaught from their public. From the expressions that were spread across their faces, you would be forgiven for thinking that they had just learned of the baby's existence themselves. In a manner of speaking, they had, especially in Alfie's case. It wasn't as if eighteen hours or so was a long time in the grand scheme of things.
"Who's the Dad?" There were no prizes for guessing which Mitchell had hollered this cruel remark across the room.
Though they had been forced apart by Bianca, Alfie made a point of taking Kat's hand in his reassuringly as he faced up to perhaps their worst critic. "I am, and you know it," he told her plainly.
"You can never be sure with her," Roxy fought back, for no other reason than to keep up appearances. Although she wholly believed that Kat would cheat on him again, Roxy knew that she hadn't, not in the space of a month. It was clear to everyone that they were still in the honeymoon phase, or whatever the equivalent was when you weren't actually married. "Any more cousins waiting in the wings?"
"I can actually," Alfie stated confidently. "This little one was conceived on our wedding night," he informed his ex, while caressing Kat's stomach. "Who else's would it be?"
With a facial expression that looked worse than a cat in headlights, Roxy made a last ditch attempt to claw back a semblance of respect. Respect in the sense that she would no longer look the biggest mug in Walford; it didn't for a minute mean that she would abandon her verbal attack. "Grandad, she'd say that just because it's the only time you can be sure she hasn't cheated on you."
"You know it's true, it was written all over your face."
"Fine, so you've finally got your own child. Doesn't stop her playing away again a year down the line. I'd have given you your own child; we were trying for a baby. What do you want her for?!"
"You, with another child. Please," Alfie scoffed. "Yes, I wanted one of my own. But I couldn't be happier that I have that with Kat and not you. Amy would be better off with Ronnie than you and that's saying something!"
"Ronnie made a mistake, she's never denied that. She'd never have hurt Tommy."
"Oh, that's ok then," came the response, dripping with sarcasm. "Never mind the hurt that she caused us in the meantime, hurt that put us on that downward spiral in the first place!"
Though she had been a great-grandmother for years now, Mo was quite like a child in that she became grouchy if she didn't get the attention she thought she ought to. "Ding ding," she contributed in a raised voice, leaving a few faces contemplating whether, at her age, she fancied herself as a sports commentator as opposed to a wheeler dealer. Kat would have made her disapproval of this interjection clear, but she didn't have the chance.
"Did you just blame my sister for the fact that this slapper can't keep her knickers on?" Roxy seethed, signalling Kat. "She's done a right number on you, I thought you were better than this Alfie."
"She's done nothing, I just saw what had been staring me in the face for months. Kat's done wrong in the past and there was a time this year when I hated her for that, but she's changed. I don't have to justify myself to you any more, it's no one's business but ours."
With Roxy set straight on a score or two, Alfie had hurriedly left the Vic, almost as if he couldn't bear being in there but not being behind the bar. Kat soon followed, concerned for him and his state of mind. What was he thinking? Had he been straight back there, or putting on a front? In the space of only a few short minutes, had Roxy succeeded in reawakening his doubts about her?
Having caught up with Alfie, all was not well for Kat. There had been no sign of affection between them, not even an acknowledgement of her presence, and though she was merely feet away from him, she might as well have been on the other side of London. It was an improvement on the other side of the world that Kat may as well have been on the year before, but that didn't mean that it sat easily with her. "Alfie, have I done something?" she prompted him nervously.
"I think I have," he managed meekly.
"How do you mean?" Kat frowned.
"Kat, what I said you know about the wedding night and knowing the baby is mine. I just wanted her to believe it. It could have happened last night and I'd still have known it was mine. I made the mistake of doubting you once and I wouldn't do that again."
"I know. I knew you wouldn't be able to resist rubbing it in and telling her, after all this," replied Kat, looking back over at the Vic for a moment, remembering; the unknown, the worry for the future, Janine, and later, Mick. As much of a wrench as it had been, Kat couldn't help but be thankful for the fact that they had gotten this out of the way now. From the moment that the bust had crashed through Phil's window, a conclusion like this had become a certainty; perhaps even prior to that. It was better now than a buyer emerging several months down the line and heaping the stress upon them at that point in time.
"You mean it?" Alfie looked up from the ground hopefully. "I was sure I'd upset you."
Kat nodded, taking his hand and pulling him closer to her. "I know I've always been highly strung and that but I was a moody cow back then and there's no excuse for it. I think things through more now before I open my gob," she smiled. "I know what you said and what you were trying to do; it's fine, we're fine."
With a full scale row safely averted, Alfie considered his next move. What was it that she was really meaning when she said she was fine? Kat wasn't exactly the easiest person to read when it came to matters close to her heart. He could predict her reactions in any other kind of row very well; know instinctively what her take would be on any given issue, but never make assumptions with any great degree of accuracy in situations such as this. Fine could mean muddling through; they'd done it for long enough in the past, too long. "Can I have a hug?" he settled for asking her shyly.
"Course you can, you don't need to ask," Kat told him as she came to a stop along in the middle of the gardens. "What are you like?" she spoke softly as she threw her arms around Alfie and squeezed him so tightly that a small part of her was worried that she might hurt him. She could imagine certain neighbours telling her that she shouldn't be, that he'd be the one hurting her eight months down the line, but that didn't bother her. She'd wanted their happy family just as much as he had, probably more. It was the final thing that would confirm to all her doubters that Kat Slater was no more. She just wished that she hadn't forgotten that herself for a time.
Finally, Alfie loosened his hold on Kat, who leaned into his shoulder as they continued across the Square. "I can't promise you I'm not going to turn into a hormonal nightmare in a few months time, but I meant what I said, I'm not gonna go cold on you again."
Tugging gently on Kat's jacket to slow her, Alfie stepped ahead of his other half and kissed her gently on the lips. It was brief, but it said everything that needed to be said. They were solid now, and though he saw her as his wife, she was in a sense his partner; his partner in everything from this point on.