Dotty stood silently, with an enigmatic expression on her carefully made-up face, as Lee and her grandsons looked her over from head to toe.

Jamie, who was generally the most circumspect of the three, couldn't stand the awkward silence any longer and blurted out, "Wow, Grandma, you look so…different."

"Different in a good way I hope," she questioned

"Uhh, sure of course," he hastily replied. He tugged at the collar of his polo shirt which suddenly felt too tight. "You look as though you could be a member of Congress or one of those reporters that you see chasing politicians on the evening news. The ones that don't give up until they've received a straight answer to their question."

Lee was impressed by the adolescent's quick save after he initially faltered. Meanwhile, Dotty couldn't help musing that her attempts at questioning Amanda didn't yield the same level of results that those television journalists often scored.

"Thanks for the compliment, Jamie."

She smiled warmly at him and he visibly relaxed. Phillip stood slightly behind his brother with an unreadable expression on his face. Taking advantage of her focus being on the boys, Lee surreptitiously backed out of her line of sight.

"You're welcome. Did you have a good day," Jamie queried.

"Yes, I accomplished far more than I'd dared to hope was possible. It's been a very satisfying day…although I must admit that I'm exhausted. I'd forgotten how uncomfortable being dressed this way all day could be." She stepped out of her high-heeled pumps, picked them up and allowed them to dangle from her hand. "I'm going to put these shoes back in the rear of my closet where I found them and I won't be wearing them again any time soon."

"You could change out of the whole outfit," Phillip piped up, "We like you the way that you usually look. You could go upstairs and put on some comfortable clothes before you start making dinner."

"I'll take your suggestion that I change clothes, however, after I do that I plan to relax until dinner is ready. It's been quite a day."

"You can't do that," Phillip advised her without making any attempt to show his grandmother any deference. "Mom didn't make it back so you'll have to make dinner."

"Okay, that's enough, Phillip," stated his infuriated secret step-father from across the kitchen. Rapidly crossing the room, he continued in a voice that brooked no arguments, "I don't know what's gotten into you today. I think that you should take your books and finish your homework upstairs."

Shocked that an adult who rarely attempted to act as an authority figure had intervened, the teen wordlessly grabbed his books and departed the room radiating hostility in his wake. Jamie, baffled by his brother's petulant conduct, decided to go upstairs, too- thereby allowing the adults to speak privately. As soon as her grandsons were out of earshot, Dotty turned to Lee who was now standing only a couple of feet away from her.

"I should have wondered why you were trying to blend into the woodwork since I walked into the room. What's happened to my daughter? I expect a straight answer-none of the euphemisms or tap dances that I generally get from Amanda. Do you even know where she is," she demanded as she closed the remaining distance between them. As long as she's alive I can cope with whatever else he may tell me. How much worse could it be than February was?

He could see the color drain from her face as he hurried to assure her that Amanda truly was fine.

"You've got to trust me, even though Amanda and I have been lying to you for years, she really is okay."

"I know that this probably won't make any sense to you but…" Dotty briefly hesitated. Should I go on? If I can't trust my own daughter, why should I trust him?

"Please talk to me," he implored her.

She'd always felt that his hazel eyes were his most expressive feature and now she found that she couldn't break eye-contact with him. How often is Amanda mesmerized by his gaze she fleetingly wondered.

"I do trust you- it's Amanda that I don't trust anymore. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? We used to be so close…or at least I thought that we were. Yet, over the last few years she's become increasingly secretive-"

"Dotty, there are-", he tried to interrupt her. How could he not try to defend his wife, especially since he was at the center of most of the lies she'd been telling.

"Please don't interrupt me. I need to get this out-it's been eating away at me for such a long time. I was supportive when her marriage to Joe was collapsing, I've been helping her raise the boys and keep house…And all I that expect from Amanda in return is that she treat me with respect. I wouldn't dream of denying her a private life, if she doesn't want to discuss something with me than she should say so. I don't plan to stay here and keep everything running smoothly while she comes and goes as she pleases-often with no notice or credible explanation. I'm not the gullible fool that she thinks I am-I know when I'm being lied to. I won't put up with it anymore. Today I took the first step towards building a life of my own."

Dotty felt a weight lifted from her shoulders as soon as she'd given voice to all the feelings that she hadn't allowed herself to share with anyone. She couldn't honestly tell herself that she regretted being candid with Lee, but she hadn't expected that he'd be stunned into silence by her revelations.

"Lee, Dear, I know you weren't expecting to hear any of this, but I do wish that you'd say something. Anything."

Lee opened and then closed his mouth twice. What can I possibly say that won't only serve to make things worse? More lies won't help…and I don't want to lie to her. She's the closet thing to having a mother in my life that I've had in over thirty years and I don't want to jeopardize the relationship that we've built.

"If you don't believe anything else except for this, you've got to believe that Amanda does love you very much. All of your lives have changed a lot over the past few years but the love that you all share hasn't changed. Please tell her what you told me and then go from there."

Her eyes grew misty as she quickly kissed him on the cheek and said, "Thank you."

"Thank you for what," he asked, while hoping that Amanda, with his help, would be able to repair all the damage that their lies had caused.

"Thanks for your honesty. You could have tried to convince me that my relationship with my daughter hasn't changed at all. Or you could have said that I have an overactive imagination or a suspicious mind. But you didn't go any of those routes- you made a conscious choice to not lie to me."

To be continued…

Is Amanda ready to share her secrets with her family? Has Dotty already figured out some of Amanda and Lee's secrets?

Author's note: Thank you for reading this story and providing feedback!