Chris Bottoms is glad to be home from undergoing the first of two surgeries that will free him from the ostomy bag he’s been wearing for more than a year. He’s anxious about the upcoming second surgery, but life is keeping him on his toes.<br><br>The bank hierarchy is clearly grooming Chris’s partner, Mickey O’Donovan, vice president of a megabank, for a promotion. That doesn’t help reconcile the family who turned their backs on Mickey for not going into the family business. To make matters worse, Chris's little brother's abusers are still out there, and that makes Chris angry. He and Mickey are raising Ted now. Between dealing with spiteful relatives and doing their best by a hurt ten-year-old boy, Chris and Mickey wonder how much more reality they can take.<br><br>Chris's second and final surgery can't come soon enough. Both men are looking forward its most important side-effect -- Chris will once again be able to enjoy prostate massage, but not until three months after the surgery.

Bottoms Away

“Wow! You decided to start with your stepfather. That’s great.”


Chris jumped a bit. “Mick! Don’t sneak up on me like that. Besides, I’m not ready for you to read any of this. At least not yet.”


“Sorry. Got that list for Ted and me?”


“It’s in the printer, and try not to do too much impulse buying, okay?”


“Yes, you. When you go to the store with me, you always do your best to load up the shopping cart with stuff we don’t really need.”


“I can’t help it if I like bargains.”


“Perhaps, but you buy them simply because they arebargains—without regard to whether or not we really need them.”


“I promise I’ll be good,” Mickey said. “Scout’s honor.”


Chris had to chuckle at that. “Get out of here and let me get some writing done.”


“You wanted me to write, my boy, and I’m writing. Be careful what you wish for, and all that.”


Chapter 5