Dear Abby: Friendship collapses amid drugs and deception

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips.

DEAR ABBY: The first Christmas my future husband and I were dating, he gave me an angel ring. I asked him to take me to a bar where my best friend worked so I could show it to her. When I showed it to her, she told me her cancer had come back. I gave her the ring and told her to hang onto it, hoping it would give her the strength to fight another round.

Twenty years later, she became angry with me and wanted to end the friendship. I told her that it was OK and asked her to return the ring. Abby, my entire family saw my husband give it to me. But now she has made up this story about how she had put it on layaway for a year, and it never belonged to me. Even worse is that she played me. She never had cancer in the first place.

While we were at school, her parents emptied their house, except for the contents of her room and disappeared. My mom offered her a home, but she declined. She was into drugs. Yes, she had some tough breaks, but so have a lot of other people, and they haven’t stolen or lied to their friends. We had each other’s back for 40 years and now this has happened. I am heartbroken. She doesn’t seem to care -- the layaway lie is her story and she’s sticking to it. What do I do? -- LOST MY RING IN THE SOUTH

DEAR LOST: Accept that the ring is gone. Your drug-addicted “friend” stole it and may have sold it. You may not yet realize it, but you are fortunate that she’s now out of your life. You may have thought she had your back, but you were mistaken. She is dishonest and vengeful. If you’re looking for friendship, you need to look in another direction. You couldn’t do worse than this.

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Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

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