Saw this in today's "Dear Prudence". This so-called "friend" sounds like an N to me. With "friends" like that, who needs enemies?
"Dear Prudence,
I was asked to be a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding five years ago, and I gladly accepted. Last year, I got married in a much smaller ceremony and did not ask this friend to be in my wedding. I did call to tell her how much I looked forward to her being there and how much I valued our friendship. Then, the day before the wedding, she called me crying hysterically that she would not be able to make it due to illness. After the wedding, my attempts to get in touch were blown off. Recently I saw that she joined Facebook, and I emailed her in an attempt to reconnect. After a few days she replied, telling me that by not including her in our wedding party I had made it clear that I didn't think much of our friendship. She also told me that she had not been sick but could not bring herself to attend a wedding where she felt she was not wanted, and I must have known that. I didn't, or else I wouldn't have paid for a dinner for her and her husband. She added that after I read all of this, I may not want to reconnect, and she'd understand. I want her to know that I did not know why she chose not to attend and that I think she is being unfair. How should I respond?
—Former Friend of Not a Bridesmaid
Dear Former,
These days, becoming a bridesmaid seems like a good reason to cry hysterically, given the expense and duties young women are expected to shoulder: hosting multiple parties and showers, buying an expensive and hideous dress, "supporting" the bride through a year of planning. However, you seem like a sane and thoughtful bride. Your friend, on the other hand, seems like just the opposite. Think of it, on the day before your wedding, you were supposed to be dealing with her melodrama. Your friend sounds like the bridesmaid's version of Miss Havisham—the pathetic jilted bride in Great Expectations who wears her decaying wedding dress for the rest of her life. Be glad you got out of the friendship before the baby shower meltdown. You can take your former friend's offer and reply, "You're right, let's not reconnect." Silence is another way to get that point across.
—Prudie"