Video conferencing with Cat

As soon as Serena heard the Government’s decree concerning working from home, she knew her job would be included in their list. Successful advertising might be crucial for the company concerned, but her role as a graphic designer for publicity campaigns certainly was not a life and death occupation. More importantly, it could mainly be done from home.

It was therefore no surprise when her boss, Greg, rang her early the following morning, telling her not to come to the studio that day.

“I’m organising all our current commissions, so we can carry on as normally as possible. If you can call in tomorrow at 2 o’clock, you can collect your computer and anything else you need from your office. I’m asking everyone else to come in tomorrow too, but at different times,” he told her.

“OK,” she replied, “but what happens if I need to speak to anyone else on the team?”

“I’m arranging for us all to join one of those online video chat systems, so we can have a “meeting” each day to discuss things.”

It made sense. They could all perform their allotted tasks in peace at home and then collaborate during the meetings. At least that was the theory. Whether they would all have the single-mindedness and determination to actually work remained to be seen.

Serena’s husband, Graham, was a paramedic and therefore would not be affected by any Government restrictions. If he was working the night shift and therefore sleeping during the day, then Serena would have to stay as quiet as possible, but that would be easy enough. The spare bedroom has been turned into a small study, with a drawing board by the window, for her own private work and desk space for their computer. It would only take a few minutes to move that across and replace it with her work computer.

Then she remembered the idea of the video conferencing. Serena checked the view opposite the desk. The bookshelf would probably look professional, provided she rearranged the books. She reorganised them so that the cookery volumes occupied the bottom shelf and were therefore out of view and placed the IT and art books to form an arch. With any luck, they would form a halo round her head, when viewed from the other side of the computer screen.

Ideally, she would have liked to shut the door to keep the cat out, but the study faced south and became stifling, so Serena would have to amuse him some other way. She smiled as she thought about him. When they bought him as a kitten, she and Graham could not decide on a name. She wanted to call him Tom, because he was a male, but Graham thought that lacked any imagination. He had suggested Night because the cat was pure black. “No way,” Serena had replied. “It will end up being changed to Nightie and I’m not wandering round calling out for Nightie when it’s feeding time or time for him to come in.”

The debate carried on for so long, that the kitten started answering to simply Cat. When they finally decided to call him Jet, he obstinately refused to answer, so he remained simply Cat.

That pleased Graham’s obnoxious sister, Catherine, who thought it was named in her honour. They could both be contrary and stubborn, but there the resemblance ceased. Cat, the cat, was also soft, cuddly and could be quite affectionate, none of which could be said about Catherine.

When Serena went to the office to collect her things, her boss met her in reception, unlocked the door, let her in and then stepped back. As soon as she started walking to her office, he closed the door and locked it again.

“Sorry, just social distancing,” he told her. “I’ve unplugged the computer and left copies of everything I think you’ll need on your desk. Take anything else you want as well.”

Serena packed everything into the box she had brought with her and was about to leave when she spotted her pot plant. It was a standing joke in the office that she always needed some greenery to relax and that she changed the plant every few weeks. One of her colleagues even gave them names. Currently, it was a bright red geranium in a glazed red pot, which had been nicknamed Gerry the Geranium. She placed it in the box to take it home, knowing that it would die if she left it behind.

Greg then performed the same ritual in reverse, as he unlocked the main door and watched her leave the offices.

“Stay safe!” he said, as Serena began walking away.

“You too!”

Once home, Serena unpacked the box and spread the contents over her desk. She tried to place everything in the same position as at work, with the monitor at the rear, the keyboard in the middle, the mouse on the right-hand side and any paperwork on the left. Gerry stood in his usual place, immediately behind the mouse.

The firm had just started work on their new assignment when the lockdown commenced. It marked the launch of a new range of shampoos for a company that prided itself on its green credentials. The ingredients were all sourced from sustainable sources, with the growers and producers being paid a fair price, the production methods were all environmentally friendly and the packaging was all reusable and/or biodegradable. Tony, the copywriter for the firm, had already sent Serena some suggested wording, so she was ready to start the artwork. The brief was that although the company preferred their packaging to be very plain and simple, the advertising could be as colourful and creative as possible.

Serena read through the list of ingredients of the various shampoos in the range, all of which were fruit or flower based and set to work.

Cat wandered in from time to time, wondering why she was at home and working at that time of day. He jumped on to her lap and purred, increasing in volume until she began stroking him. Unfortunately, he had broken her train of thought, so she carefully lifted him from her lap and dropped him gently on the floor.

“Go and have a look round the garden,” she told him. “I’m busy now.”

Cat turned abruptly and strutted off down the hallway. A few seconds later, Cat heard a soft click, as the cat flat swung back into position.

She resumed work, but a few minutes later, became aware she was being watched. Cat was sitting on the outside windowsill of the study, peering at her through the glass. She watched his mouth open and close as he meowed at her, not realising that she could not hear him through the double glazing.

Serena took a deep breath and returned her attention to the computer screen.

Despite Cat’s interruptions, she managed complete ten different layouts over the next day and a half, incorporating a variety of themes, fonts and colour schemes. She emailed copies to Greg and to Tony, ready for their first video conference the following afternoon.

That raised the first problem. What should she wear? For the past few days, she had been slopping round the house in an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt. They were not the type of clothes she would normally wear to work, so she swapped them for a plain blue shirt and a dressier pair of trousers.

At two o’clock she was sitting at her desk, ready for the conference to begin. Cat had eaten his lunch and when Serena had last seen him, he was sleeping on the back lawn. Graham was working nights, so he was in bed, hopefully also asleep.

Serena waited patiently, as the hosting site announced the conference was about to start and then switched to a split screen, showing Greg, Tony and herself in their homes. It felt rather surreal, but at the same time comforting, as they were working together again, albeit in separate locations.

Firstly, there was some general chitchat, as they asked each other how they were coping and then the serious discussion began. Suggestions were made about changing details here and there for both the wording and the design work. Serena was concentrating so much that she missed the familiar click, thud of the cat flap. She was in mid-sentence when Cat strolled into the room and jumped on to her desk. She tried to gently push him to one end, out of view of the webcam, but Cat showed his usual stubbornness and thrust his head in front of the screen.

“Oh, is that your cat?” Tony asked.

“Yes,” Serena replied, “I’ll just move him out of the way.”

“No, don’t bother, we’ve nearly finished,” Greg chipped in.

“I’ve got my dog next to me,” Tony added. “He’s great company when I’m working at home and not a bit of trouble.”

Cat chose that moment to meow loudly, which prompted Tony’s Alsatian to leap out of his dog bed and bark frantically at Tony’s computer. Cat shot off the desk, knocking Gerry over in the process. Bits of leaf and potting compost littered Serena’s keyboard. She stood the geranium up again, upturned the keyboard and shook any loose bits into the litterbin by her desk. Serena was mortified to see Greg laughing by his computer and Tony struggling to calm his dog, who was trying to climb through the screen to chase the cat. When Greg finally calmed down, he suggested that they close the conference and reconvene two mornings later, just before they spoke together with the client.

Serena completed the suggested alterations that evening and emailed them to Greg and Tony, who replied the following day that everything looked perfect.

The acid test, however, would be the client’s reaction and Serena wanted to be prepared for all eventualities. She dressed in the smart suit and the crisp white cotton blouse that she usually wore for first work meetings, as they made her feel more professional and workmanlike. Graham was warned that she would be on a conference call in case he woke up and wandered in to see what she was doing. Lastly Cat was put in the back garden, with a selection of his toys and a bowl of treats and told to stay put. As a final precaution, Serena left the study door an inch or so ajar; just wide enough to let in some air.

She had written down a list of questions the client might ask, together with her suggested replies and had placed it out of sight on the left-hand side of her desk. Serena was as prepared as she could be.

The chat with Greg and Tony was brief and to the point. Then the video conference began. Greg introduced them to James Austin, their contact with the client. Serena was amused to see he was wearing a rather gaudy shirt, covering in printed flamingos. She stifled a giggle.

They ran through all the layouts they had submitted, with James making helpful and the occasional critical comment. Overall, though he was very enthusiastic.

Serena was so absorbed in the conversation, that she failed to notice the click, thud from the kitchen, followed a few seconds later by the door to the study being pushed open. She only realised that Cat had entered the room when he leapt onto the desk, right in front of the screen and turned to face her with a mouse wriggling in his mouth.

Serena screamed and shouted “CAT!”, prompting him to drop the mouse and spring off the desk, knocking Gerry over again. The mouse scampered off the desk, shaking itself as it did so. That was the point when Serena remembered the video conference. She turned to the screen, but it was black.

Then study door was thrust open, as a semi-awake Graham staggered in.

“What’s wrong?” he shouted. “I heard you scream.”

Serena explained what had happened as quickly as possible, in particular the part about a mouse being loose in the house.

“I’ll catch it,” Graham said, as he walked into the kitchen in search of something suitable. Serena heard him padding round for five minutes or so, before there was a triumphant shout of “Got it!”

Graham returned with the still frightened mouse captured in one of her plastic food containers.

“I think it’s ok. Simply scared.”  He held it up for Serena to inspect it.

“Can you put it in the garden please?” she asked. “I’ll grab Cat and keep him inside.”

That was easier said than done, as Cat had strutted off in a huff, obviously displeased that Serena was not impressed with his gift. Repeated shaking of his cat treat box finally lured him back inside, allowing Graham to sneak out of the kitchen door and release the mouse. Graham had the sense to flick the lever on the cat flap on the way back in, so that Cat could not escape outside again. Then he returned to bed and his disrupted sleep.

Serena switched her attention back to the computer. The screen was still blank, but when she began clicking on the keys it came back to life, only not to the conference. She had obviously been excluded. There was no point trying to contact Greg yet, as he might still be talking to the client, so she waited.

Half an hour later, her mobile rang. It was Greg. She began to apologise, but he interrupted her.

“I’m sorry I cut you off, but I didn’t know what was going to happen next.”

Serena explained, adding that Graham was only wearing an old pair of boxer shorts when he burst into the room, so it was probably best that the client had not seen that part of the escapade.

“What about the mouse?” Greg asked.

“Fine. Graham put it outside and saw it run away.”

“Well that’s good news, but the best bit is we’ve got the contract. James said his mother has a cat and is always bringing things in, so he wasn’t fazed at all. In fact, he said he knows someone who wants to use a black cat for advertising his cattery business, so we might have to add Cat to the payroll!”