pl, I'm truly enjoying both your story and yuor style of writing. I am surprised at Michael opening up, but I agree that if it were to be with anyone, it would be Tom. He's really all that's left of the old days.

As for Connie accepting Michael's version of Fredo's death, I have to believe that she would have. She recently lost her mother and has agreed to dump the husband and come home. She has finally found peace as Michael's caretaker and surrogate mother to Mary and Anthony. She would have to turn her back on all that, and I find it difficult to believe that she would. I think that she would prefer to believe what she needs to believe in order to survive.