A Million Little Lies
Bette Lee Crosby
Bent Pine Publishing
A MILLION LITTLE LIES
Copyright © 2020 by Bette Lee Crosby
Cover design: damonza.com
Formatting by Author E.M.S.
Editor: Ekta Garg
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the author, except by reviewers who may quote brief passages for a review to be printed in a newspaper, magazine or journal.
This is a work of fiction. While, as in all fiction, the literary perceptions and insights are based on life experiences and conclusions drawn from research, all names, characters, places and specific instances are products of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously. No actual reference to any real person, living or dead, is intended or inferred.
ISBN-978-0-9960803-0-9
BENT PINE PUBLISHING
Port Saint Lucie, FL
Published in the United States of America
Table of Contents
A MILLION LITTLE LIES
Copyright
Dedication
Sun Grove, Florida
May 1960, Sun Grove, Florida
Cousins, Georgia
Just One Night
Sun Grove, Florida
The Next Morning
Finding Family
Oh, Suzanna, Tell Another Lie
Becoming Darla Jean
No More Waiting
The Decision
Opening a Door
The Third Floor
Changing Times – The Rental
Searching for Suzanna
Getting to Know You
William’s Will
Fear of Ginger
Cavalier’s Couture
The Search Begins
The Start of Something Good
The Harvest Festival
Piney Acres Problems
A Family Thanksgiving
Foolish Fears
The Fashion Show
A Christmas to Remember
Remembering Suzanna
The Locket
Finding Suzanna
Tuesday, January 10, 1961
Shattered Dreams
Without a Word
An Eye-Opening Revelation
Starting Over
Saying Goodbye to the Past
Finding Courage
Finding Bobby Doherty
Wishes Come True – Spring 1961
A note from the Publisher…
Other Books by Bette Lee Crosby
Acknowledgments
About the Author
To the women of my PSL Posse
There can be no finer gift than that of friendship.
Thank you…
Joanne Bliven
Kathy Foslien
Lynn Ontiveros
Trudy Southe
“Which is worse—a lie that draws a smile
or a truth that draws a tear?”
Bryan Bedford
Miracle on 34th Street
Suzanna
Sun Grove, Florida
IN THE WEEKS FOLLOWING HER mama’s death, ten-year-old Suzanna Duff learned to lie as convincingly as any con man who’d ever walked the earth. When neighbors came with cakes, fruit baskets, and casseroles, she smiled politely and said she and her daddy were doing just fine. Never once did she mention that on the few nights when he did manage to make it home, he came in rip-roaring drunk and in a thunderous mood.
To Suzanna her lie was not a deception but a necessary altering of the truth; a way to shade the ugliness of her life and make it appear somewhat normal. She was following in her mama’s footsteps, smoothing the road she had to travel, avoiding questions or confrontation.
They were tiny little lies that seemed harmless, rather like a game of Let’s Pretend or Charades. She signed her daddy’s name on her report cards, told tales of a vacation that never took place, and boasted of a kindly grandmother who didn’t exist. But as time passed the lies grew larger, more substantial and solid. They built one upon another like the stones of a pyramid until they reached the pinnacle and left her with nowhere to go.
Now she fears it would be impossible to undo what has been done. Every waking moment her conscience urges her to tell the truth and be done with it. Do it for Annie, the small voice whispers, but Suzanna is wary of the consequences so she turns on the radio and sings along to silence the thought.
She knows the truth will cause a great deal of unhappiness and hurt those she loves. That’s something she won’t do, so she builds lie upon lie, pretending to be someone else, answering to a name that’s not hers, and constantly looking over her shoulder. She dreads the day when the truth comes knocking at the door, and it will. She’s almost certain of it.
It seems ironic that after so many years, the situation she now finds herself in began not with an outright lie but a mere slip of the tongue, a simple omission of truth.
Suzanna Duff
May 1960, Sun Grove, Florida
THE SKY WAS STILL DARK when Suzanna Duff eased herself from beneath the weight of Earl’s arm and inched her way to the far side of the bed. Hesitating a moment, she listened for the sound of sleep to return. He wheezed, gave a groan, then turned on his side and went back to snoring. Believing it safe enough to make her move, she climbed from the bed and silently crossed the room.
His pants were tossed over the chair, the same as always. She cradled the belt buckle so it wouldn’t fall to the floor or clank against the wood of the chair, slid her hand into the pocket, and pulled out a folded wad of bills. Not stopping long enough to count how much he had this time, she tiptoed from the room and made her way down the hall to where Annie was sleeping.
Suzanna kneeled beside the bed and pulled out the things she’d stashed there a day earlier: sandals, a pair of jeans, a tee shirt, and the old brown suitcase that had once belonged to her mama. She dressed quickly, slid the folded bills into the pocket of her jeans, then leaned over the child and whispered, “Wake up, baby, we’ve got to go.”
Annie was seven but smarter than most. She’d already learned that when her mama held a finger to her lips, there was a need for silence. She sat up, rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and in a hopeful voice asked, “Can Bobo come too?”
Eyeing the stuffed dog the child held in her arms, Suzanna gave a reluctant nod.
“Okay, but if you bring
