Dear Queenie,
My wife and I have a timeshare in St. Maarten and sometimes we invite a friend or a couple we are friendly with to join us. There are fees involved in a timeshare and it would be nice if once in a while the others would offer to chip in on the expense, but it has never happened.
Queenie, don’t they know how expensive it is, or are they just moochers?—Fed up host

Dear Host,
When you invite someone to visit you in your home back wherever you live, do you expect them to chip in on the cost of the rent or mortgage?
Either you are a host or a hotelier, and your friends are either guests or paying customers – which is it?
If you really expect them to help out with the expense, you should make that clear when you issue the invitation for them to join you and let them decide whether it is worth the cost.

Dear Queenie,
My sister thinks getting married and having children are the most important things she has ever done while I have a very successful career and have decided to stay single and childless. She keeps telling me that I don’t know what I am missing, and she is insulted that I don’t want what she’s got.
Queenie, I would like to spend time with my sister without arguing about this, but how?—Estranged sister

Dear Sister,
Even identical twins often have different tastes and different goals in life.
Keep in mind that possibly your sister is a little bit envious of your lifestyle and your happiness with it. The two of you need to agree to disagree about your choices of lifestyle and try to talk about something else.

Dear Queenie,
A friend of mine has been living with a man for several years and they are engaged to get married. Recently when my friend and I came home from shopping we caught her boyfriend/fiancé in bed with her cleaning woman.
He claimed it was the first time it had ever happened and swore that it would never happen again. My friend has decided to forgive him and go ahead with their wedding.
Queenie, I don’t believe him, do you? Should I have a serious talk with my friend about it?—Worried friend

Dear Friend,
I believe it was the first time your friend’s boyfriend/fiancé got caught in the act of cheating on her. I also believe it will not be the last time he cheats on her if she stays with him.
Yes, have a serious talk with your friend about your concerns, but having done so once, let it go at that. And if in the future you are proven right, please refrain from telling her, “I told you so!”

Dear Queenie,
It’s getting harder and harder to socialize with people these days because they’re always on their cell phones answering calls or checking their e-mail or texting or checking what’s going on on social media.
Queenie, when you’re with someone in person shouldn’t you put your phone away and concentrate on the person you are with?—Disgusted

Dear Disgusted,
Of course you should, but some people are so addicted to their “smart phones” that they just cannot put them down. Feel free to ask them to do so. Or arrange to meet with them in a “phone free” area.
But it also is up to you to try to be a more interesting companion than their electronic devices.