Long Goodbyes — Nikki Baker

A Virginia Kelly Mystery, Book 3 - Lured to her midwest hometown for Christmas and a family reunion by a former flame, Virginia observes that nothing has changed. Her parents, still hoping a man will reclaim her from her lesbian path, do not see that she is in deep mourning for a man, who had meant a great deal to her and helped her accept her sexuality and identity, gay friend Emery Arkin, dead of AIDs before she even knew he was dying. But at her high school reunion, the painful past of being an outcast nerd is transformed to a much different present where she is now one of the best looking and successful graduates to return. Rosalee, who had called and written Virginia begging her to come, is now indifferent but another former classmate now named Spike determinedly pursues Virginia. The marriage of a friend turns out not to be as idyllic as it first appears. And former English teacher Harry Hobart has lost his wife in a drowning. But she was not the last to die and Virginia has to fight to survive. First published to acclaim in 1993, this new edition features a foreword by Cheryl A. Head (Charlie Mack Midtown Mysteries).