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Ten-Word Tuesday. The What Would You Do Edition

Bossy has a friend. And this friend is in a bit of a pickle over recent events.

Wait — before Bossy begins she should say this: you know how people say I have a friend and then they go on to say something egregious even though Bossy isnt sure what egregious means and you sit there the whole time listening and thinking They are actually talking about themselves?

Well Bossy is not talking about herself.

And if you are a friend of Bossy’s, this is not Bossy’s way of giving you bad news, so all of you just relax. No, this is actually a friend of a friend of a friend story, with another friend thrown in for added complication.

Here’s the deal:

Bossy has a friend. A friend who is not herself. And this friend has a friend who is dating someone. And — maybe this would be easier if Bossy were to illustrate:

bossy-drawing2-iambossy

And this Bossy has a friend who is not herself:

friend-iambossy

And this friend of Bossy’s who is not herself also has a friend:

friend-of-friend

And this friend of a friend is seeing someone. Do people still see people? It’s been a long time since Bossy dated:

friends-date

But recently… wait, let’s go back to Bossy’s friend who is not herself:

bossy-and-friend

Because this friend has yet another friend:

big-eye-friend

And this friend with enormous eyes was out one night when he spied the person who is dating Bossy’s friend’s friend:

friends-spy

Except this person who is dating Bossy’s friend’s friend was there with someone else:

someone-else

So now back to Bossy’s friend who is not herself:

friend-dilemma

Bossy’s friend who is not herself was told all about this night and now he doesn’t know what to do. He is confused if he should tell his friend about the fact that the love interest was spied out with someone else:

big-head-iambossy

Bossy can summarize her position on this dilemma in the following way: Sure, why not kill two precious hours drawing stick figures?

Which is what today’s Ten-Word Challenge is all about. In exactly ten words, can you please help Bossy’s friend make the decision: should he tell his friend that the love interest is cheating? Feel free to share your personal experience with this problem.

And be sure to check back later today for the sagest comments on the web.

If you missed last week’s Ten-Word Challenge, you didn’t miss much. Just kidding! You missed The Meaning of Life. Click here to read it in ten words.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  9. I cannot limit myself to 10 words on this subject. TELL. Especially because they’re only dating. What if this friend of a friend of a friend goes on to marry a cheater but doesn’t know they’re marrying a cheater? Cheating is a lot more painful and damaging in marriage than it is in dating. So TELL.

    Someone tried to tell me that my husband was cheating but the voice mail was intercepted by said cheater. I could have known YEARS before I found out on my own. I’m grateful to the person who tried to tell me, even though I don’t know him. I’ll never forgive my husband for standing in the way of that discovery.

    Reply

  18. Being the last to know sucks. Take it from me.
    There, that was my 10 words.
    But here’s another ten words to clarify.
    SWEET MONKEYS & RED WINE, TELL THEM ALREADY!

    Reply

  29. Hey, I saw friend of friend the other night!
    With some guy/girl–couldn’t see who.

    Let friend decide if he/she needs to know anything else and he/she can ask his/her friend.

    Not 10. I know.

    Reply

  51. always sucks to be the last to know – take it from one who knows. always tell – if you witnessed said act – then absolutely tell.

    Reply

  54. ~~~~~~
    Bonus words: If the friend is a good friend and the cheat-ee thinks the relationship with the cheat-er is going somewhere, tell.

    Or as The Great Getzy wisely advises, point in the right direction. (His mom must be really, really smart.)

    Reply

  67. No ten words from me. I just have to ‘fess up that I thought “Bossy’s-friend-who-is-not-herself” meant that your friend was behaving oddly, and you wondered what was going on. As in “She’s just not herself these days.” Feeling like a dork, now, but a properly punctuated dork.

    Reply

  75. #63 janet said:
    2. If there is cheating going on, she already knows it.

    Are you EFFING kidding me, janet? I had no effing idea. Eff you.

    Reply

  80. This is gonna be more than 10: a further development on my comment #32 (“dunno/ my friend’s daughter’s creepy husband etc”) …
    Daughter’s Friend (“DF”) had a visitor to her house, who absolutely RECOILED at seeing photo of Daughter + Daughter’s Husband (“DH”) on her refrig. Apparently the visitor had a friend who had dated DH prior — I hope — to his marriage. There was an intervention because he was too controlling etc etc, all the stuff that Daughter has been learning the hard way, after the marriage.

    Not sure if this relates or not. I need some stick figures to illustrate this please, Bossy. Okay, resume the 10-word thing.

    Reply

  82. Unless you have absolute proof, do not tell. If it’s second-hand information, you could do more harm than good.

    Such a dilemma. My husband’s best friend/boss cheated on his wife. Who was my good friend. I told her. She went to my husband for confirmation; he denied it. I lost a friend and almost a husband. Husband is still best friends with this guy. This guy also beat up his wife and lived with us for a month. Yeah, my husband also treats me like shit. But we have two kids.

    Reply

  93. I told, bestfriend still not talking to me 25 yrs later!

    (I would want to know so I could crush Husband with a cement block if true)

    Reply

  94. Do the honorable thing: Kill the friend’s friend’s love interest.

    (I kid! I kind! Violence is never the answer … unless the question is “What is never the answer?”)

    Reply

  100. In this day and age NO ONE can afford to take those kinds of chances — and you KNOW what I’m talkin’ about!!!!

    Reply

  102. Leave it. If witness tells, one thing. hearsay another.

    Stepping out of ten words, the person that witnessed can swear to what they SAW, they can stand by absolute. What friend heard is another. If there was some kind of misconception friend will lose friend. If cheater convinces friend it was nothing, friend will lose friend. Leave it.

    Reply

  103. I have a friend who is a very famous psychic. The best advice I ever heard her give, when her sister was in this situation, was that most everything that happens is between two people and if your not one of the people stay out of it. The girl did find out about the philandering on her own and the friendship was spared that messiness.

    Reply

  110. I put up with someone who cheated on me for far too long. I had no idea whatsoever. A clue from someone who knew anything would have been most helpful in ridding him far sooner than it did.

    I think it depends on the relationship you have with the one who has been duped. My best friend? No question. My sister? Ditto… The the woman I barely know/like? Not so much.

    Love the suggestion that one casually mentions how things are with X.. Feeling it out and if need be explaining what was heard lightheartedly.

    Reply

  111. Thinking the Tiger Woods and Jesse James slutdom has opened our eyes to things that may be going on behind our backs and we have no clue of. Shocking displays of selfishness/ignorance/self importance and gratification.

    Do you think Elin or Sandra would have liked a heads up? I think SO..

    Reply

  119. Off subject, but I agree w/Amelia’s advice to Jen. Run, Jen, Run! And take your children and your husband’s boss/friend’s wife with you.

    Reply

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