DEAR ABBY: I have been happily married to my college sweetheart for 20 years. "Mark" is a great husband and a good father, and we are very compatible.
Recently, a woman called our house, identified herself as "a friend," and told me Mark has been "playing around" all over town and she thought I should know I was married to a "pervert." She hung up before I could comment. Mark swears he is not having, and has never had, an affair.
Of course, I believe the man I have known for 25 years over a complete stranger, but this has been very upsetting. I now question my decision to be a stay-at-home mom and wonder if someone may be out to get me. I have become nervous in crowds, fearful that someone is watching me or us when we're out together. Mark says we will go to marriage counseling or whatever I need.
Abby, I am happy in my marriage. Yet I feel violated, depressed and resentful that a stranger has the power to make me question my own happiness.
— Sad Wife in New York
DEAR WIFE: The prank you have described could have been perpetrated by a high-school student dialing randomly, or a disgruntled person with a grudge against your husband — or even you — for some imagined slight.
You feel violated because you HAVE been. I don't think you need marriage counseling. However, some sessions with a mental-health professional might help put this incident behind you.
P.S. If the calls persist, the phone company and the police should be notified that you're being harassed.
