I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND CALLED LLOYD PATTERSON. She tells me she wants to confess to the Jehovah’s Witness elders that we have committed sexual immorality. I’m already disfellowshipped but the congregation still speaks to me. My dad and mum find out about me and Lloyd and they kick me out of their home. I have nowhere to live.
I am at a meeting at the Kingdom Hall. The governing body is there. I am speaking to Stephen Lett and Anthony Morris. I tell them about me and my girlfriend. My dad and mum are standing at the front of the Kingdom Hall telling the congregation about our sin. I walk up to them and face the congregation. I wave goodbye to everyone and leave the hall.
There is a blizzard outside. I am walking along in the snow with no shoes on. My dad and mum drive by and look at me as they pass. I give them the middle finger. I continue walking into town. I go into a garage and ask a car mechanic if they have any available rooms above their workshop. He says they don’t, but he gives me a pile of index cards with addresses of flats to let on.
The first address is a haberdashery. I enter the store and speak to a lady. I tell her my story. I say I don’t want to be homeless and start crying. The lady says she has a flat above the shop I could live in, but it needs painting first. I tell her I will paint it myself. I go upstairs and see three flats and a communal toilet painted blue and white. I start to paint the walls white. I tell the lady I don’t like Flat 1 because the number on the door is too big. I tell her the same about Flat number 2. The third flat has a sign on the door that reads “Lee”. I ask the lady if she has anything else I could view.
The lady and I are wading across a loch. The water only comes up to our ankles. She tells me that the tide goes out in the afternoon. We come to a row of wooden-fronted shops. They are all painted blue and pink. There is a small cabin with a sign that reads “Apt. 6”. There is a door next to it with the number 106 on it.
We enter apartment 6. The walls are covered in flowery blue and pink wallpaper. I say I don’t like it, but I’m happy to redecorate. The ceiling is really low. Even if I sit down my head is still touching the ceiling. I tell the lady I like it. She says the rent is £300 per month. I say, “I’ll take it” and “My friend Colin will like it when he comes to visit me.” Colin’s wife, Tracey, is outside the door. She shouts, “I’ll see you tomorrow!”