Wearing a soft red fleece jacket and tiny gold hoop earrings, Alexi Rainier doesn't look out of place walking through the Whole Foods in West Vancouver.

"Most of them, I don't think, have a clue [about my situation] … It would be deadly embarrassing."

The truth is Alexi Rainier is 79 and lives in a van, parked just outside in the parking lot.

Rainier, along with her 62-year-old companion Sarah Watson, have been living in the old model Ford minivan borrowed from friends since May. The two women have lived together for the past few years out of necessity.

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