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

My head spins, my eyes are heavy, I can’t keep them open. “I’m not?” I whisper.


He shakes his head. I believe him. He kisses the back of my neck, and somewhere between his hands on my body and his breath on my skin, I fall asleep. 45: Seeing Things


I’m aware of being awake. Not waking up, exactly, but a subtle shift in consciousness, almost like coming to my senses after fainting, one second nothing and then I’m simply here, eyes closed, alive.


Chapter 151