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

The memory hits me hard—despite how far along she was in the pregnancy that year, Mom still insisted on visiting Evie. Everyone laughed when we arrived, joked that they didn’t think we’d make it, and with a rare smile, my dad admitted that there was a time or two driving down those back country roads when he thought the baby was going to come no matter what. That first night here, after the traditional welcoming dinner over the grill, Mom complained of gas. Two hours later, it was labor. The next morning, Evie woke Ray and me and Stephen, spending the night, to drive us into Franklin to see the new baby. In that pre-dawn world, as we sped down the road, Grosso’s had been open. Now it’s closed.


Chapter 177