One Little Lie

"I told you once already," Sara said emphatically.

"I know, but you need to bend a little. This is Dana's boyfriend, you know, Jerry retorted back. "She's my daughter and I'll do anything for her."

"I know, and I would let up on this but it is too important to, me. Michael is a liar, and a thief. You know he got caught looting homes during the fires last year, while we were staying with friends when we got evacuated. He's even stolen things out of the back yard, your things. His chosen profession is being a home burgler and you know it," Sara said, her voice filled with the exasperation she was feeling. This fight, was one of many that Sara and Jerry continued to have about Dana, and Sara was tired of giving in.

"I won't change my mind about this Jerry. I told him he is not welcome here and I mean it."

"Yea, I know you do. You are so unwilling to bend. She's my daughter for crying out loud, and they are getting married. What are you going to do then?" Jerry asked, with a smirk on his face. "He'll be family."

"I'm sorry honey, but He's not welcome on this property," Sara came back at Jerry, and she turned around and left the room.

"She's my daughter, and there is nothing I won't do for her, do you understand, nothing!" he yelled after her.

"She's forty years old Jerry, almost middle aged. When are you going to stop babying her?" she yelled back from the kitchen. "He's not to come here. I mean it."

"And of course it's your property so I don't have a say, right?"

"Don't push it with that again. I don't use it, so there's no reason you should be. But if you want to push this, then yes, you're right. It's my property," Sara said, coming back into the room.

"Look Jerry. It's enough I let Dana come here, considering that she steels from me all the time. That is because she's your daughter, and since she got out of jail again, she seems to be trying to be good."

"Oh gee, thanks. That's big of you," Jerry said sarcastically.

"Come on Jerry. Let it go. I'm not going to change my mind. And I'm going to bed." She noted the silent treatment she was now getting as she left the room again. He wasn't going to answer her now. She stopped for a moment, looked back and said, "I love you, honey."

"I love you too," he answered back.

The next morning, things were back to normal in the Smith/Johnson household, both having calmed down and like all the other times, they both let it go.

The next week was a busy one and then Saturday arrived, Sara's birthday. When she woke up, Jerry was waiting for her with a cup of tea and some toast. "Happy Birthday Sara. On the tray with the tea and toast were a bouquet of flowers from their garden and a card.

"Oh, thank you sweetheart. You're so thoughtful."

"Yea, that's me, Mr. Thoughtful. I love you Sara."

"I know honey. I love you too."

The morning passed quickly and, in the early afternoon, the door opened and Dana arrived to see her Dad. She went out in the backyard, but came back in after 5 or 10 minutes, and went out to the front yard. Sara, looked out and figured she was having a cigarette. As she was standing there, she saw her daughter pull up. It made her a little nervous that Dana was there, because Holly didn't approve of Sara or like her at all. Excited anyway, she went right out. Holly was just coming up the walk.

"HI mom. Happy Birthday! The girls and I came to bring you a cake and some flowers. You know, they have to stay in the car and wear their masks because of Covid, but we wanted to say "Happy Birthday and spend a few minutes with you." She stopped and looked at Dana in the front yard. She looked back at Sara and said, "We can't stay but for a few minutes. Can you come on out to the car?"

"Sure, just let me put some shoes on." Sara grabbed her shoes and went with Holly down to the car. "Hi girls. I sure wish I could hug and kiss you, but I'm just happy to see you."

Happy Birthday Grandma. We brought you a flower, and a picture." They held out their presents for their grandma.

Tearing up, Sara cleared her throat and said, "Thank you girls. Here's a big kiss for you each," and she blew them a kiss. They talked for a few minutes and Holly said, Why don't you take the cake up to the house, and cut us a couple of pieces and you keep the rest of it?"

"Okay, I'll be right back." As Sara, turned toward the house, she noticed a man coming up the side of the yard through the flower bed. He went into the back yard where Jerry was.

"I wonder who that is. That's strange that he didn't say anything. He just kind of slithered up through the flowers and went right in. Jerry must be out there," she thought"

As she started for the yard, Dana came out, put her arm around Sara's shoulder and leaned in and said, "Pretty cake Sara. She led Sara into the house.

Sara went to the kitchen and was cutting the cake, but it bothered her, the person coming into the yard like that. "I think that might have been Michael sneaking in," she thought. Turning, she opened the back door just a bit and saw the man sitting with Jerry, talking.

"Jerry," she said quietly. "Is that Michael?"

Jerry looked over at Sara and said, "No, this is my friend Nicholas."

"Oh," she said, and closed the door. Sara stood there for a minute puzzled. Something didn't feel right, but she decided to forget it.

Two days later, Dana came over again. This time, she sent her girls in and she stayed outside, and Jerry went out to the street to talk to her. After 20 minutes, they still had not come in, and

Sara looked out the window. They were down on the street by Dana's car, and there was a man with them. "Is that Michael," she asked the girls.

The youngest one said, "We don't call him Michael anymore. He's Nicholas now.

Sara looked at the girls, and suddenly, it all made sense. She stood there for a minute, swallowed hard to keep the tears away, and went back and sat down.

Later on that night, Jerry came in from the work he was doing in the back. He sat down on the bed, and Sara quietly said to him, "Jerry, I have to talk to you."

He said, "okay, what do you want to talk about?"

"On my birthday the other day, you told me that guy in the back yard with you was Nicholas. It wasn't. It was Jerry wasn't it?"

Without hesitation, Jerry said, "yea, that was Michael."

"You lied to me Jerry. Why?" Sara still quietly said.

"It was no big Deal," Jerry said easily. "I figured it would be less of a problem. And that is what Dana wanted"

Sara sat there quietly for a minute, thinking about what Jerry had just said and how he said it. Then she said, almost in a whisper, "You have no idea how much bigger a problem you just created." All she could think of was that Jerry so easily totally disregarded her feelings and disrespected her by lying. Their relationship had always been based on honesty and respect and that one little "No big deal" lie completely unraveled the whole basis of their life together. One "little" thing had destroyed a relationship completely. And it had not bothered Jerry at all to lie. Sara knew she could not remain in a relationship that was held together with lies and deceit. If this was so easy for him to do, what other things was he capable of? What else had he lied about in their time together? Jerry would find out in the next little while, how big a consequence he was to pay for his "one little lie."