Jo and Sue were the best of friends until a conflict between
them caused them to drift apart.
Jo had to borrow a dress from Sue for a wedding reception,
in which Sue agreed enthusiastically to and even offered to lend Jo her
favourite dress. However, Sue did not mention to Jo about needing this dress
for an upcoming ceremony a week after the wedding reception, trusting that Jo
would return it to her soon after.
Jo was informed a day after the wedding reception that her
grandmother was hospitalised. Jo had been busy since then, having to shuttle
herself between school, hospital and home, and had forgotten about returning
Sue’s dress.
On the other hand, Sue was not updated about Jo’s
predicament, and had thought that Jo was being irresponsible for not returning
the dress in time for her ceremony. Sue started feeling resentful towards Jo,
and had stopped speaking to her. Jo was puzzled by Sue’s behaviour, and had
tried to reconcile with Sue without knowing the reasons for Sue’s sudden change
of attitude towards Jo.
The main problem of this conflict is probably due to a
communication breakdown between the two friends, leading to differing
expectations and thus misunderstanding. Sue might have expected Jo to have more
initiative in returning the dress soon after her event. Perhaps Sue did not
want to come across as being too pushy to keep asking about the dress. On the
contrary, Jo might be too overwhelmed by her family matter to remember about
Sue’s dress. Jo might also have taken for granted that Sue was her best friend,
and would most probably not mind if she were to return the dress a little later
than she should.
In this scenario, I believe both parties are at fault, as
Sue did not inform Jo about her need for the dress in a week’s time. Sue should
also remind Jo about the dress after the wedding reception, and could perhaps
let Jo have a chance of explaining herself before getting angry with her.
Conversely, Jo should have explained to Sue about her predicament, and
consequently ask if she could return the dress a little later.
How would you have handled this situation if you were Sue?
