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

But when Evie’s house comes into view, all my fear and trepidation dissolves. Home,I think, surprising myself. The word comes unbidden to my mind and lingers long after I try to shake it away. “That’s it,” I whisper, awed, and Dan nods, his hand finding mine. The house looks smaller than I remember it, but there are people on the porch, cars in the yard, a bustle of activity that belies the nature of our gathering here. Anyone driving by couldn’t possibly know the sadness that clings to each of us at Evie’s passing—we’re too happy to be together again, too many children racing around, too many adults chattering like long lost friends.


My dad pulls his car onto the shoulder of the road, where the grass has been scattered with gravel in a makeshift driveway, and Dan pulls to a stop behind him. The house looms above us and I can’t shake the feeling of open arms, welcoming us.


Chapter 42