Second Chances

by Erin McRae, Racheline Maltese

Pete thinks taking off the wedding ring from his dead husband is an appropriate gesture before going to bed with his new boyfriend for the first time. But when the ring won't come off, their evening gets messier than anticipated.

Originally published in Best Gay Romance 2015 from Cleis Press.

20 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 10, 2015

About the author

Erin McRae is a queer writer and blogger based in Washington, D.C. She owns several pieces of paper from distinguished universities, including a Master’s degree in International Affairs from American University, which qualify her to have lengthy and passionate discussions about the microeconomics of Tunisia. She also engages in lengthy and passionate discussions about military history. She likes trenches.

Erin is a cofounder of Avian 30, a literary collective dedicated to narratives with magical and sexual realism. She delights in applying her knowledge of international relations theory to her fiction and screen-based projects, because conflict drives narrative.

She lives in Washington, D.C. with her partner and their two cats.

Reviews

[Skye Kilaen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bittersweet short story about a widowed man trying to get his wedding ring off before he and his new boyfriend go to bed for the first time. I'm always impressed by stories that give characters space for still loving their partner who passed away, but letting them find something new as well, and having the new person be okay with that. This is a perfect example.

It's also a valuable lesson about what you should NOT try to remove a ring that's too tight!