Dear Queenie,
My mother died years ago and my father’s neighbors never so much as paid their condolences, let alone invite him over for coffee or even just to chat.
Now the neighbour woman’s husband has died and all of a sudden she has been spending a lot of time with my father. He takes her to run errands and she cooks dinner for him and things like that.
Queenie, would it be rude of me to ask her what’s going on here?—Worried daughter
Dear Daughter,
Yes, it would be rude to ask, but I think the answer to your question is obvious: two bereaved, lonely people are finding comfort in each other’s company. And, yes, this may become more than simple friendship, but your father is an adult and does not need you to look out for him.
As for their not having been friends while her husband was still alive, maybe her husband was the jealous type, regarded your widowed, single father as competition and did not want anything to do with him.
