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

When I get out of the car, Caitlin sticks a foot out to keep me from shutting the door, then extracts herself from the back seat like a newborn hatching from an egg. “Damn,” she mutters, stomping her feet in the high grass. “Was it always this long before?”


A glance at my watch shows us actually ahead of schedule—it’s barely been seven hours since we left the house this morning. “We’re making good time,” I tell her. “We might even get there before Mom and Dad.”


“Probably not,” Caitlin says. She leans against the car, her arms folded on the roof, and watches Dan fiddle with the key in the trunk. “Dad doesn’t stop unless he’sthe one who has to take a piss.” I swat at her playfully, but she moves out of reach. “What? It’s true.”


Chapter 37