A Week of Best Friend Profiles: Cheryl

Sorry, this is the only photo I have of Cheryl! I took it on Halloween in 2003. She’s the one in the orange wig (the girl in the purple wig is Natasha, she was 7 months pregnant at the time).
I have decided to use this week to write about my best friends. I already wrote about my sister, Christina, on Friday, so I’ll move on to the other friends in my life. (In no particular order.)
I mentioned in the end of my Oct. 18 posting that one of my best friends is a detective. Her name is Cheryl. We actually only see each other 1-2 times a month and don’t talk in between. It is a strange friendship, but it works. She is 39 (or 40?) and also a single Christian Chick. Because we are both so independent, it makes it easier to be friends since neither of us expects anything of the other.
She started off in the office at the police department and later became a street cop, and is now the detective for Health & Welfare. We have been friends for about 3 years. She has been a good friend and has helped with my animals when I went to Utah to train for crime analysis. She has helped me with yard work when I was sick. She is very kind to her neighbors and anyone who needs her to be. She is one of the most genuine humans I know.
However, when I was going through all my “hell” at the police department and tried to confide in her, she acted like I was being paranoid and did not believe me. Now that I am gone, the nasty supervisor that was so horrible to me (the other one retired 2 weeks after I quit), has now targeted Cheryl even though she has no authority over her. She has managed to get Cheryl in trouble w/ her sergeant. Now Cheryl believes me.
I hold no ill will against her for not believing me, but it has made me more guarded around her in what I say. I still consider her one of my best friends and admire her sweet, albeit sometimes naïve personality.
With all that said, if any one is reading this, please support your friends when they need you the most. If you question their validity, weigh the facts and consider if they are usually a credible person. Don’t insult them by questioning their honesty in their time of trial. Even if you don’t believe them, you can at least offer to pray for them and be there as a friend to listen to their heartache.