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

Caitlin sinks into the seat beside her before Ray can, and hits him once more. The look on Ray’s face is priceless, and Dan’s snickering into his hand now, I’m giggling stupidly. There’s no sport in it really, like shooting fish in a barrel, but Caitlin keeps it up and Ray can’t seem to grasp the concept of trying to get away. “Mom—”


“Raymond, move,” Mom says, suddenly angry. “Go sit somewhere else and leave her alone.”


He stands there a moment longer and frowns around the room. When he sees the seat next to me, Dan groans. “Ray, no—” I say as my brother squeezes down next to me. “It fits two people, not three, moron. It’s a loveseat, not a ménage à troisseat.”


Pouting, Ray asks, “What’s that mean?”


“It means get up,” I tell him, giving him a shove.


Chapter 58