Vicki Fails the Friendship Test

I enjoyed meeting Gretchen at the horse stables. I imagined her showing in up pink sequins for some reason, but I was pleasantly surprised to see her in boots -- fashion boots, but boots nonetheless!

Out of all the women, I seemed to run into Gretchen the most over the past few years. It seemed that every corner George and I turned, there would be Slade and Gretchen. Despite what you may think, Gretchen and I have never had any weird issues with each other and we both have been grown ups about our past.

While catching up with Gretchen in regards to her relationships with the other women, I was surprised with the details as to why she and Vicki were having difficulties. I was genuinely shocked to learn that Vicki had accused Gretchen of cheating on Jeff during their engagement. Of all things to call Gretchen out on, infidelity probably shouldn't have been the one Vicki chose, especially knowing what Vicki had told me over the years during her marriage to Don and what I had personally witnessed on more than one occasion. My point to Gretchen while talking about Vicki, wasn't exactly about infidelity, it was the hypocrisy of it all that got to me!

Over the years with Vicki, back when we were what I considered to be "good friends," she confided in me a lot in regards to her personal life. She spoke candidly and opening about other men. I knew I wasn't the only person that she shared this information with and she never asked me to keep anything a secret. Even though I personally didn't agree with her actions and choices, I kept my opinions to myself. The choices that she made didn't affect my life and I had no desire to get involved in her and Don's marriage. Their marriage seemed to work effectively and I thought to myself that whatever works for them, is their business! However, I do not condone cheating! In my opinion, dishonesty and infidelity will destroy the foundation of a marriage. If the foundation isn’t strong, everything else will likely eventually crumble.

My friendship with Vicki ended seven months after I met George. Vicki, Duff and I were working in the office one day, when a woman called asking for Vicki. I transferred the call to Vicki. She motioned to Duff and I to leave the office to allow her privacy. Her call lasted over 30 minutes. When Duff and I were allowed back in the office, Vicki continued to work on insurance, as if nothing happened. She was fine and did not mention the call to me. The phone call that Vicki took, I will later discover to have been George's ex-wife' mother.

The following day, I received a call from Jeanna Keough telling me that Vicki had received an email from George's ex-wife's mother summarizing their conversation. She had instructed Vicki to give me the email. Vicki, however, decided to forward that email to everyone except me! Jeanna forwarded the email to me. It contained nothing but bulls--- slanderous lies and served no purpose other than to harass George and I on behalf of George's ex-wife. Keep in mind, Vicki was very aware of all of the problems George and I had been experiencing with his ex. 

To learn that Vicki had (1) accepted a phone call from George's ex-wife's spiteful mother (2) entertained her for more than five seconds (3) provided her personal email to her (4) later received an email (5) failed to mention the call and (6) that she failed to mention the email was beyond belief to me.

But the act that ended our friendship, was when she forwarded that slanderous email she received, intended for me, to everyone but me. That action alone, I found to be malicious, evil, and vicious. It was her first personal attack against George and I as a couple. That was definitely not what a "friend" does to a friend! If she were my friend, the scenario would have gone more like this. . .once she learned who the phone caller was, she would motion for Duff and I to be quiet as the call was placed on speaker. She would then let the caller know that she was not interested in hearing anything that she has to say about George as none of it is any of her business. She would not have given the caller her personal email. That could have been the end of it, leaving our friendship intact. Vicki should have been smarter than that. She should have known that she was used as a tool, but more importantly she failed the friendship test!

I was really hurt and upset with Vicki but even more angry with myself for thinking she was a friend. I moved out of her office and we never worked through this issue, nor did she ask. Over the years, I have managed to be civil and cordial to her, but I would not define our relationship as friends today.