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

“Not quite, but we’re getting there,” Mickey said. “You’ll know we’re really close because we’ll leave the interstate. Before we do that, however, we’re going to have lunch.”


Mickey left I-4 at Sand Lake Road, and a few minutes later they pulled into the parking lot of a large McDonald’s.


“You boys will like this McDonald’s,” Chris said. “It’s supposed to have the biggest PlayPlace of them all.”


They went inside the restaurant, and Chris waited in line to order their lunch while Mickey supervised the two boys in the PlayPlace.


The boys were having so much fun that Mickey had to drag them away from the PlayPlace when Chris set their food on a table.


Chapter 65