Old friends, painful memories

I reconnected with an old friend through classmates.com - it had been quite a few years since we had talked. She and I had parted under....disappointing circumstances. The story goes like this: this dear friend (I'll call her S) had gone to school far away and came back pregnant. Being a member of the church, she knew what the consequences of her actions were, and decided to give the child up for adoption. I completely supported her whatever her decision. When she came home for a brief visit, she stopped by my house and swore me to secrecy. No one was to know. I agreed and promised I would not say anything because it was not my news to tell. However, a mutual friend (who used to be my very best friend) was at my home when S came for the visit. This mutual friend was shocked and also swore he would not say a word. Unfortunately, this mutual friend couldn't keep his mouth shut and spread the word around the entire stake, adding to S' humiliation. And, of course, this mutual friend told S that he said nothing, so she blamed it all on me, telling me the friendship was over. This situation bothered me for a very, very long time as I knew that it wasn't me who did the gossiping. Nevertheless, she did not believe me, so I had to just let it go. So, it was just a bit surprising and shocking when S contacted me and asked me to email her, which I did. Painful memories re-emerged, but I didn't speak of the incident, as it is better left in the past. This is something that I am sure many of us go through at one time or another and it is just so sad...we should be lifting each other up, trusting each other, instead of letting go of precious friendships that can carry us through our sometimes precarious lives. A very interesting experience it was, and a blessing to reconnect with an old friend.