CHAPTER 1
For the first time in our lives, we were homeless, BD and I. BD is my faithful little dog. He's an active and happy cross between a Chihuahua and Whippet with lovely gold and green eyes. We were living in a house, taking care of Alan, who owned the house, and was disabled. I lost my job, and have no income, so I couldn't pay the rent. Alan kept all of my things, and kicked us out. BD and I took my car and left. The only place I could think of going was to the church. On the way, I stopped at a dollar store and used the least of my food stamp money to buy a few cans of Vienna sausages. It wasn't the best food for us, but it would be something in our stomachs until I could get to the church. I pulled into what I thought was a relatively hidden space and planned to stay there until the church opened. I thought that perhaps they would let BD and me stay inside, and maybe help me with getting a job. Any job.
Late that night BD woke me up with his barking. As I sat up, my stomach sank as I saw a young, tall policeman exiting his car, flashlight in hand. I rolled down the window and watched with dread as he walked up to my car. The flashlight blinded me as he shined the light on my registration and safety stickers on the front window. Both were expired.
"Hello", he said, "Please show me your driver's license and proof of insurance." I fished my license out of my purse, tears coming to my eyes.
I handed him my license. 'I'm sorry, but I don't have insurance. But my driver's license is still valid'. I explained shakily. I wiped my face with my hands and sniffed, 'Damn these tears, would they ever stop?' I thought angrily.
Taking my license, he walked back to the car and ran his check. Nothing would come back. I had at least been able to keep out of that kind of trouble.
The cop walked back to the car. 'Please step out of the car, leave the dog.'
'Yes sir.' My bowels turned to water. 'BD, STAY,' I said firmly as I opened the door. BD licked his lips and whined, but stayed in his seat for once. As I stepped out, a random corner of my mind noticed what a mild evening it was. Wouldn't be for long, though. It was fall, and winter was just around the corner. I had no idea what I would do then.
Taking a deep breath, I walked over to where the cop indicated, by the front of his car where he could see me in the light of his headlights.
The cop took a deep breath. 'Ms. Forester, I'm sure you know that your stickers are out of date. That and the fact you have no liability insurance forces me to impound your car. Unfortunately, the law states that when your car is impounded, you won't be able to get it back.'
I stopped listening, and a rush of fresh tears overcame me. Impound my car? We would have nowhere safe to sleep! Where would we go?
I felt a gentle hand on my arm, 'Look, at me.' he said gently. Wiping my tears, I looked into the face of the cop. 'I know you're homeless, I can also tell you haven't been homeless for long. Can I take you anywhere? Do you have any family or friends who would take you in?'
'I don't have anyone.' I said, nasally. 'I have no children, and other than my dog, my only friend is the pastor of this church. I had hoped that I could stay in the car until she got here. But you got here first.'
'What about a women's shelter, have you checked into those?'
'Yes, but because I'm not a battered woman, and I refuse to give up my dog, they won't take me in.'
'Well,' he said, 'Unfortunately, the tow truck is on it's way. We have to take the car, there's nothing I can do about it.'
He looked at me thoughtfully. 'How old are you?'
'I turned 47 a week ago.' I sniffed. 'I've never been homeless before. I'm doing the best I can. But most programs to assist the homeless are for single moms and their children. No one wants to hire or help a middle-aged broad.' I closed my eyes as fresh tears threatened.
The cop shook his head, 'My mother is about your age. I have no idea what I'd do if I couldn't take care of her. ' He took out his wallet, and extracted a $10.00 bill. 'I don't normally do this, but you really need help. At least take this, it will feed you and BD for the day, at least until the church opens.'
I just looked at the money. 'I can't take that, I have no way of paying you back.' Repeating the mantra that had been drilled into me for the last eight years by Alan. With Alan it had been all about money. Nothing was free, and Alan made sure I knew it.
Frustrated, the cop grabbed my hand and stuffed the $10.00 into it. 'Don't be stupid!' he yelled. 'When someone offers you money, you TAKE it. Dang it, woman, don't you have any sense?'
I looked at the money in my hand, and looked up at the cop. I noticed the name tag on his uniform said, 'HANSEN'.
'Thank you.' I said quietly. Frankly, I was rather stunned. I was rare that I experienced kindness from strangers, especially a policeman. I put the money in my pocket. Just then I saw that the tow truck was here. Quickly, I said, 'Can I at least get some belongings from my car? I have a jacket and a blanket, and my dog…'
'Yes, of course you can. Besides, I don't think that the impound yard would want your little dog.' Officer Hansen gave a wry smile.
I opened the door of the car, and holding BD back, I gathered my purse, jacket, blanket and food from the back seat. I was able to find BD's leash and snapped it on. I wrapped the loop of the leash around my wrist, and took the keys from the ignition.
Turning around, I walked to the doors of the church and put all this stuff down, and put the loop of the leash around the door handle of the church. I walked back to Officer Hansen and handed him the keys.
With a sigh, Hansen took the keys, and nodded to the tow truck driver. The driver began his work that would take away the only safe place I had left, permanently.
'Officer Hansen, may I stay here by the front doors of the church, just for tonight? I promise, you won't see me here again.' I begged. It was still dark, and either very late, or very early in the morning. I didn't want to go tramping around the city until I had at least a plan in my head.
'Yeah, go ahead. I'll let the other guys know what's going on, so they'll check on you until the church opens up. Now I have to go with the tow truck driver to the yard to get some paperwork done.' Reaching into his left breast pocket, he withdrew a business card and handed it to me. 'If there is anything I can do, let me know. '
I took the card, thinking 'You wouldn't let me sleep in your garage, would you?' I put it in my pocket, where it joined the $10.00. 'Thanks', I said.
I stepped back onto the sidewalk and went to sit down by the doors of the church. Hugging BD, I watched Officer Hansen get into his car, start it and drive off. The tow truck driver started the truck and drove off behind the police car.
When they were gone, I unhooked the leash from the church door handle, picked up my stuff, and walked over to a nearby tree growing in the church yard. Sitting down with my back against the tree, I put the blanket over both BD and myself. BD snuggled down next to me as I watched the sky and noticed that it was twilight.