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

“I’ll go get my sister,” Sarah said.


She left the room for a couple of minutes and returned with Parah at her heels.


“Oh my,” Parah said. “That’s a huge present, and you want us to open it tonight?”


“Can you set it on the coffee table?” Sarah said. “We aren’t very good at sitting on the floor these days.”


“Yeah,” Parah said. “We can get down on the floor, but getting back up again is a trial.”


“More like a major effort,” Sarah said.


Chris and Mickey picked up the present and carefully set it on the coffee table. The sisters sat on the edge of the sofa and began to remove the wrapping paper. When they’d revealed the box containing the television set, the sisters became somewhat carried away with their gratitude.


“Oh, my goodness,” Sarah said. “A new TV, and a flat-screen one at that. You shouldn’t have.”


Chapter 69