Misplaced Loyalty

After the police left, Drivel stopped at my cubicle. “Jackie knew the police were coming today. She called last night to get me to spin what I’d tell them.”

“Damn, you didn’t lie to them, did you?” I asked.

“She has been good to me for many years,” Drivel said. “I felt I owed her something. On the other hand, I think she poisoned her husband. I really do. I told them so.  Now I feel like I betrayed her, like I’m not a loyal friend.”

“You know how they say ‘til death do us part? That’s for marriages. I think for friendships ‘until poison pulls us apart’ applies. Loyalty ended when you discovered she’s homicidal.”

“Maybe,” Drivel said, looking miserable.

“Listen, two guys I knew grew up together in a sketchy neighborhood. Each had the other’s back. They got addicted and both tried to get clean. One did, the other went back to using and selling drugs. He tried to pull his friend back into using. The guy who got clean tried to cut ties to his friend.  The drug dealer caught him outside an NA meeting and demanded to know what happened to his loyalty.”

“Then what?”

“The guy who got clean said he owed his loyalty to the guy he grew up with and he’d do anything to help him. Said he owed no loyalty to the drug dealer his friend had become. Asked the drug dealer to come into the NA meeting with him, maybe the dealer could get back to being his childhood friend.”

“So did they both get clean?”

“No, despite what he said, the clean guy felt he owed his friend some loyalty, even if his friend was a dealer. He moved in with the dealer to try to get him to change his ways. They both OD’d three months later. This was before Narcan. They died.”

“Could you share a more depressing story, Ken?” Drivel asked, shaking his head.

 “Misplaced loyalty can get you in a lot of trouble,” I said. “Perjury, relapse, maybe even death. Be careful.”

Today I’ll beware of misplaced loyalty.

Burnout Training ©2018 by Ken Montrose

Burnout Training is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/