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

“Yeah, and you ought to fire the Realtor that had this property listed for the bank.”


“Because none of the pictures in the listing showed this view—if it had, somebody would have bought the place.”


“Then it’s a good thing for us that the listing was inadequate, isn’t it?” Mickey said. “But I take your point; I’ve already started the process of finding new Realtors for all the bank’s properties. And I’ve already turned listings for properties in this area over to our Realtor.”


Chris looked at his cell phone. “Damn, there’s no service here, just like at George and Mike’s.”


“Them. I want the name of their concrete guy; it would be nice to get him started on that driveway.”


“I guess that means you’ve made a decision about which house will be ours?”


“Mick. Is there any doubt? I heard your reaction when you first saw it, and I know how you think.”


“That’s true. This house is definitely the one.”


Chapter 56