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.

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,
My husband and I both retired from our jobs a few months ago and now all he does is sit around watching TV or go out watching sports with some of his friends.
I still have to clean the house and do the shopping and the cooking and the laundry and all, and it’s more work than ever because he is around all the time now messing things up more than ever, but when I ask him to help out he tells me he’s supposed to be retired, not just doing other work than before.
Queenie, I’m supposed to be retired too. How can I get him to help out?—Retired wife.

Dear Wife,
Your husband apparently thinks all housework is a woman’s job and beneath his dignity (not to mention too exhausting for a retiree, but that also should apply to you).
Perhaps you could arrange to take a vacation from housework – even actually go away (by yourself, of course) for a while and leave him on his own. Let him see for himself how much work you still have to do even though you are retired from your outside job.
If you can afford it, you might also look into hiring someone to do at least part of the housework for you.