A few months ago my travel buddy Audrey and I went on a cruise. It was a weird time for me. I had paid for the cruise in 2013 and by 2015 when the cruise was taking place, I was out of money and had breast cancer--so I wasn't in the best of moods--but I was alive and that was the important thing.

During Christmas in 2014 Audrey came over to my house and told me my ex best friend Anne told her (they have been best friends since they were teenagers and are now in their 60s I was the youngest in the group at 55) I was not going on the cruise and Audrey would lose money (2,000) dollars--I assured Audrey that I was going.

So, Audrey, and her 8 other friends and I go on this cruise. The first night she told me this was our last time we were traveling together. It came up and went away as quickly as that. I know she'd like to move to Florida when she retires, but she kept telling me she didn't have enough money to retire. I mentioned in 2017 maybe we could all go somewhere and she said NO.

Then, on the cruise she got upset with me for a comment I made in the elevator. The group of us got out of the elevator and one of the men just made a face at me--like what is up with her? By the time we sat down for dinner, a mere seconds later-Audrey was back to being fun loving Audrey.

I did my own thing on the boat but came together for dinner every night. Audrey went with her sister Ellen for most of the cruise--but that was okay. I didn't give it any thought--until a few weeks after the cruise when she had been answering my texts and then one day she did with this: I don't recognize the number, who is this? I texted back: Leslie, the one you took a cruise with. Then nothing. I called her phone, left a message asking why she is doing this--then I realized she is with Anne. Since Anne is not friends to me, Audrey would have to give up her friendship (if we were ever friends).

So sad, because she was positive and grateful and happy. I will miss that--and her.