Dear Hillary,
One of the girls at my office has been very friendly to me. Holds my hand when talking to me in the corridor, and always goes out of her way to talk to me and smiles a lot in my direction. Her English seems pretty good, but I don’t know if she is married or not. She did ask me what I was going to give her for her birthday last week and so I did get her some chocolates. Where do I go from here?
Confused
Dear Confused,
From the sketchy details you have given me, Petal, it is very hard to know exactly what is in the lady’s mind. However, she obviously does enjoy her chats in the corridor. You say you don’t know if she is married or not, so how am I going to know! But it is easy to find out. Next time you are having a chat in the corridor, why don’t you just ask her, “Are you married?” is not difficult to say, is it? If that is too daunting, ask one of the girls in the office if she is married. All the office girls will know each other’s marital status (and ‘martial’ status too). Loosen up a little, or maybe you’d like to try in the local supermarket. The price check lady in the vegetable section is unattached, I believe!