Straightening Ali (30 page)

Just before last orders, Ali went to the men’s room, and used the toilet, before washing his hands and cleaning his teeth for the night and then left the pub.

Ali then went back to his car and drove to a quiet side street. However, it wasn’t quiet enough, and he worried that someone might spot him sleeping in the car. What he needed was a secluded car park where he could sleep for the night.

It was only by chance while driving randomly through the streets of Leicester, Ali found a car park to a large DIY store that was tucked away behind a large canopy of trees.

Ali parked his car in a discrete corner of the car park and turned the engine and the headlights off. The car park was in total darkness and had an eerie feel about it. The store itself had the shutters down, and there was no one around.

Ali took his suitcase out of the car boot and emptied its contents in the leg space between the front and the back seats. He then folded the back seats down into the boot space so that the seats were flat, and took out his new duvet from its packaging and folded it in half before laying it flat over the back seat and the filled gap. Looking at the finished effect, he knew that he’d created himself a comfortable nest for the night.

He then got back in the car shutting and locking the door behind him, climbing into his nest, he settled down in between the folded layers of the duvet.

Ali found it very hard to sleep. The back of the car was cramped and uncomfortable. As the minutes passed by, Ali started to smell engine oil. The smell gradually became stronger, making him feel claustrophobic and sick.

Gasping for air and feeling a sense of panic, Ali wound one of the rear windows down. A cold gust of air blew in making him gasp. He quickly wound the window back up again leaving it open by an inch. He did the same to the windows on the other side, hoping that it would circulate the air around the car rather than giving him hypothermia.

He then settled back down in an attempt to sleep, trying to ignore the distant traffic noise coming through the open windows and not allowing his imagination to create terrifying visions of what might happen to him while alone in a dark car park at night. He wanted to cry at the unfairness of his predicament but managed to hold his emotions in check. Ali’s eyes started to flicker and eventually they closed as he finally fell asleep.

“
I’m homeless,” Ali said to the small Indian woman sitting behind the reception desk. “Can I speak to someone who could help me to find somewhere to live?”

“
Sorry, there’s no one available to speak to you today,” she replied dismissively without bothering to look up.

“
But I’m homeless, and I thought I’d be able to get some advice here. The notice in the window says that you offer advice to homeless people,” Ali said, taken aback by the woman’s uncaring attitude.

“
I told you that we have no one to talk to you right now,” she said crossly. “If you really need to talk to someone, I can book you an appointment.”

“
Well, I’m free all day. So any time is convenient,” Ali said.

“
Three weeks,” she said rifling through the pages of her desk diary.

“
Sorry?” Ali asked, wondering if he’d heard right.

“
I said it will be three weeks before anyone will be able to see you. The appointment diary is fully booked until then,” she said continuing to flick through the pages of the diary again.

“
I don’t have anywhere to live now. I can’t wait three weeks to talk to someone about it. I need some advice about it today. I can’t sleep in the car for another night let alone for another three weeks!” Ali exclaimed despairingly.

“
You can stay with your family. We have lots of people coming through the doors with the same problem, and we can’t always help everyone straightaway,” she said sighing dramatically in displeasure as if Ali was preventing her from doing something important.

“
I don’t have any family to stay with. If I did, I wouldn’t be homeless now, would I?” Ali said feeling very frustrated.

“
There’s no need to talk to me like that. I’ve booked you an appointment in three weeks time, so you can come back then.” The receptionist shoved an appointment card into Ali’s hand and turned to the next person in the queue, ending the conversation.

Ali left the City Council’s Housing Advice Center clutching the card in his hand. The notice on the window had clearly stated that the Housing Advice Center would be able to find homeless people temporary shelter and give advice on finding accommodation. It had said nothing about a three-week wait!

He’d stood waiting in the queue to be seen for over forty minutes in the hope that he’d solve his housing problem, but it seemed that it wasn’t to be. He felt frustrated at his own predicament. All he wanted was somewhere warm to sleep and a temporary shelter would have been perfect.

It was going to be another cold night. Ali had spent the last two nights sleeping in his car. Today, he’d plucked up the courage to deal with his situation and actually do something about it, but it seemed that bureaucracy was holding him back.

Ali had left his car near a block of student flats on Putney Road, about half an hour’s walk from the city center. It was convenient and the parking was free. It was also next to the car park he was using to park his car to sleep in overnight.

It was getting easier to sleep in the car. Ali had managed to get used to the traffic noise, and the raucous cries of students returning home after their late nights of partying. He feared the students the most but more out of embarrassment. The last thing he wanted was a group of drunken students discovering him asleep in his car and ridiculing him.

Ali was secretly pleased with the changes in himself. Less than a week ago, he would have feared the thought of being alone in a deserted car park after midnight. His imagination running riot with thoughts of vampires and ghosts, but he felt as if the experience had helped him mature.

It was early morning, and Granby Street, which ran through the heart of Leicester’s city center, was deserted. Ali found this to be a blessing as he looked disheveled and unkempt. He headed towards the Shires, a shopping center which seemed to be the main place to shop in Leicester.

Ali entered the center and walked past a small bakery savoring the smell of freshly baked muffins. He considered buying a cookie, but the price of eight cookies for two pounds helped to change his mind. He had less than twenty-five pounds left, and with no certainty of any more money coming his way, he needed to make it last.

He decided instead to wait for lunchtime and buy himself a cheap bag of chips from the local chip shop he’d visited the previous evening.

Ali walked past the stores without bothering to look in the windows and took the escalator to the men’s washrooms on the basement level.

Once in the washrooms, Ali stood at a washbasin, turned on the tap, took out his toothbrush and toothpaste from his jacket pocket and brushed his teeth. He looked around to see if anyone was watching, but the washrooms were empty. Using the soap from the dispenser Ali washed his face and then dried it on the paper towels provided.

He then pulled out a tube of hair gel from his pocket and used it to groom his hair. Despite his best attempts, he still looked unkempt. “I must have looked a right state, and she still didn’t help me,” he murmured to himself thinking back to his encounter with the receptionist.

His face looked like it had aged in the last few days. The creases on his face seemed to match the ones on his shirt and made him look haggard. Despite this, Ali felt satisfied for having made the effort. He then soaked a couple of paper towels with water and went into the toilet cubicle locking the door behind him.

He unbuttoned his shirt and used the wet paper towels to clean his armpits and chest, before promptly drying himself with some more tissue paper. He repeated the same procedure with his groin area, and then changed into a fresh pair of underpants that he’d brought with him.

Ali flushed the paper towels down the toilet, unlocked the cubicle door and walked out feeling a lot fresher. He glanced around and caught a man looking at him. The man held his gaze, making Ali squirm with embarrassment. Ali quickly turned away and hurried out of the toilets.

As he headed towards the exit of the shopping center, he had a sense of being followed. He looked back and saw the same man following him. It had to be a private detective. “He’s found me,” Ali thought in panic, his stomach clenching tightly in fear. He felt sick. All he wanted to do was to get out of the shopping center and hide.

“
Hey, wait up! Why are you running away?” he heard the man’s voice shout after him. Ali quickened his pace, fighting the urge to run, not wanting to attract the attention of the other shoppers.

Once outside, Ali sighed in relief, thinking he had managed to get away as he hurried down the street.

“
Wait!” The man’s voice was now even closer. Ali stopped. It was daylight, and he was in the middle of a main street in a town center. What could the detective possibly do to him?

“
What do you want?” Ali asked turning around, trying to hide his fear as he faced the man. The man was dressed smartly in a navy blue pair of trousers and a white shirt and tie. He looked to be in his early forties and physically very trim. The lines on his face and the graying hair at his temples made him look distinguished and quite handsome.

“
Nothing really. I just saw you in the Shires. I thought you looked really nice. I just wanted to tell you that,” he said catching up with Ali.

“
What?” Ali exclaimed incredulously.

“
I think you’re very sexy,” the man said. “I’d like to buy you a drink.”

“
You’re kidding right?” Ali asked feeling bewildered that someone would be attracted to him, especially in his current state. “I’m too busy. I’ve got things to do.”

“
Please, at least think about it. I need to drop off some paperwork at the office, but I can meet you in half an hour. What do you say?” the man asked.

“
No, I’m sorry. I can’t,” Ali said starting to walk away.

“
Please, I really like you. Just a quick drink. I can make it worth your while,” the man said continuing to follow Ali.

“
What do you mean you can make it worth my while?” Ali asked out of curiosity.

“
I can tell you’re running away from something. I can help you. Let’s meet for a drink, we can chat and get to know each other. If you wanted to get to know me better then you could earn yourself a little bit of money. If you wanted you could even stay a couple of nights at my place,” the man said.

“
Go away,” Ali stormed angrily. “I’m not a fucking rent boy,” he cursed, horrified by the indecent proposal.

“
Don’t be like that. I just want to treat you right and help you out a bit. Give you somewhere to stay for a couple of nights. What do you say? I promise I won’t force you into anything you don’t agree to,” he said sincerely.

“
Go away,” Ali said. “If you carry on pestering me, I’ll report you to the Police.”

“
Listen, I don’t mean to pester you. If you’re interested in my offer then meet me at the pub on Dover Street in half an hour. Please?” he asked.

Ali did not respond. He knew he needed money and somewhere warm to sleep, but this was not the way to do it.

“
I really like you and want to help you out,” the man said gently. “I’ll jot down the directions to the pub. If I don’t see you there in half an hour then I’ll take it you’re not interested.” He took out a pen from his jacket and wrote the directions onto a piece of paper.

“
Here,” he said shoving the piece of paper into Ali’s hands. “I hope you’ll be there. It’s not far. It’s just on the other side of town. My name’s Andy by the way. What’s yours?” he asked.

Ali didn’t reply, not wanting to give away too much about himself. “Well I hope you turn up,” he said looking at Ali longingly before heading off.

“
What is it about me?” Ali muttered to himself. This was the second time since running away that he’d been approached by another gay man. “I can’t be that camp. Maybe it’s because they can sense that I’m vulnerable and needy,” he finally concluded.

Ali spent the next few minutes agonizing over what to do. In some of the clubs that he had been to there had been a seedy element with young men offering themselves for cash to older men. He had never thought that he’d be in a position where he’d be considering doing the same.

“
What have I got to lose,” he finally thought, having made his decision. “I’ll go and meet him, then I can decide how far I’m prepared to go for somewhere to stay and a bit of cash.”