Make it game, set, match with no reply for cheater

Opinion

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: He’s so caught! My new boyfriend has been lying about the “tennis” he supposedly plays most week nights with his friends at “different clubs.”

Yeah, right. He’s not playing anywhere except in someone else’s bed. His unusual sports car has been spotted at a certain residence for several weeks now by an old friend of mine. She lives right across the street.

My poor friend sounded embarrassed when she called to say that she was ratting him out. I’m so grateful to her for filling me in. I just don’t know how far I should go with my revenge. I hate being made a fool of and having anyone think they got away with it. What do you suggest?

— Want Revenge! East Kildonan

Dear Revenge: A person with an ego that needs constant stroking can’t bear for a relationship partner to end an affair in cold silence — with no showdown. So, without any explanation, totally block his calls. He’ll know why.

If he drives over to your place incensed — and it’s likely his ego will take him there quickly — don’t invite him in. If he rings your doorbell incessantly or waits outside your house by the curb for you to come out, call the police.

They’ll move him along, so he won’t come back. He might even be charged, especially if he’s rude and acting entitled to the police about his being there stalking you!

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: Because we couldn’t use our cottage due to the wildfires, my wife and I went a whole other route. We sold our too-big empty family home and bought a small house with an indoor year-round pool, already functional.

We wish we’d done it years ago — what fun we’re having with pool parties! And the weekend can start early and end late, with no long highway drive for the adults.

We’ve stumbled into an alternate way to have fun, now that our grown kids are up and out, and have their own families.

We didn’t need the big half-empty house, and now we don’t need to travel on the busy highway for hours to get to the lake and back on the weekends. Plus, the groceries and liquor store are just down the street here in the city, and there are new festivals in town every week.

Stop moaning, people! Your place in Winnipeg can be a fun place to “visit” four seasons a year now.

— Big Guy, North Kildonan

Dear Big Guy: Some people close their minds to alternatives, and waste time mourning old patterns. Other people get creative in fun and different ways for them and their families — like you have.

The trick can also be to take the money you’d spend on gas, park entrance and treats at the cottage and spend it more freely on small summer excursions in the city.

Some people who long for cool lake water and summer swimming are spending money enjoying weekends in the different city hotels with pools. Others go to YM-YWCA locations — some with big pools lit by sunlight streaming through giant windows.

On really hot days, there’s nothing like movie theatres, the smell of popcorn and comfortable recliner seats. Some parents take babysitters to accompany the kids for a children’s movie in the afternoon, then they take in a more mature flick or go off shopping together — a two-hour adult date.

Please send your questions and comments to lovecoach@hotmail.com or Miss Lonelyhearts c/o the Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6.

Maureen Scurfield
Advice columnist

Maureen Scurfield writes the Miss Lonelyhearts advice column.

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