After the death of their mother, Chris Bottoms adopted his little brother Ted, and Chris and his partner Mickey settle down to raise him. Through paperwork left by his mother, Chris learns his brother has a deeply troubled past.<br><br>During a Thanksgiving visit with Chris and Ted’s maternal grandparents, they find out Chris’s grandfather allowed his friends to abuse Ted, so Chris severs all ties with that side of his family.<br><br>Through his job at a hospital, Chris hears of a surgeon at the Mayo Clinic who has developed an ileostomy reversal technique that has proven successful in cases like his. When Chris enters the clinic for preliminary testing, he learns he is a good candidate for the procedure and schedules the first of two surgeries for the beginning of January. A visit from estranged relatives while he’s in the hospital leaves him wondering how many secrets one family can have.

Bottoms Out

As they drove home, Mickey said, “Chris, are you sure you want to go through with this? I know how much you love your work.”


“And you also know how much I despise having to deal with this fucking bag two or three times a day. Getting rid of it is much more important to me than keeping my job. Besides, I can always work as a regular RN; that is, if wearing Depends doesn’t solve the problem.”


“You wouldn’t make as much money.”


“There’s one thing that we absolutely must take care of before this surgery happens, that is, if it happens.”


“We never got around to signing all those documents that Mitch prepared. If, God forbid, something happens to me, I don’t want Ted winding up with anybody else.”


“That makes sense. Make it so, Number One.”


“As soon as his office is open tomorrow, I’ll give him a call.”


Chapter 48