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

As if my dad realizes the car he’s just run off the road belongs to his own son, he comes to a complete stop in the middle of the road and sits there, idling. “Chinese fire drill time,” Caitlin says, unstrapping her seat belt. Then she’s crawling past me into the back seat of the car, the keys still in the ignition. “‘Scuse me, Danny boy. Scoot it over.” Plopping down beside my lover, she shakes the hair from her face and stares out the window at the car. “God, do you think Mom saw me? She’ll have a shitfit if she finds out.”


“I don’t plan to tell her,” I say. Dan climbs over the gear shaft and sinks into the driver’s seat, buckles the seat belt across his waist, and gives me a tight smile that I can’t seem to match. Instead, I stare out the window and run a hand down my face, trying to wipe away the emotions trembling through me. I can just hear my mom’s reaction now, if she finds out I let Caitlin drive? Oh shit.


Chapter 40