I hope it's not happening again

When my oldest friend gets overwhelmed by her life -- which, admittedly, kinda sucks -- she hydraulically shuts down and stops returning calls and emails. She told me on Thursday that her son was back in court again and this time the judge was either going to dismiss the charges or sentence him. Then ... nothing.

So I called last night and she never called me back. I did get an email this morning, saying it was "a long story" and she would explain it to me after the Easter holiday. I still don't know if her son is behind bars. (My guess is that he is, because she doesn't like putting words to unpleasant truths and how hard would it be for her to say, "He's home and fine"?)

We've done this dance before. She shuts me out and turns to her family -- who are repelled by how problematic her kids are and so she sugarcoats and denies everything when she's with them -- and then when I hear from her again she's so low she can barely function.

I hope that's not what's happening now. I really do. It makes me sad and it's frustrating and unfair.