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

She shakes her head. “She didn’t give me a chance,” she whispers. “I walk in and she’s all like you’re not wearing that, and what am I supposed to say?” One corner of her mouth twitches in an attempt to smile. “Gee, Mom, what was I thinking? Let me go change.”


“Tell her Evie bought it for you,” I suggest. She’ll see why Caitlin wants to wear it, then, and any protest will dissolve in guilt.


But Caitlin wipes her face, smudging eyeliner into two lines that give her cat’s eyes, and declares, “I ain’t telling her shit! This is my fucking dress, I’ll wear it if I want to.”


Somehow I don’t think I will be able to convince her otherwise. Lowering her voice, she mumbles, “Evie said she liked this color on me.”


“It’s very pretty,” I agree. I can’t think of anything else to say. 50: Getting Ready to Go


Chapter 169