Bend, Snap, Splinter.

Last night a friend of mine called me to tell me she cheated on her boyfriend (who she had been dating for 3 years). With a married guy. I didn't even know what to say. I've had plenty of friends who have cheated, which is fine. But her??

Let's call her Ruler, since that is what she functioned as for much of my life. She was my compass of morality, my cornerstone of justice, my... oh, I don't know. Let's just say that this was a woman who would wrinkle her nose when I told her how I gave my number to a college dude when I was pretty inebriated with some friends at a bar (he texted me the same night and I showed the text to Bwoy. We had a good laugh). This was a woman who scolded me when I told her I hung out with my ex-boyfriend, and *gasp* danced with him slightly innapropriately and drunkenly when I was tipsy.

I told her of my "escapades" last night, exaggerating them, in a lame attempt to make her feel better-- i.e., wave my arms and say, "Hey! We ALL get pretty stupid when we're drunk!" Of course in my head, I added, "The difference is I have never crossed the line to making out with someone (knock on wood)." Apparently, though, she did. And apparently, that fact didn't prevent her from scolding ME during the same conversation.

I feel bad for her. I really do. Given that Ruler is so ruler-like, I can only imagine how much this must tear at her. I did my best and gave her meaniingless advice, like "Give it a few days," and "We all make mistakes... you just, er, made a bad one." I swear, sometimes my brain just turns into a ball of mush. But really, she did just make a mistake, and her mistake made me really think of how very thin the line is between flirting and cheating, and how every one of us has the potential to stupidly cross it. Tempt fate all you want, as long as you don't get into bed with it at the end, is my motto. It takes a lot of control. I just never thought that Ruler would bend, snap, and splinter.

So that's that. Now the question is whether Ruler is going to tell her boyfriend. Amid all my dumb remarks to her, I hinted that maybe she doesn't need to give him that pain. Of course, she got all huffy that I would try to dissuade her from "doing the right thing." Um, is this really the right time for HER to be scolding ME about doing the right thing? We'll see what happens... I don't think she should tell him the entire story, but she seems hellbent on that way. Hmmm.