Despite the fact he was stuffed with brunch, Ben was looking forward to bringing Evan back to his own flat so they could get naked together again. Tragically, Evan first had to stop at Robert’s to fetch a pair of shin guards he’d lent him.

“It’s just that he won’t be home later and I really need them back,” Evan said, again apologizing for their detour as they entered the lobby of their mutual friend’s block of flats.

“It seems suspicious, being my birthday and all.”

Evan stopped at the lift, dropping his shoulders in defeat. “Fine, it’s not shin guards I’m fetching. It’s your gift.”

“Aha!” Ben did a victory dance. “But why’s Robert got it?”

“You’ll understand when you open it. But try not to notice when he secretively slips it to me?”

Ben crossed a finger over his heart. “I promise I’ll not see a thing.”

As they entered the lift, Evan pulled out his phone. “I’ll give Robert a quick text in case he and Liam are still undressed.”

Ben made a pouty face. “But the sight of that would make such a good present.”

When they knocked on Robert’s door, he called out, “Just a second!” Liam’s laughter followed, low and wicked.

The door swung in, and Evan gave Ben a gentle push to propel him into the flat…

…which was full of people, only one of them Liam.

“Surprise!” Ben’s friends surged to surround him.

He heard a squeak come from his own throat. “Oh my God.”

His mum stepped out of the crowd to hug him hard. “Did you think I forgot?”

“No. Maybe.” He laughed in relief. “It’s not really my birthday.”

“Of course it is. See?” She pointed at the far wall, where a colorful banner read Happy 5.75th Birthday Ben! “And you’ll never guess who’s joined us.”

He gasped. “Taylor Swift?”

Everyone laughed. Robert steered him toward his desk, where a massive computer monitor showed a face Ben hadn’t seen for six weeks.

“Dad!” Ben gripped the back of Robert’s desk chair. “It’s really you?”

“Of course.” His father sat before the screen in his combat fatigues and green beret. “How’s my lad?” he asked with a wide grin.

As they all sang “Happy Birthday,” Ben did a blissful scan of Robert’s one-room student flat, laid out much like his own. Along with Robert and Liam and Ben’s uni friends, Andrew and Colin were there, as well as—to his surprise—Fergus and John. In addition to balloons and streamers, the place was decorated with stuffed animals, including foxes, kangaroos, and what looked like a flying squirrel.

When the song ended, Robert handed Ben a lemonade and a pair of earphones. “Your da’s got fifteen minutes before he’s back on duty.” He pulled out his chair. “Have a wee chat and we’ll see you when you’re done.”

Trying to cram as many words as possible into a quarter hour, Ben updated his father on the progress of his honors dissertation and carefully deflected when asked about his wedding business. As usual, his dad couldn’t discuss his work or even where he was located. Ben told himself it didn’t matter, as long as he was safe(ish) and doing what he loved.

With a few minutes to go, Ben waved over his mum to chat in his place. After saying goodbye to his father, he got up and reached for his lemonade to wash down the lump forming in his throat.

Evan appeared at his side. “Good chat?”

“Lovely.” He took another sip. “I miss Dad.”

“I know.”

Of course he knew. Evan’s own father had been scarce most of his life. At least Ben’s parents were still happily married.

He noticed the party decorations again. “So what’s with all the animals?”

“Every guest had to bring something relating to a creature who leaps. But not frogs. Your mum said you were sick to death of the frog cliché.”

“Wait—you planned this together, the two of you?”

“Three of us, including your dad.”

Ben was speechless. Evan must have arranged all this before last night, before he’d had to reveal his job. So he’d not been forced by circumstances into a more serious relationship than he was ready for. Evan had wanted to be part of Ben’s life.

“I also got you this.” Evan took a flat square white box from his pocket.

“Ooh!” Ben lifted the box’s lid. On a bed of cotton was a bracelet of round black stones. The clasp was held by two bronze bird heads.

“A mate from my school does handmade jewelry in Orkney,” Evan said. “The birds are meant to be Odin’s ravens, Huginn and—”

“Muninn, right: Thought and Memory. Odin sent the ravens out every morning, and they were to report back to him on the news of the world.” Ben grinned. “I’ve done enough online role-playing games to know my Norse mythology.” He hugged Evan hard. “I love it! Now you must tell me your birthday so I can start planning your party, pronto.”

“It’s the ninth of November.”

“And what did you do for your last birthday, the big two-five?”

“Nothing,” Evan said flatly.

“It’s impossible to do nothing.” Ben laid the bracelet over his wrist, already musing which of his shirts it would best match.

“We’d had a tough game the day before, so I stayed home and recovered from that.”

“Did you win?” Ben fumbled with the bracelet’s clasp.

“We lost. Here, let me.” Evan set down his cup, then wrapped the bracelet around Ben’s wrist and lowered his voice. “After the match, Fergus announced his and John’s engagement.”

Ben looked up at him in horror.

“It wasn’t fun.” Evan snapped the clasp shut, then straightened Ben’s bracelet. “But now it feels like ages ago.”

“Because of me?” he asked with a playful lilt, expecting Evan to say, maybe or mostly or something equally coy and sarcastic.

Instead he looked Ben in the eye and said, “Aye. Because of you.”

After taking part in a close-quarters dance-off and busting a bunny-head-shaped piñata, Ben finally found a few minutes to eat cake with his mum.

“Last chance to eat and drink during daylight,” he told her, as if she needed reminding about the annual Bahá’í fasting period.

“Be sure to set your alarm early tomorrow and have a big breakfast.”

“Already got the sunrise and sunset schedule posted on my fridge. And in my app, of course.”

“Good idea.” She paused before asking, “So how was yesterday’s wedding?”

Ben took a moment to swallow his bite of cake before replying. She’d never asked after his work, and she must have known full well how yesterday’s wedding had gone. News of the “suspected gas leak” had been all over the telly and the internet. “Everything that was under my control went as well as could be expected.”

“Were you frightened when the police evacuated everyone?”

“I knew it was only a precaution. These things happen, you know. And the couple handled it beautifully.” Ben gave a quick cough, uncomfortable at having mentioned Lauren and Candice, but then resenting his own discomfort. He was proud of what he did, except when he was with his mother. “Anyway, the food was still good—apart from the lamb being a bit dry—and the venue agreed to extend the reception an extra two hours.”

“That’s lovely of them.” Mum stabbed at her cake without eating it. “How many more of these weddings are you planning?”

“Erm…” Ben had dreaded this conversation. “None. I’m finished with weddings.”

“Because of exams?”

“Yes.” The lie came too easily. He looked over at Evan, who seemed to be sharing a pleasant conversation with Fergus and John. Then Ben turned back to his mum. “Actually, I’m just telling people it’s because of exams. The real reason is you.”

“Oh?” She looked half pleased, half anxious.

“It’s not because you disapprove,” he said. “It’s because people in the industry have been talking. Apparently, my handling of same-sex weddings has highlighted the fact that you are not.”

Her expression clouded. “Oh.”

Ben swallowed hard, feeling stray cake crumbs scratch his throat. “Mum, I never meant to shame you. I never wanted anyone to think you were prejudiced. I just wanted to help people.”

“I know,” she said softly, staring at the floor. “You’re a good man.”

Guilt stabbed at him. He had wanted to give same-sex couples a day they’d never forget, but he’d also wanted to spite his mother, show her he was his own person. The fact his rebellion was a righteous one didn’t erase the fact he’d wanted to hurt her.

So it was down to him to bridge this gap between them. “Evan said you planned this party together.”

“Mm-hm,” she said with a faint smile.

“You must have started the day you two met—the same day the thought of me dating a man practically had you in tears.”

“Evan’s a hard one to say no to. Just like you.”

Ben was confused. “So that whole love-the-sinner-hate-the-sin routine last Sunday morning—was it all an act to make this party a bigger surprise?”

She looked aghast. “Of course not.” His mother lowered her voice. “The way I feel about you and Evan is complicated, because the situation itself is complicated.”

“I know it is.” He fought to keep the annoyance out of his voice. “I’m dealing with it.”

“Ben, there’s no loophole. The teachings are clear, which means the Bahá’í Faith’s position is clear.”

“The position could change. We can grow and evolve in our understanding. We can use our rational souls to, erm—to penetrate the mysteries of existence, like Abdu’l Bahá said.” Ben wished he’d done more Bahá’í reading lately so he could dredge up more quotes from memory. “Look at Christianity and Judaism—some of their sects embrace same-sex unions. If they can break with thousands of years of tradition, why can’t a rational, revolutionary religion like ours break with less than two hundred years’ worth?” He held up a palm in stop position. “And please explain without blaming it on our Islamic roots.”

“There’s no explaining, Ben. There’s only accepting, even when it’s hard—especially when it’s hard.” She sighed and gave him a heartbroken look. “That’s why it’s called ‘faith.’”