Annie’s Mailbox: Hello?! You’re being betrayed

Dear Annie: My husband and I have been married for 15 years. We’ve been friends with “Ted and Jane” for almost 20. We used to get together for dinner and drinks at each other’s homes about once a month. Recently, however, Ted and Jane have been asking only my husband to come over for drinks at night and on weekends. When I ask him why I am not included, he says, “It’s no big deal.”

I’m even more bothered because I recently learned that they also include a female friend in these social gatherings who is currently separated from her husband.

I can’t help but wonder, Annie, if Ted and Jane are trying to somehow set up their female friend with my husband. I certainly hope they would not jeopardize my marriage or our long-standing friendship. Do you think this scenario is “no big deal”? – Friend or Foe

Dear Friend: Oh, honey, wake up and smell the coffee. Either Ted and Jane are encouraging an affair, or your husband has asked them to arrange it so he can meet his sweetie on the side. This is a betrayal all around. Tell your husband he isn’t fooling anyone, and then get some counseling. And we strongly recommend you write Ted and Jane off your Christmas list permanently.

Dear Annie: “Desperate in Pennsylvania” asked about persistent throat clicking. I, too, had that problem for years, throughout graduate school and my years as an M.D. in practice. I saw a number of ear, nose and throat specialists with no success at arriving at a diagnosis.

Some years later, I developed what is known as a thyroglossal duct cyst at exactly that spot. It showed up as a large, rapidly swelling tumor on my neck, near the larynx. Removal of this large mass relieved both its presence and the throat clicking.

– M.D. (Retired)