Gene didn’t like being late and made it a point to always arrive at places earlier than required. He was shocked to find Dylan already there waiting for him when he arrived, which left Gene momentarily disoriented. Not until he approached Dylan did Gene’s confidence grow. Dylan stood near the building, looking down at his phone. The first thing Gene noticed was how much shorter he appeared. He’d replaced his oversized clothes with something more fitted and Gene couldn’t help but feel pleased at the effort Dylan had made.

As he approached Dylan, Gene held out a single red rose, drawing Dylan’s attention.

“What is this?” Dylan asked.

“A rose.”

“I can see it’s a rose. Why are you giving it to me?”

Gene looked about before looking back a Dylan and replying, “You looked like the kind of person who would like to a receive rose on a first date.”

Dylan shook his head and snatched the flower out of Gene’s hand.

“Why can’t you get it through your thick skull that this is not a date?”

Dylan’s behavior was adorable, and Gene couldn’t help smile as he marched into the government building, the flower held tightly in his hand.

When Gene had woken up early that morning, his excitement about meeting Dylan and hopefully finding Ziggy had had him feeling better than he had in months. Even his siblings noticed the change in his behaviour, and when asked about it, Gene had told them he’d met someone. He didn’t tell them who even though they begged until they were out the door and on their way to school.

Gene followed Dylan with a skip in his step and butterflies in his heart. These feelings carried Gene away and he was too far-gone to consider his foolishness. Once inside, they made their way to the computers against one wall in the large office space. The counter opposite the computers had several people waiting for service, but Gene hoped they could find what they were after without needing to ask.

Dylan pulled out a chair and sat down. He reached over and pulled the chair next to him closer for Gene to sit in. This pleased Gene. As he sat down, he commented, “Such a gentleman.”

Dylan glared at him, then turned back towards the computer and told him, “I asked some people and apparently we can search birth notices. I’m assuming Ziggy is older than us. I say we start with birth notices the year we were born and work our way back.”

Gene sensed Dylan’s annoyance wasn’t as bad as he’d made it out to be. It wasn’t something Gene could explain, but when he was with Dylan, it wasn’t a bad experience at all.

“The old man said his son graduated five years ago.”

“That might put him in his early twenties now. We can start from twenty years ago.”

“That’s a great idea. Thank you for helping me.”

“Did I even have a choice?”

For a brief moment, Gene considered his actions improper and perhaps there was still time to allow Dylan a chance to back out, but Gene couldn’t do it. Instead, the side of him that wanted to tease Dylan took over.

“Of course you did. I could have waited until you were free next week.”

Dylan glared at Gene. “The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can go back to studying.”

Dylan’s tone didn’t match the words coming from his mouth. He wasn’t angry or annoyed, and Gene thought that if they talked more, it might allow Dylan the opportunity to relax more.

“What are you studying?” Gene inquired.

“Law,” Dylan replied.

“You must be smart.”

Dylan shrugged without replying. With a click on the link, Dylan found the page they needed to search. Gene sat back in his chair and watched Dylan out the corner of his eye. Dylan selected the year and Gene noted it was the same year he was born. Gene casually mentioned this to Dylan.

“Me, too,” Dylan replied.

“We were both born in the same year! When’s your birthday?” Gene asked.

“November 6th.”

“Mine’s June 23rd.”

Dylan selected the criteria of their search. He was right to say they needed a surname, but he was able to get around the problem by selecting the year and location of the birth. Although this gave them a list of every child born in that year, it meant they had to skim through the lists until they found any children born called Ziggy. Gene realised how impossible it would have been if he were looking by himself. A quick glance at Dylan focusing on the screen reinforced that Gene’s decision to approach Dylan had been right.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” Gene asked as Dylan scrolled through the pages, rapidly searching.

“An older sister,” he replied absentmindedly.

“I have four younger brothers and sisters. My father is Italian and from a big family. He migrated here when he was in his early twenties and met my mother. It wasn’t planned but there’s a big gap between me and my younger siblings, so I’m more like a father figure to them now that he’s gone.”

“Where did your dad go?” Dylan asked without looking away from the screen.

“He died a few years back.”

Only then did Dylan look at Gene.

“I’m sorry your father died.”

“Thank you. He was a good man and I miss him.”

Dylan gave Gene an awkward pat on his arm before returning to his search. Gene wanted nothing more than to hug him. With no luck with the year they were born, Dylan slowly worked his way back through the years. The first Ziggy mentioned was four years prior to their births. Dylan removed a notebook and pen from his bag and handed it to Gene as he read out the details of the birth notice. With the parent’s name, Gene was sure he would have a better chance finding the Ziggy he was looking for.

They found another four Ziggys going back ten years before Dylan called it quits. They had been there for over three hours and Gene was extremely excited about the five names written down.

“So now what?” Gene asked as they left the building.

“You have the names. It should be as simple as looking them up in the phone book and seeing if you can find them.”

“Oh, I realise that. I meant what do you want to do now?”

It hadn’t gone unnoticed by Gene that Dylan was still holding the rose Gene had given to him.

“I have a ton of studying to get done, so I’m heading back to the library.”

“So I’ll call you, then, when I know more,” Gene replied as he followed Dylan down the street.

“No need. You should be able to find what you’re looking for now without my help.”

“That’s okay, I know your curiosity will get the better of you, so I’ll call you when I have something, if not before.”

Dylan shook his head, knowing no amount of arguing would change Gene’s mind.

“Fine. Now goodbye. I have to go.”

Gene stopped walking beside Dylan, watching as he continued on his way. Although Dylan never looked back, Gene waited until he was out of sight before turning away. It was difficult to understand if Dylan saw Gene as anything but annoying, but Gene ignored the conflicting thoughts, as he wasn’t ready to entertain defeat. With a few hours left before he was supposed to work, Gene figured it wouldn’t hurt to get there early.

Even if Ted didn’t need him there, he could hang out in the back room looking up the names in the phone book. And if that didn’t shed any light, he could always ask Ted if he could use the computer and look on the internet. Filled with a feeling of satisfaction, Gene made his way to work. He had not felt fatigued at all during the time he’d spent with Dylan. Sure, they had been sitting while researching, but still. He had not experienced exhaustion from it. It gave him a sense of achievement that in some small way he was making progress.

When Gene arrived at the bookshop, he found Ted busy with customers. Gene gave him a nod and hung around until the customers left.

“You’re in early. Didn’t I say you didn’t need to be in early?”

“Yes, but I was nearby, and I wanted to look up a few things in the phone book, so here I am. How’s Mary?” Gene asked.

Ted ran a hand through his hair and replied with a sigh, “Tired. It really took a lot out of her his time. She’s being really strong about it, but I’m worried about her.”

“She’s fine, though, isn’t she? The birth didn’t do anything bad to her.”

“No, no, nothing like that. She’s fine as long as she rests and takes it easy. But you know Mary, she’ll try getting straight back into things and I’m worried she might overdo it.”

“Should I talk to her? I know only too well what happens to your body if you overdo things for too long.”

Ted looked at Gene and, smiling, said, “Yes, you have had that experience. I’ll speak to her, but maybe when she comes past with Madden you could mention it to her about taking it easy.”

“Sure, I can do that. It’s important that she looks after herself.”

“Yes. She does tend to go overboard.”

“Taking the two weeks off will help, and if you need to take more time off, I’m happy to help out.” Gene was looking forward to working the two full weeks. It meant he had a place to go in the mornings rather than roaming around the city before work started.

“Thanks, Gene. Two weeks should be fine. I don’t won’t to be worrying about you, either. The minute it gets too much for you, you tell me straight away.”

Ted came from behind the counter to stand with Gene. Ted had taken on the role of Gene’s father figure after John had passed away and Gene was grateful for Ted being there.

“Don’t worry about me, Ted. I’ll contact you if anything happens. Besides, I think this will be good for me, show me where I am with my recovery. I still get tired easily, but I need to start testing my ability to work full-time again.”

“Yes, that had crossed my mind.”

A customer came into the shop and both Gene and Ted greeted them before Gene asked, “I’m going to be in the office before I start. Is that all right?”

“Yes. You said you wanted to look something up?” Ted asked.

“Yes, I’m trying to find someone.”

“Is this something to do with what you asked me earlier?”

“Yes. My new friend Dylan helped me, but now I need to search addresses and hopefully that will help me find the person I’m looking for.”

“A new friend?” Ted asked with a smile, “What’s he like? Would we approve of him?”

Gene came out to his parents only weeks before his father passed away. Although his father had been accepting, his mother had deemed it inappropriate to have told his father. She would have preferred he didn’t know so that he didn’t think differently of Gene. But his father never thought any less of Gene—it was only Gene’s mother who had an issue. They’d never discussed it again after his father died. It wasn’t until Gene started working with Ted and Mary that he had been able to tell someone else without fear of discrimination.

Both had been accepting, and although Mary often asked Gene about boys, he’d never mentioned meeting any. The news that Gene met a boy would be hot topic of discussion between Ted and Mary that night and Gene was obliged to tell Ted.

“His name is Dylan. I met him Wednesday at the university library. He’s studying law and he’s the same age as me. He’s really cute and I want to get to know him better.”

“Law?” Ted asked.

“Yes, he’s studying hard right now for exams. So he doesn’t have a lot of time, but he’s helping me to find this person I’m looking for.”

“So who are you looking for?” Ted asked as he went back around the counter as the customer came back to the register complete their purchase.

“Someone called Ziggy, but I’ll tell you about it later. I’ll be out the back.”

“Okay,” Ted replied as he served the customer.

Gene made his way to the back of the shop and, after finding the phone book, settled down and looked for the names of the people on his list.