By P. Berman 

I don’t get this at all. But, I am caught now, I have to wait for her to show up. 

Craig didn’t know what to think. A moment ago, he was sure Claire had been lying to him. Now, hearing this guy Mr. Carson knew he was coming to take Claire out, he just felt confused. If there was anything, he hated more than being lied to, it was not knowing if he was being lied to. His father had taught him early that he was not to grow into one of those idiots, who couldn’t tell a “lie” from the “truth”.  

The licking continued….Butch loved this Carson guy whoever, he was. Craig watched him scratching the perfect spots on Butch’s back; should he trust Butch’s instincts? Just as he was mulling this over, Claire rushed to the open door. She had a huge smile on her face, and she looked so happy, gentle and innocent. 

Could she look like this and be a liar? 

Craig looked into her eyes and hoped he could see the truth, that she wasn’t trying to deceive him. He would give her a chance to explain things. His dad acted like a smart man could always tell when a woman was lying; there had been times when he assumed the worst, because he wasn’t sure. Did his confusion mean he was the idiot his dad often called him? Could his dad be wrong, and it actually be tough to tell sometimes? 

What’s the difference between the truth and a lie? 

It depends on who you ask. 

Most young children would agree with the definition on www.quora.com, if it “doesn’t match the facts” it’s a lie- in the simpliest sense of what truth means. Young children can’t understand the “intent” of the person who might be giving inaccurate, but not intentionally wrong information. For example, someone saying it is 10 a.m. when the clock on the wall says 10 a.m. and not realizing the clock’s battery is about at its limit.  

Young children also don’t know the different that “time” plays in what happens in their lives. If you say you will take them out to play in an hour, when you are done with work, but then it starts to rain so an hour goes by and you say going outside has to be put off, the child may well call you a liar. 

What about adults like Craig? 

Claire had not left “Davy out” of her talks with Craig. She had just given all control of the conversations she had with Craig – to him. Thus, Davy literally never came up. She had been learning from the Carsons for years now, about the importance of being an honest person and she had been working hard at helping Davy understand the difference between a truth or a lie. She had not intentionally “deceived” Craig about her circumstances. 

Is there a difference between being honest and being truthful?  

To read about why Craig may struggling to know when someone is trustworthy go to: 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ambigamy/201808/the-difference-between-honesty-and-truth