Deception

My mother is a very poor liar. I’ve seen her try to lie twice in my lifetime. Both times she stammered and looked obviously guilty. I’ve wondered if the ability to pull off a lie (or not) has a genetic component, as I haven’t had much success at it. Besides the moral disapproval, it is so hard to get it right.
I hope some body can help me out on this, but I vaguely recall a movie in which an actress (Bette Davis?) plays twins. When one drowns the other assumes the role of the deceased. It was tiring watching her attempting to remember which one she was. Recently I thought of this when I did something similar. The phone rang; it was a telemarketer. He asked if I was who I am and I said no I was his friend. Then I tried to cover for myself. Then I took a message for myself. I was asked when I would be home. By then I was losing my grasp of my identity. Afterwards I worried. I fretted not only about being a liar but the possible consequences. Since I sounded devious, he could have presumed I was a burglar and called the police. He may have leapt to the conclusion since I was away Someone was taking advantage of the situation to have over a stranger and our reputation would be in tatters. This would also make me look a fool.
I now regret I embarked on such a web of pretense. I should have been clean right up front with the telemarketer to go screw himself.
It is often unpleasant to be honest but it does save trouble in the end.