I hadn't read this before, but I do understand why few people commented. I don't think the tone, which is melancholy, was the problem. Instead, I think it was becase the piece is so whole. It has no little zingers or wiseacre lines that scream to be quoted. It just is...a clear and complete limning of a moment from one person's point of view.

If I were going to quote any text, I would quote this: "We were going to Debbie’s the next day, an annual homage to the tacky and maudlin that I somehow had let myself get roped into every year since I met Michael. I’d gone there after my own family’s Christmas dinner, where I’d never managed to force down more than a forkful of turkey, to have a plate loaded with sausage stuffing and turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy, followed by pumpkin pie smothered in canned whipped topping." Brian's own wounds inform his understanding of Justin's.

Thank you. FanSee