Whoever it was who had left the blanket and gloves,Dec was extremely grateful to them.

He didn't shiver quite so much as he fell asleep that night,so he wished he could have thanked them,but he didn't even know if it was the same person who had left both items.

"Slim pickings" Betty frowned as she sat down next to Dec the following morning.

"Never mind Betty" Dec smiled "too cold for many people to be out and about I guess"

"Yeah" Betty nodded "all curled up nice and cosy in front of their fires"

"Yeah" Dec nodded sadly.

"Found this though" Betty announced proudly as she took a smartie tube out of her pocket and tipped the contents into the palm of her hand.

"Two left" she observed "you want orange or green?"

"Orange please" Dec smiled.

"Suck it slowly" Betty advised as Dec placed the tiny chocolate in his mouth "it'll last longer"

Dec did exactly as Betty suggested,he couldn't remember the last time he'd had chocolate and it tasted so good as it melted slowly on his tongue.

"Thanks Betty" Dec smiled gratefully "that was amazing"

"You're very welcome sweetheart" Betty smiled.

"My daughter loves smarties" Dec said sadly,more to himself than to Betty.

"Most kids do" Betty nodded "want to tell me about her"

Dec shook his head as he fought to hold back tears.

"Ok,no hurry" Betty smiled.

"Look at these" Dec beamed,quickly changing the subject and holding up his new gloves.

"Ooh,nice" Betty laughed "someone's got a soft spot for you I think,maybe a gorgeous,leggy blonde?"

"Don't be daft" Dec giggled.

"Well,I'm glad someone is looking out for you" Betty smiled,before patting Dec on the leg and making her way off to start her daily ritual.

Dec also went about his own ritual.

Freshening up in the toilets and basically just begging...that was a full time job.

As usual,the day was long and boring and once evening arrived,he went off to sit on his favourite bench and watch the world go by.

As he returned to his patch a couple of hours later,he was surprised to see a smartly dressed man leaning over his belongings.

'What the hell does he want?' Dec thought to himself,he obviously wasn't homeless by the look of him,so what possible interest could Dec be to him?

"Can I help you?" Dec asked in a rather unfriendly tone as he approached the man from behind.

"Oh...er...sorry" the man replied startled at Dec's sudden appearance.

"What are you doing?" Dec demanded to know.

The man held the woolly hat that he was clutching in one hand up towards Dec's face.

"Just thought you might like this" he said sheepishly.

"Wait a minute" Dec replied "are you the one who's been leaving me things?the blanket?the gloves?now a hat?"

"Guilty as charged" the man smiled.

"Buy why?" Dec asked confused.

"Don't know really" the man shrugged "I've walked past you a hundred times and you just seem like you need a little bit more help than the others"

"How so?" Dec frowned.

"Not sure" the man mumbled "it's just that they all seem to be ok with their situation,maybe even settled if that's possible,but you..."

"Go on" Dec prompted.

"Well" the man smiled sympathetically "you seem a bit... lost...scared...like you need a friend maybe"

Dec couldn't deny that all of that was true.

"I'm Anthony" the pleasant man said "or Ant if you prefer,would you like this?"

He held the hat up once again.

"I'm not a charity case you know" Dec retorted grumpily.

"Well" Ant frowned "actually,isn't that exactly what you are?you know?out begging on the street for pennies"

Dec let out an obvious sigh,he couldn't really argue with that.

"So how come you only bring me stuff when I'm not here?" Dec asked "bit weird ain't it?"

"I'm not some mystical gift fairy you know" Ant laughed "you just didn't happen to be here when I passed and you're not the only homeless person I've ever helped out"

"Fair enough" Dec mumbled,while reaching out to take the hat "I'm Declan...Dec"

"Nice to meet you Dec" Ant smiled.

Dec smiled at Ant "sorry for being a bit grumpy,the cold and dark gets to me ya know?"

"I can imagine" Ant nodded sympathetically.

"Why are you out so late then?" Dec asked,eyeing Ant's smart suit.

"Just finished work?" Ant replied.

"This late?" Dec asked surprised.

"Yeah" Ant nodded "I practically work every hour God sends"

"What do you do?" Dec asked curiously.

"Senior partner in a law firm" Ant replied.

"That sounds...boring" Dec grinned.

"To a lot of people I don't doubt it" Ant smiled "but I like it and it's well paid"

Ant immediately regretted those words the minute they left his mouth.

"I...I...just mean it's a good job" Ant stuttered.

"It's ok" Dec smiled,now warming to the man who was showing him such kindness "just because I've fallen on hard times,doesn't mean I wish any ill will on anyone else"

Ant nodded appreciatively at Dec's understanding,he wasn't sure he would be as decent about it if he was in Dec's position.

"Are you a millionaire?" Dec grinned.

"Ha,I wish" Ant replied "no,I'm not a millionaire,but I'm comfortable"

"Very nice" Dec smiled.

"Well,it's been nice chatting to you" Ant smiled "but I'd better be heading off now"

"Ok" Dec smiled "and thank you so much for all this stuff you've given me,it was very kind of you"

"No problem at all" Ant replied "take care of yourself"

Dec watched curiously as Ant walked away,wondering where he would be heading off to and how he was getting there at this late hour.

Probably a black cab to Hampstead or Chiswick Dec mused,homes of the rich and famous.

He did feel a little bit guilty for being a little bit abrupt with Ant,he had wanted to know who the person was who left the gifts after all,but he was pretty sure that Ant wouldn't give it a second though.

Although as he snuggled up under his blanket that night,warmer than he'd felt for ages thanks to his hat and gloves,he did smile at the thought of what Ant did for him.

The following evening,he didn't go off to people watch from the bench like he usually did,he didn't want to miss Ant if he came by again.

The fact of the matter was,no one other than Betty really ever spoke to Dec and he was lonely.

He'd always been such a sociable person,loving to be in the company of family and friends,that was before it all went horribly wrong.

He had really enjoyed that little exchange with Ant and hoped he could chat with him again and this time he would be a lot friendlier from the beginning.

As he watched a couple go by,holding hands and laughing,which made him sad for what he had lost,he was suddenly startled out of his thoughts.

"Hi Dec" Ant smiled.

"Oh,hi Ant" Dec replied "wasn't expecting to see you today"

"And why not?" Ant laughed "told you I come past every day when I finish work didn't I?"

"Oh yeah" Dec nodded "just forgot"

Dec didn't know why he was lying to Ant,he just was.

Maybe he didn't really want Ant to know that he had been looking forward to seeing him,it made him feel needy.

"Got you a coffee" Ant smiled and handed the hot drink to Dec.

"Thank you" Dec beamed while gratefully accepting it.

"And a sandwich" Ant beamed "don't know what you like so just got you cheese and cucumber,everyone likes cheese don't they?"

"No,I hate it" Dec said.

"Oh...sorry" Ant frowned "I'll go and get another..."

"I'm kidding" Dec laughed "give it here"

"Very funny" Ant shook his head playfully while passing the sandwich to Dec.

"Thanks for this" Dec smiled as he hungrily tucked into his meal "I really appreciate it,wanna sit down?"

Dec patted the kerb next to him.

"I'm afraid my sofa is a bit hard though" he giggled.

Ant accepted Dec's invitation and perched himself on the edge of the kerb,sipping on his own coffee.

"Watch you don't get your suit dirty though" Dec warned.

"Ah,don't worry" Ant smiled "I've got plenty more at home"

"I can imagine" Dec replied,slightly sarcastically.

"So Ant?" He continued "how come you're being so nice to me?"

"Doesn't cost anything to be kind" Ant pointed out.

"Well" Dec laughed "unless you include the cost of a coffee and a sandwich and a blanket and a hat and a pair of..."

"Ok,ok,I get it" Ant grinned "you know what I mean though?"

"Yeah" Dec nodded "you've obviously got a good heart"

"I hope so" Ant smiled shyly,feeling his cheeks redden.

"You must have a nice life?" Dec pondered "apart from the ridiculously long hours you work?"

"Yeah,I guess I do" Ant nodded "and I don't mind the long hours,I'm a bit of a workaholic,gives me something to focus on,rather than sitting at home twiddling my thumbs"

"No Mrs Ant at home to keep you busy then?" Dec asked.

"Nah" Ant frowned "just came out of a long term relationship,not ready for anything else yet"

"Oh,I'm sorry" Dec cringed a bit at the thought he might be prying into Ant's private life "just tell me to mind my own business"

"Hey" Ant laughed "it's fine honestly,it's nice to have someone to chat to other than work colleagues,who are basically incapable of talking about anything but work"

"That's alright then" Dec smiled "so where do you live?"

"Chiswick" Ant announced.

"I knew it" Dec replied triumphantly.

"What?" Ant asked confused.

"After we spoke last night" Dec replied "I had a bet with myself about where you lived"

"And you said Chiswick?" Ant laughed.

"Chiswick or Hampstead" Dec beamed "knew it would be somewhere nice"

"Oh yeah?" Ant grinned "how did you know that?"

"Purely based on the posh suit you were wearing" Dec giggled.

"Yeah,cos no one outside of Hampstead and Chiswick ever wears a suit do they?" Ant laughed.

"Dunno" Dec shrugged.

"So,that's enough about me" Ant smiled "how about you tell me something about you?how did you happen to end up living on the streets?"

Dec was quiet for a moment,he didn't like talking about what had happened to him,he didn't even like thinking about it,it upset him too much.

But he liked Ant.

He seemed like he would be a good listener and an understanding person to pour his heart out to and Ant had told Dec a bit about his life after all.

So Dec took a deep breath in and prepared to tell his sorry tale!