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

“Do you?” I counter, but I know the answer to thatquestion already. For a few tense moments, no one speaks, we’re drifting away from easy banter and drifting towards something darker, something mean. I wouldn’t say I started it, but I realize that I’m keeping it up, just because of the thought that looms foremost in my mind—the reason I came out here, to go talk to my dad. The longer I fool around here, the more I manage to put off thatimpending conversation. Or maybe I’m trying to build up my anger, get Caitlin and Ray pissed at me enough to steel myself for the coming confrontation with my dad.


Chapter 126