Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

My husband and I bumped into a former friend when we were having lunch yesterday.  It was a shock.  We hadn't seen him in many years.  We "caught up" standing in the cafe, and then said goodbye without any hint of trying to see each other again.  We'd been very close at one time, but first they had troubles with their kid, and though we supported them heartily, when we needed some support, they had none to give.  It turned out the friendship was a one way street, no u turn.  I was devastated at the time, as was my husband, but unless we wanted to be an unpaid charity for them, there was no where to go after that.  I felt sad last night, for their lives, and grateful for ours.  We were able to have boundaries that kept us sane, and they lost theirs in desperation.  We were lucky.  Our problem got better then went away, and theirs haunts them still.  It's not fair.  But seeing each other again, I had no doubt we did the right thing to protect ourselves, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.  But there was a loss, on their part and ours.  So there has been mourning and moving on.  We can't go back again.