DEAR ABBY: I had dinner with a prospective girlfriend at her invitation at her house. We had just finished dinner when her phone rang. It was a male friend, wanting to tell her about some meeting he went to. When she answered the phone, she said she had company and asked if they could talk later. However, the conversation went on and on. I was in the other room and put on my coat to leave. At that point, she told her friend she had company who was leaving, and had to hang up. She said her friend apologized and said he hadn't heard her say that she had company.
I asked her why, when he kept on talking and talking, she couldn't have said again that she had company and would talk later. She replied, "I didn't want to be rude to him." I told her that she was rude to me, and the extended conversation was a big turn-off. It soured our budding relationship.
Who was out of line, Abby? -- BOB IN LONG BEACH
DEAR BOB: The caller. It was rude to keep your friend on the line when he knew she had company. The fact that the woman allowed the conversation to drag on could indicate a lack of concern for your feelings -- or simply a lack of assertiveness on her part.
They were both rude, and it's regrettable that a budding relationship died from the frostbite that followed.