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

So where will Penny go to find sanctuary? This has never been a vacation for her, she lives here, it’s herreality. Aunt Evie’s presence is stamped into every street, every house, every tree and rock, how can Penny escape that? Maybe someone will take her, hopefullythey will, one of our aunts or my mother even, someone who lives far enough away from the tiny town and its incessant creek bubbling down through the years. She can’t stay here. I see it in her dull eyes, her trembling chin. She simply can’t stay.


Chapter 181