DEAR ABBY: My husband's 19-year-old daughter is being married in May of 2003. She has asked us to pay half of the cost of the wedding.
The problem is that she has a 15-month-old baby whom we've never met; she lives with her boyfriend, whom we've also never met; she dislikes me, and for that reason refuses to visit us. (She lives in Nebraska and we live in New Mexico.)
This girl has informed my husband that there will be 150 people at the reception dinner after the wedding, and 400 more coming to the reception later -- out of whom only my husband, myself and my mother-in-law will be invited from our side of the family.
In other words, we're being invited to this wedding as guests, but are expected to foot half the bill. What do you make of this, Abby? -- MIFFED STEPMOTHER OF THE BRIDE
DEAR MIFFED: I don't know enough about the history of your stepdaughter's breach with you and her father to make a judgment. However, the guest list seems decidedly one-sided to me, and you should pay only what you feel you can afford.