A few months later, Tony, Angela, Mona, Samantha, and Jonathan were in Los Angeles to attend the wedding of Jonathan's father. They were walking around Los Angeles one day. "This place is so beautiful," Sam said.

"I wish we could stay here," Jonathan added.

Angela looked across the street, "Tony, isn't that your mother?"

"Where?" he asked. Angela pointed in the direction and Tony looked and saw his mother in a wheelchair with a woman a little younger than him. "That is her," he said. "That must be her daughter with her."

"Go say hi," Angela said. "We can wait here."

Tony walked across the street. He could tell that his mother noticed him. "Hey," he said.

"What are you doing here?" Della asked.

"Jonathan's dad is getting married. The kid talked him into inviting all of us." He looked at the other woman, "hi, I'm Tony Micelli."

"Maureen," the young woman said, "your sister."

The two shook hands. Tony looked down at his mother, "what happened?" he gestured at the wheelchair.

"I sometimes need this when my legs or feet hurt too much. I haven't needed it for a while."

Tony crouched down and took her hand, "what happened?"

Maureen jumped in, "she's just having a flare-up. The doctor thinks she's been a bit extra stressed and it's affecting her. I'm sorry to break this up, but she really needs to get back to the office before dad starts to worry."

"Oh," Tony stood, "no problem."

"Where are you staying?" Maureen asked.

Tony told her the name of the hotel and the room number. He walked away and Maureen got her mother into the car. "Well?" Angela asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Tony said. "That is my sister, Maureen." The man looked forward, "let's keep going so we can see everything." He started walking and everyone followed. They all knew that something had happened across the street that upset him.

Two days later, Tony, Samantha, Angela, Jonathan, and Mona were sitting at a table in the hotel restaurant outside. An older blonde woman was looking around for a place to sit. Jonathan got up and sat on Angela's lap so the woman could take his seat. "Thank you," she said, "I'm Gertie by the way."

"Well, you're welcome, Gertie. I'm Angela," she said, "this is my son, Jonathan. My housekeeper, Tony, and his daughter, Samantha. My mother, Mona," Angela finished the introductions, "are you meeting someone?"

"No," she said, "well, I was going to have lunch with a friend, but she's having a tough time."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"What's wrong with her?" Jonathan asked.

"Well, it's a long story."

"We have time," Samantha said.

"Well, over thirty years ago, she gave birth to her and her husband's first child. The child didn't make it and she was so depressed that she had a breakdown. She kept pleading to see and hold her baby. That she needed to take care of her baby. She just wanted to have a burial and say goodbye."

"Poor thing," Mona said.

"Well, her doctor sent her to a psychiatrist who had her institutionalized. That's what they did to women back then who suffered from trauma. That's what they did to women who weren't like the Stepford Wives. Anyway, they were horrible to her. Her husband kept working to get her out, but in the meantime, she was being beaten and starved by the staff. They'd give her electro-convulsive therapy which they did while you were awake back then. They even scheduled her for a lobotomy. You see, lobotomies never worked. Had it been done, she'd be there for the rest of her life and her husband would be paying. Meaning they'd be getting money. They only made money when people stayed there. Well, they allowed her to escape because then the police would bring her back and that apparently justified a lobotomy. What they didn't know, was that the police knew her well. Her husband had no clue where she was. He'd have to send money to the court who would then send it to the facility. Their friend found her wandering the street in a zombified state."

"Is she okay now?" Jonathan asked.

"Most of the time. There are times when she needs help walking or doing tasks. Sometimes she can't walk."

"All of this because she was so upset about her baby being stillborn?" Samantha asked in shock. Gertie nodded, "that's horrible how they treated her. Any woman would react the same way. To do that to her when all she needed was love and counseling, that's horrible."

The children were visibly affected. "That's just so sad," Jonathan said.

"What's your friend's name?" Samantha asked.

"Della Mason," Gertie said.

Sam and Jonathan's eyes widened. Tony looked at them, "it was the only way to get the two of you to understand since you've refused to read the file." He turned to the older woman, "thanks again, Gertie."

"Anything for them. After all, we do share grandchildren."

"Oh, that's right," Tony said, "Maureen's kids."

Gertie looked at Samantha, "I want you to know that your nana is not someone who belongs in a psychiatric hospital. She's strong, stubborn, loving, caring, and smart. When Maureen had been kidnapped, your nana chased the kidnapper through the woods as he dragged Maureen. When he threw Maureen off a cliff, your nana jumped over after her. She's survived getting shot and being in a car accident as a plot to kill her. Then there's the breast cancer. She's a survivor. When my husband died suddenly, she was there for me and my kids. She's the most loyal person you'll ever meet. It broke her heart that things didn't work out with you all. She doesn't blame you, but she does love you. Now, I need to get back to the office or my boss will have my head."

"Who's your boss?" Samantha asked.

"Your nana," Gertie smiled and left.