Dear Annie: I have been with this woman, “Sue,” for close to a year now. Lately, things haven’t been the greatest because I feel she is acting like a teenager. She thinks every free moment should be spent with her, and if I don’t, she gets mad. She will text me throughout the day and send, on average, 10 texts that say, “I LOVE YOU.” If I don’t say it back, she gets mad at me.

We are both grown and have grandkids. I don’t feel the need to say it that often, for one thing, and another, she knows what I feel and think, but I still get the same prodding questions and texts even though we have talked about it several times. She is driving me to the point where I want to be single again.

She feels like she has to see me daily. We have not slept together because I just don’t want to, but every week I get, “You can stay the night and just cuddle and no sex,” but she also knows that, due to my health, I can’t because I need a machine to sleep. Am I wrong for wanting to break up and just be single? In all honesty, my feelings are just this. I love her as a friend but nothing more. — Only a Friend

Dear Only a Friend: You are not wrong for feeling that you only like her as a friend. You are wrong for not telling her that. My guess is that you are pulling away, and it is causing her to pull forward. Sadly, sometimes when Person A feels Person B pulling away, Person A, in a desperate attempt to maintain the relationship, takes measures to try and reassure themselves of Person B’s love.

There is nothing wrong with her acting like a teenager and wanting to send “I love you” texts or sleep over, but they seem to be stemming from a rightful insecurity in your relationship. Even though you’re saying the “right” things, she can tell something is wrong. By telling her that you just want to be friends, she will then be free to find someone who wants to be with her and will appreciate her, and you can be free to find someone you want to spend more time with romantically.

Dear Annie: I thought you missed something very important in your response to the young lady who was scared to see a male doctor. Her mom is doing her a great disservice in not paying attention to her daughter’s fears about seeing a male doctor. I would like to say that any upright OB-GYN would understand her fears and do his best to put her fears to rest. And in this day and age, most male doctors would have a female nurse in the office during the entire procedure.

The nurse would help the young lady feel at ease, even holding her hand and talking to her about what the doctor is doing and possibly engaging in small talk to get her mind off this fearsome experience.

I doubt if this is the first time the doctor has faced this situation, and he probably knows how it should be handled. I have two daughters, and they both went through the same thing, fears and all.

How this procedure is handled now will follow her all of her life. It won’t be the most pleasant thing, but it does get easier as time goes on. — Mom in N.C.

Dear Readers: A great many of you wrote to say that a female nurse would most likely be in the room. Thank you for pointing out my oversight. And if a female nurse is not present, Mom and daughter should insist upon one before allowing the procedure to go forward.