When his snobbish future in-laws travel all the way from Boston to visit, wise-cracking Southerner Wiley Cantrell learns gay marriage is not without its disadvantages. He’s preoccupied by concerns over the health of his special needs son Noah, a meth baby who was not expected to live yet is now on the cusp of puberty, and the antics of Wiley's outrageous would-be mother-in-law and severely conservative father-in-law strain his relationship with Jackson Ledbetter, a pediatric nurse who poses problems of his own. As their respective families meet and greet, each just as meddlesome and inflexible as the other, North meets South and the fireworks and cultural misunderstandings are plenty.<br><br>Then a tornado blows through the small Mississippi town where Wiley's mother lives, wrecking his mother's house and leaving their lives in disarray. And Jackson's secret drug addiction comes to light, devastating Wiley and Noah. With so many stones in the road, Wiley and Jackson find their dream of becoming a real family falling apart. Though Wiley relies on humor to cope, he'll need something more to keep his happily ever after from slipping away.

Stones in the Road

We crossed the street to the park in front of city hall, our footsteps taking us quite naturally to the park’s crown jewel, a statue of Elvis in his shiny, metallic glory. Elvis was perched on a large pedestal, microphone in hand, frozen in the act of telling Tupelo, Mississippi, not to be cruel. Kids played on swings, and a young black couple sat on the grass having a late picnic.


You don’t like her, do you? Noah signed as we stood before the King like supplicants before a throne.


She doesn’t look at me. She doesn’t see me.


But she doesn’t like me, he added. I can tell.


Chapter 23