The Umbrella of Friendship

My best friend for the past few years has weathered my storms of divorce with me with grace and true kindness. When I suspected my ex of cheating, she said "give me his license plate number and I'm going to see if he's where you think he is". She sat with me for 6 hours one cold Friday night outside of an apartment after finding his vehicle there to watch him come out just so I could prove that I knew what I was talking about, just so my ex could no longer lie to me and just so I wouldn't feel crazy anymore! Yes, she is that kind of friend. All of that to say.....she called me Sunday to tell me that her husband was moving out. They'd had some problems and she had claimed to want a divorce many times in the past but it's hard to go through with such a thing until you have to. She suspected he had a girlfriend but he denied it. She was ready to end the marriage anyway, she needed to do this. Yesterday morning at 6:00 my phone rang. It was her....he finally confessed he had a girlfriend. My friend was a mess, angry, sad, mad, all the emotions you feel when something like this happens. It doesn't matter if you knew in your heart, if you had suspected this all along or not....it doesn't matter until the proof is there and that's when the emotions flood your heart. She had watched me go through this, she had talked me through those long nights, she had made multiple trips out looking for my ex before we finally nailed him, she worried for me and with me, she listened to me, laughed with me and just held the umbrella when life was raining on my parade. And then to have the same thing happen.....it makes a person no more prepared to handle it. I certainly hope I can stand by her as she did for me. I hope in some small way, I can make her feel better when she needs it most. I did give her the number of the best lawyer in our area! Seriously, she will be OK. She will survive and be a better, stronger, more independant woman. But it still hurts like hell. And before that rainbow appears, there will be many days of rain. It's my turn to hold the umbrella for her.