Any potential awkward silence was negated by Sid and Trev, who tore through the middle of us and jumped straight into the bush behind Chrissie. They were immediately followed by two policemen who stopped just behind Denzil, both clearly out breath.

"Where are they?" one of them demanded of Jimmy.

"Who?" Jimmy replied nonchalantly.

"You know who," the policeman shot back, glaring at Jimmy as if he could stare the information out of him.

"We've not seen anyone officer," Chrissie joined in, drawing the policeman's attention from Jimmy, "but if there's anything else I can do for you...?"

The policeman, who was the older of the two, obviously recognised Chrissie and blushed wildly.

"I...err...no thank you. We'll be on our way. Just behave yourselves, ok?" he stumbled before turning away and bundling the other, younger, policeman off down the path.

"What we giving up for?" I could hear the younger one complaining, "We nearly had them then!"

Sid and Trev emerged from the bush and sat cross-legged on the floor, making our little group a circle once more.

"Cheers Chris," they said in unison.

"That's alright lads. Don't make a habit of it though, will ya? What you been up to anyway? Not thieving again?"

"No," they both replied,"Look - here's Jimmy's pasty all paid for and everything." Sid threw a paper bag into Jimmy's lap. He took out the pasty, tore it in two and gave me the smaller bit. Trev took a plastic bag from his pocket and took out four nail varnish pots, lining them up neatly infront of him, "It just meant that we couldn't afford these then," he said with a smile. Chrissie shook her head.

"What's the deal with that copper then?" Jimmy's mind had obviously been on other things, "Cos he took off quicker than Denz would if you showed him a bar of soap."

"Love?" Chrissie asked.

"Yeah, love," Denzil replied solemly.

"Well come on then!" cried an impatieint Jimmy. "Who was she? Where is she now? Why did she dump you?"

Denzil looked up at Jimmy. "He wasn't a she, he was a he. He's dead now and he didn't dump me. I dumped him."

The shock and excitement on Jimmy's face was quite amazing. It was as if he'd just discovered the best secret in the world. "You're a fag? Jesus fuck! Denzil's a fucking faggot! Who would have believed it?" he screamed.

"Oi!" Crissie shouted at him, "bit of respect, yeah? Who gives a fuck which way Denz swings? Fact is he's lost someone and it obviously still hurts, so shut it yeah?"

"Sorry Denz," Jimmy said sheepishly. "I just never thought..."

"Yeah well you rarely do," Chrissie cut him off.

"It doesn't mattter now anyway," Denzil said, "Fact is he's dead and I'm here and there's not a lot anyone can do about it now."

After a few moments of reflective silence, Jimmy started up again. "That still doesn't really answer my question though, Denz. How did you get from NASA to here?"

"The thing is," Denzil began, "NASA doesn't like making geeky technicians into astronauts. NASA likes even less making gay geeky technicians into astronauts. They made me finish my relationship with Frank before they would let me on the mission. I thought we'd be alright. I thought we would get back together as soon as it was over and I came home. But I couldn't explain that to him. I was in Russia and he was back here. Our phones were tapped, our letters screened. I had to finish it. I couldn't explain to him that I loved him more than anything and that as soon as I was out of there he would be the first person I would come and see and tell him how much I loved him. He didn't know that. I wasn't allowed to tell him," Denzil stared into the ground, his eyes visibly heavy with tears.

"Ok,"Jimmy was obviously losing patience quite rapidly and urged Denzil on, "so you got back and told him then, yeah?"

"I would have done," Denzil replied, "but I couldn't."

"Why not?" Jimmy snapped. Chrissie shot a look at him.

"Because he was dead, alright?" Denzil looked up at Jimmy, tears now runing down his face, "he couldn't stand the thought of life without me and he killed himself, ok? While I was fucking around with oxygen systems in space, he was filling a bath and plugging a hairdyer in. And believe it or not, that kind of plays on my mind a little bit, ok? That's why I'm sitting here with you, you little cunt."

The group's reaction to Denzil's story, and his unbashful urinating, was one of mild disinterest. I got the feeling that these were just things to be tolerated about Denzil and it was best for everyone if he was just left to get on and do them - be that story telling or pissing.

Sid and Trev stood up and announced that they were going to find some breakfast and asked if anyone wanted anything. After a quick glance at her cider level, Chrissie confirmed that she didn't. Jimmy asked for a 'pasty or something' and Denzil, who had now finished emptying his bladder, was sulking quietly in the corner and didn't answer.

As the twins shuffled off towards the high street with a mischevious glint in their eyes, Jimmy took a sudden interest in Denzil's space story.

"So, Denz, let's have a look at that badge then."

Denzil eyed him suspiciously from his hunched, sulking position. "Oh, now you're fucking interested, are ya?"

"Yeah, come on man. 'Course I'm interested. Give us a look."

Denzil reached into his pocket and passed the sew-on badge to Jimmy. It looked surprisingly clean, considering where it had come from. "NASA Space Exploration," Jimmy read aloud, "Voyager 23 crew, 1988," he nodded at Denzil, keen to show that he was impressed. "So what I don't get," he continued after a few moments consideration, "is how a NASA engineer and astronaut ends up drinking shit wine in a park with me at ten o'clock in the fucking morning."

Denzil reached out for the return if his badge and looked up at Jimmy. "It's quite simple," he said calmly, "love."

Denzil's story had obviously been told a number of times before. His dramatic pauses were just long enough and he had a sort of act that went along with it - lots of arm waving and theatrical voice raising. The general gist of it is that Denzil used to work for NASA at a secret base in Russia. Sorry, I should have said 'allegedly' in there because, to be honest, I didn't believe a word he said. The thing in his pocket was a sew-on badge, apparently from his astronaut jump suit. Not the space suit things you see them in when they're floating around - it wouldn't be very sensible to go sticking needles into one of those - but the things you wear under them.

Anyway, he was never really meant to actually man the shuttle, he was, apparently, more of a techie guy who worked on the shuttle systems on the ground. It ended up that he was the only one who knew how to work a specific bit of equipment - something to do with the oxygen in the cabin thing - so he went up with them. They lied to the press, because they like you to believe that people who go to space are highly intelligent, superior human beings. They told everyone he was a former fighter pilot when, in fact, he was just a geek who knew how to keep the proper astronauts alive.

When he was done Denzil sat down on the bench and reached for his cider.

"You know," Chrissie said, "I've heard that story a hundred times, Denz, and I still don't believe a fucking word of it!"

"Yeah, well you wouldn't would you," Denzil retorted, "None of you fuckers have got a clue have you?" He was standing back up again now, "Sitting around here every day rotting your livers. What have you ever fucking well done, eh? " He was shouting now, "Eh? Nothing, that's what!" And with that he triumphantly undid his flies and started pissing on the floor.

"Fuck off! Go on - piss off you little cock sucker!" I'd only met Denzil about five minutes before and I wasn't sure I liked him too much. As he spat his insults at Jimmy, sitting next to me, I could smell the cider on his breath and the encrusted, sweaty stench that emanated from his clothing. I say clothing, it looked more like several layers of oil covering his hunched body.

"Come on Denz," Chrissie emplored, "you gotta chill man."

"I just ain't having little pricks like that thinking they can come here and tell what I have and haven't done."

Jimmy rolled his eyes and took a big slug from his bottle of cheap wine. We were sitting in the park, around their bench. Mums pushing prams walked by, giving our group a wide berth. Some even changed their route to the shops just to avoid us. Along with Denzil, Chrissie, Jimmy and me, there was also Sid and Trev, thirty-something twins with gap-toothed smiles and hair that stuck to their foreheads like honey to a spoon. Everyone had a big bottle of something, either cradled in one arm or within inches of their reach. It was 9.30am.

"The thing is," Jimmy started philosophically, "no fucker's gonna believe you've been to the moon, Denz. I mean, look at ya. Fuck - Sid here doesn't even believe you and he's a gullible cunt!" Sid and Trev's laughter blurted out of them. Denzil stood slowly and reached deep into his pocket. Sid and Trev stopped laughing, realising Denzil was not in a playful mood. Denzil got up on to the bench, facing us like an actor would their audience from a stage. He removed his hand from his pocket, conceiling whatever it was he had taken out. He looked up slowly, his stare meeting each of our eyes in turn, making sure we were paying full attention. Then he began.