DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: A classmate and I both landed an awesome summer internship with one of the top law firms in DC the summer before our final year in law school. We were both assigned to work with the team of one of the firm’s top partners, who was working on an extremely high-profile case at the time. It was one of those cases that was constantly in the news.

One late night, after we had both been working since early in the morning, we found a file containing some very sensitive information on the counter in the breakroom. As soon as I saw it, I realized I was the one who had accidentally left it there, but I knew it would cost me the internship if I fessed up it was me who made the mistake.

Instead, I let on that I had no idea how it got there, which made my classmate believe she had been the one who unwittingly left such sensitive material in such a public place, since we were the only ones on the floor at the time. If it had been found by someone else, it would have meant huge trouble for several people, including us, so we agreed to keep quiet about it.

She felt so bad about “her” mistake, that she had a mini-meltdown, and ended up terminating her own internship.

Fortunately, she went on to graduate with honors, pass the bar on her first try, and snag a spot as an associate with another top flight firm.

So although my failing to come clean didn’t ultimately cost her anything, it still really bothers me all these years later, especially when she and I get together and start talking about old times.

Do you think my telling her the truth about what happened that summer would be a dumb thing to do at this late date? --- DO I FESS UP?

DEAR DO I FESS UP?: You need to ask yourself why telling your old classmate and fellow intern what really happened would make any difference to either of you at this point. Beyond giving yourself a chance to clear your conscience, as I see it, the greatest good would be in your friend’s being able to know she wasn’t at fault after years of believing she did something wrong. While things went well for her overall, her internship that one summer did not.

I think the only way you can move forward in your friendship is through your telling her what really happened that night. If she’s the forgiving kind, then your unburdening yourself not only relieves your conscience, but more importantly, allows her to know she wasn’t to blame for what happened back when you were working together.

Be prepared for some serious backlash if you do move forward with the confession. Your conscience will be clear, but her exoneration may come at the cost of your friendship, since it will be her choice to forgive or not.

Should you choose to keep silent, the price of holding onto your secret is the wedge already in place in your relationship caused by your guilt.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My mom was sick a lot of the time I was growing up. My Aunt Tina, my dad’s sister, would come and stay with us when my mom was in the hospital or recovering from a stay in the hospital. She is younger than my parents, but had her kids at a younger age, so my cousins from her and my uncle are all a lot older than me. My cousins were already finishing high school when I was still in elementary school, so my aunt felt she had more time to come and stay with us if one of my grandmas was not able to when Mom was not doing well.

After years of getting not much relief a new treatment came along which my mom went into a trial for. Her remission was not quick, but thankfully it’s six years in and holding!

I just graduated high school in May and now I am starting to get things together for living in a dorm when I start college in August.

My mom seems to really be getting into all the preparations. She said she missed so much stuff with me when I was younger, and she is so grateful to her Maker for still being here and being healthy that she wants to do everything she can with me before I head to college.

My Aunt Tina also wants to be part of it all. She did get me through a lot of elementary school and some of middle school while Mom was still in treatment cycles. I know things would have been a lot harder for me and my family if Aunt Tina had not stepped up, but now I really want this time with Mom, just her and me.

I love my Aunt Tina and will do anything not to hurt her feelings, but how do I tell her I want this time with my mom, especially since I feel like I really need to make up for lost time with her too? --- LOVE THEM BOTH

DEAR LOVE THEM BOTH: Given her history of helping you through some of the ups and downs of your earlier life, I’d be surprised if your Aunt Tina didn’t feel as she does about wanting to be part of your next big adventure.

Perhaps you and your mom could come up with a way to open a few of the preparations to participation by your aunt. For instance, you might ask her to join you for lunch following a shopping excursion, or consult her for some advice on what her own kids did and didn’t need when it was their turn to leave home for school or places of their own.

If neither you nor your mom thinks this kind of peripheral involvement will work, then it may be time to gently explain to your aunt how grateful everyone is to her for all she’s done for your family, and how treasured she is, but you and your mom truly need to make the most of these precious weeks before you leave home for your freshman year.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I am having a f

k of a time forgiving my parents for putting down my cat without talking to me first.

I was on deployment when it happened, and they didn’t have the f

king nerve to tell me until I was home on my post-deployment leave.

Do they think I’m a baby, and can’t take the truth?

I know I couldn’t have been there for it, but still, they could have treated me like an adult. I survived Marine bootcamp and so far two deployments. I have already handled more than my parents can imagine, and I told them so — loud and clear.

That cat was more like a best friend, especially while I was going through some rough s

t back in high school. The least they could have done was to let me see her one more time to say goodbye on a video chat.

Don’t I have the right to be pissed off? --- NO CHANCE TO SAY GOODBYE

DEAR NO CHANCE TO SAY GOODBYE: It’s never easy to lose a beloved pet, and remember your parents also lost a furry family member and had to make heartbreaking decisions.

I think you need to step back and put yourself in your parents’ position. Maybe they could have or even should have given you a heads-up on what was happening at the time, but they did what they thought was best in the moment.

If your cat was suffering, and you weren’t readily available, who would have been served by prolonging that pain for the time it took for your parents to connect with you, especially if regular communications weren’t possible?

As to not telling you about your loss before you were home on leave, that too was a judgement call you clearly don’t agree with, but it was one your parents potentially made in an attempt to allow you to grieve at home, rather than in a location that may have made that process awkward, on top of already being painful.

Obviously, I don’t know all the details in this particular case, but I also know that those who are left behind have to deal with things as they happen.

Now that you’ve made your parents know just how you feel, please listen to their side of the story and cut them a little slack.