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 if there’s one thing I’ve learned growing up, it’s that the truth is never that glamorous. It was nothing that reeked with drama and angst, nothing spectacular, nothing out of a Steven Spielberg film. Two women, that’s all, one with child and one who would never be able to bear her own. One who simply saw a way out of a bad situation, the other who would do anything for her sister, anything at all, even if it ripped them asunder. The others caught in the middle, torn between two loyalties and in the end choosing the easiest, choosing Evie’s side simply because Jessie was gone. And Aunt Jessie is right—Evie’s death isn’t going to change that overnight. If anything, it’s managed to solidify the rift dividing this family, because Evie was the one who opened it, only she could have built a bridge to cross over and welcome her sister home.


Chapter 105