Husband should forget wife’s flirtation on plane

Dear Annie: My wife, my granddaughter and I recently took a six-hour flight home. I thought we’d have the middle section to ourselves, but when we boarded, I noticed there were four seats. As I put our carry-on luggage into the overhead bin, I saw my wife plop herself next to a male passenger.

Whenever I fly with my wife, she says she needs to sleep and doesn’t want to talk. But on this flight, she started talking to this man and never once looked at me. When snacks were served, my wife handed one to the guy, but paid no attention to our granddaughter or me. Then, when I took out the sandwiches I bought earlier, she gave hers to the man.

She chatted with this guy for the entire flight. The only time she spoke to me was when she asked me to move to use the restroom.

When we got home, I questioned her. She didn’t like my attitude and said next time she’d sit next to a stranger instead of me. She even admitted she knew I was angry on the flight. But she never told me why she was so eager to converse with this fellow when she always tells me she prefers to sleep on long flights.

I think she was enjoying flirting. What should I do?

— Mahalo in Hawaii Dear Hawaii: Even if your wife was flirting with this guy, don’t turn it into a big deal. It’s not like they exchanged phone numbers. She may have been equally talkative with a female. For all you know, the guy found her annoying. It was rude for her to ignore you and focus her attention elsewhere, especially knowing that it upset you. But your reaction is only fuelling the fire. Unless she makes a habit of flirting with other men, let it go. Dear Annie: I am a 16-year-old girl. There are some guys I’d like to dissociate from. They say sexual comments that make me uncomfortable. They have even grabbed me. They don’t do this when my boyfriend is around. He’s had a few choice words with them, but they refuse to back off.

I cannot avoid them because we live in the same town and I see them at events. I have deleted and blocked them from Facebook, but every time I log on, I see a notification saying they have accepted my friend request when I never sent one. These guys scare me.

I have known them for four years, and it wasn’t like this until recently. I have started being rude to them and ignoring them. I’m normally a friendly person, and I don’t like behaving this way, but I can’t take it anymore.

— Stressed in N.C. Dear Stressed: These young men are harassing and bullying you. If you are scared, it’s time to take action. Inform your parents and the school of the harassment. Then consider taking out a restraining order. They need to know you mean business. Email questions to anniesmailbox@comcast.net or write to: Annie’s Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Ste. 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. Visit www.creators.com to find out more about Annie’s Mailbox