Archive: Around Town

Dear Margaret:  My single friend 'Scarlett' is a wonderful and caring individual and fun to be around. She is often included in our family functions. However, every time she is around my brother and widowed father, both of whom are attractive and well off financially, she becomes embarrassingly flirtatious. She morphs into a seductress and hangs on to their every word. Thankfully, this behavior is limited to single men. My brother and father find her mysterious. I find her manipulative. Shall I confront her about my concerns regarding her predatory behavior, or should I warn my brother and father that her interest in them could be financial? I don't want to lose her friendship over this. In a Quandary
 
Dear In a Quandary: I understand that you have concerns for your family members and probably desire they find partners who are genuinely interested in them for something that goes beyond the physical or financial. I'm going to assume your male family members are mature adults who can take care of themselves. If you don't know Scarlett's history with other men, you can't assume her interest in them is financially motivated. To suggest otherwise to your family could be an insult to their intelligence. To accuse Scarlett of having financial designs on the single men in your family could end your friendship. Until you have concrete information that would support your theory, consider it just that and make no mention of your fears.

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