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

THEY’D MANAGED TO get an early start the next morning, and Mickey pulled into their driveway a little after ten.


When they were in the house, Chris said, “Mickey, it’s Christmas Eve, and Publix will be jammed. Can you watch the boys while I go shopping?”


“Go ahead, babe, I’ve got a handle on things here,” Mickey said.


Chris went to the garage and soon had Mabel on the way to Publix. His fears had been correct—it seemed like everybody and his brother was frantically doing their last-minute grocery shopping in Publix. It took him quite a while, but he finally had his purchases in the car. An idea came to him, so he called Mickey.


“Hi, babe, what’s up?” Mickey said.


“You haven’t done anything about feeding the kids have you?”


“I’m waiting for the resident chef, as usual.”


“Well, the resident chef is going to be busy, so he’s going to run through Chick-fil-A on the way home. It’s just a block from Publix, so I’ll see you in a few.”


Chapter 67