When Michael Knapp brings his lover Dan Biggs home to meet his parents, he doesn't expect things to go smoothly. His mother's been trying to marry him off for years, and sometimes he isn't even sure his father knows he exists. He has always felt like the shadow son, competing with his terminally stupid older brother and smart-mouthed little sister for his parents' attention. Coming out to them over dinner seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally get noticed.<br><br>But an unexpected phone call interrupts his announcement -- Aunt Evie, the family matriarch, is dead. With Dan in tow, Michael follows his family to Sugar Creek, where he spent his summers growing up, to prepare for the funeral.<br><br>Amid an overabundance of memories and relatives, Michael's world begins to slip. His dysfunctional family, Evie's death, and an old friend's confession all threaten to smother him. Worse, in his grief and confusion he seems determined to inadvertently push everyone away, including his lover. Can he and Dan move beyond his family and his past to a new life together, before Michael's insecurities tear them apart?

It's All Relative

Dad sits in his recliner, staring at the screen, but he’s not laughing and during commercials, I see him glance at me. At Dan’s arm around me. What I wouldn’t give to know what he’s thinking. Did he even hear what I said? Maybe I should say it again, just to get a rise out of him. Mom sort of hogged the spotlight in the dining room. Now she’s in the kitchen, phone in one hand as she washes up the dishes, and over the running water I can catch phrases of her conversation—she’s running down the relative list in her address book, calling everyone she knows to share the bad news. Not about me, thank God. Aunt Evie. As if she might actually call someone her sister missed.


Chapter 7