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

Before Bobbie can answer, he stands to pull a chair out for her, then slides back into the seat next to mine only after she’s seated. Two points,I think. He’s already won her heart, I can see that when she smiles warmly at him. “Michael,” she says, unwrapping her own sandwich, “keep this one, you hear me?”


I laugh and nudge Dan with my elbow. “Yeah,” I say, teasing. “I think I will. I’ve grown used to him.”


Embarrassed, Dan ducks his head and bites into his sandwich. “Keep talking,” he mumbles. “I’ll get you back, just you wait.”


My Aunt Bobbie laughs. “That sounds like a promise to me.”


Trying to ease away from the impending subject of my love life, I ask my aunt, “So everyone’s staying at the house?” When she nods, I look around and ask the inevitable, “Where?”


Chapter 51