Dear Queenie,
My wife has a friend I can’t stand. She is always bragging about her children, her possessions, her job, her husband, the vacations they take, you name it and hers is bigger and better and more expensive. I won’t call her a bold-faced liar, but she sure stretches the truth until it is ready to break. Not only that, but her voice is loud and she never stops talking.
I refuse to go with my wife to visit her and when she comes to our house I say hello and get out of the room as fast as I can. My wife says I’m being rude, but I think it’s her friend who is the rude one.
Queenie, who is right?—Deafened husband
Dear Deafened husband,
That depends on how quickly and obviously you make your exit. You should try to be polite to this woman for your wife’s sake, but there is no reason you should let yourself be imposed on by her, especially in your own home.
Greet her civilly, listen quietly for a little while, then excuse yourself and leave the room quietly. That’s about as much as the situation would seem to require from you.
