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

“Michael, I’m not playing,” she warned. She turned around in the front seat so we could see she meant business, but I sat behind her and all I saw was half of her face, one angry eye, one corner of her mouth drawn down in a wicked frown, and I threw myself against the side of the car to be as far away from her as I could without getting out. “I don’t want to hear anythingelse, got that?” I nodded quickly. Ray, not realizing she was talking to him, too, had to be prompted. “Both of you. Or we’re going home.”


Chapter 171