DEAR ABBY: My wife and I are both in our mid-50s. Due to a medical issue she has, we rarely have sex. I don't really think about it very often anymore. Meanwhile, I have a friend, "Edie." We have been friends for a good few years now. I met her in my side job as a handyman. She's in her 80s. My wife has met Edie and calls her my "girlfriend" in a joking manner, at least I think so. From time to time, Edie would drop little sexual remarks, which, at first, I never noticed. When I recognized them, I never really thought much about them.

One day recently, Edie was having a bad day and was crying about wanting to feel alive. One thing led to another, and we wound up having sex. Now she has "awakened" and always wants to engage in sex when I see her. Until now, I never cheated on my wife in all the years we have been married, and it weighs on my mind heavily.

I love my wife and don't want to lose her or the relationship we have. I also don't want to ruin the relationship I have with Edie, if that's possible, who is just a good friend and nothing more. Edie's health is starting to get a little touchy and, per her family history, she will live only a few more years. She doesn't really have many friends or family to spend time with her.

Can I keep my wife and my friendship with Edie? Please give me some good advice as I struggle with what to do. -- GOOD HUSBAND AND FRIEND

DEAR HUSBAND/FRIEND: Wake up! I have news for you. Since you started servicing Edie, she has become something other than a "good friend," and you have become in a sense her boy toy. If you love your wife, stop the burgeoning affair now before it blows out of control and your wife finds out. If you allow this to continue, your wife will be hurt, and chances are good that your marriage will be destroyed.

DEAR ABBY: My 28-year-old son was killed by a semi in a hit-and-run. We didn't find out for weeks until he was identified by fingerprints. My husband and I were faithful members of a church congregation. Many times, I was in charge of the nursery. For three months prior to the accident, I had been keeping a child for a church member at no charge because her dad was sick with cancer.

When my son was killed, Abby, not one person sent a casserole or even called me. Of course, I didn't go to church for a couple weeks. But no one, including the preacher, reached out! Since then, I no longer attend that particular congregation. Am I expecting too much? -- SO HURT IN THE SOUTH

DEAR SO HURT: Please accept my sympathy for the tragic loss of your son. As an active member of that congregation, you expected more of a response than universal silence. More than one person dropped the ball after your tragedy, and under the circumstances, your hurt is natural. You did the right thing by changing churches, and I hope you are receiving emotional support from the new congregation you have joined.

DEAR ABBY: A longtime neighbor and friend has accused me of stealing a ring. I had been providing her with transportation to visit her husband while he was in rehab recovering from a broken leg. I also took her on other errands.

One day, she was upset. She told me she had lost a bunched-up handkerchief that held something important, but wouldn't tell me what it was. Eventually, she said she had a special ring wrapped in there, so we looked through my car several times.

I tried to help her retrace her steps and also asked when and where she may have left her pocketbook open or unattended. She then said I was the only one who had been with her pocketbook and that she was always very careful with her bag. I overlooked her subtle accusation because I knew she was distressed and frustrated.

My neighbor later came to dinner with my family, and I gave her another ride or two. Then she made a threatening hang-up call. When I went to her house (with a food gift) to address the situation, she didn't answer the door, although I am fairly certain I heard her inside. After that, I stopped replying to her phone messages asking for more rides and other assistance. I hoped she would find her misplaced item.

Today, she knocked on my front door while I was out and gave my 13-year-old daughter an angry message that she wants her ring back. My daughter was very upset, as these are neighbors we have known a long time and were always friendly with. This is extremely distressing, and I am not sure how to respond, or how to resolve this. -- INNOCENT IN COLORADO

DEAR INNOCENT: Your neighbor may have interpreted your not responding to her messages as a sign of guilt. You can reiterate that you are innocent until the cows come home, because I'm guessing her mind was pretty much made up that you were guilty after she "subtly" accused you of taking the ring. Short of taking a lie detector test to prove your innocence, I doubt there will be anything you can say to convince her. It's regrettable, but your long friendship with this woman is over. Even if she finds her ring, your relationship will never be the same.

DEAR ABBY: If you ask a guy out to dinner three times and each time he says he has already eaten, is it OK to stop trying to be a friend? I feel he could have been more honest about eating, and said something like, "Can I just get a soda or coffee? I would love to spend time with you."

Anyway, I stopped talking to him, and then he asked me why I wasn't still asking. When I told him why, he said he'd told me to take him out on his birthday. You don't want my company until it is convenient for you? Now I'm confused. I think I will look for a friend somewhere else. -- IGNORED IN THE EAST

DEAR IGNORED: When someone refuses three invitations, it means he isn't interested. Do the poor guy (and yourself) a favor -- quit trying to script your relationships and look for friendship elsewhere.

DEAR ABBY: My "best friend," as he has labeled our relationship, moved in with me eight months ago. He claims to have no romantic feelings for me. Despite this, he sleeps in my bed next to me and kisses me. (He claims to be asleep when he does it and says he doesn't remember it happening.) He encourages us to be sexually intimate and texts me daily "I miss you" messages when I leave town to visit my mom.

He says he doesn't want to be with me because "he doesn't see me that way." He also talks to another girl. He claims they're also just friends and have only a platonic connection, but I've seen kissy emojis, miss you texts and nude photos they've exchanged.

I feel used and asked him to leave, but he refused to acknowledge my request. When I asked him why he lives with me, he said it's because I am a better alternative to sleeping on his mom's couch next to her dog. I cannot express how painful it was to hear that.

At this point, he owes me $1,000 in unpaid rent, and I'm over feeling like I fell in love with someone who doesn't have the capacity to love even himself. How do I get this guy out of my house and out of my heart so I no longer feel like a live-in maid, concubine, bank account, chef and personal assistant in exchange for the privilege of being mistreated? -- USED IN GEORGIA

DEAR USED: How do you get this poor excuse for a man out of your heart? From the tone of your letter, you are already more than halfway there. Turn off the money spigot, quit cooking and washing his clothes for him, and when he climbs into your bed, kick him out of it and tell him if he wants sex, to get it from his other "friend." It would be money well spent for you to consult an attorney about his refusal to leave your dwelling, because it may take a formal eviction.

DEAR ABBY: My sister recently got engaged. I'm ecstatic for her. Her fiance is amazing. We have always been close, and I'm going to be her maid of honor. The problem is, since they've been dating, and especially now that they're getting married, I've been jealous. I feel like a little green monster when I see them together.

It's not about her fiance -- it's that I can't help wishing I had someone, too. It feels like a punch in the gut when they're being couple-y and I'm third-wheeling. I hate fighting these feelings when I'm truly happy for them both. But I feel jealous and then guilty for feeling this way and I'm sick of it tainting my genuine happiness. What should I do? -- DON'T LIKE THIS FEELING

DEAR DON'T: I respect your willingness to own up to your feelings. None of us is proud of feeling jealous, but most of us have experienced a twinge at one time or another. (This may be why it is included in the list of seven deadly sins.) Be glad your sister has found her soulmate, and please have faith that you will meet yours as well. It may not happen today or tomorrow, but one day when you least expect it, you will turn around, and he will be there.