DEAR ABBY: I dated "Albert" -- a wonderful, caring man -- for nine months until last week when I ended it because of a false promise. When we first started dating, he offered to fly me wherever he was due to be working. His job requires a lot of travel. It never happened.
Every year around this time he's back home in California to work the harvest at his ranch. We made plans for me to fly there to see him and meet the rest of his family.
A month ago I asked what was going on with the purchase of my plane ticket. I never got an answer, so I asked again two weeks later. Albert made some excuses and said it wasn't a good idea for him to pay for my flight there. After our break-up, he admitted his brother had convinced him it wasn't right for me to fly there at Albert's expense and, if I loved him I'd find a way to pay for it myself.
I'm a single mom. Albert knows my financial status. By no means could I afford a trip at my expense. I feel Albert's family will always influence his decisions and this would affect our relationship. Was this a good reason to break up? -- STAYING PUT IN TEXAS
DEAR STAYING PUT: Please don't be so quick to blame Albert's family. He may have been "wonderful and caring," but he wasn't much of a man for not telling you that he had had a change of heart about introducing you to his family, because that's what really happened. As you said, he knows your financial status. And yes, this was a good reason to break it off because, from my point of view, you had no other choice.