DEAR ABBY: I’m a middle-aged adult with a dilemma about a friend who lacks social awareness. I had told her in the past that I had a problem with a mutual friend, “Michelle,” whom I found toxic and disrespectful of my family. She responded that it was my issue, not Michelle’s, so I distanced myself from both of them for a few months.

Later, she suddenly texted me for a lunch she wanted to have with the three of us. At the time, I was burying my mother-in-law and didn’t respond immediately. The next day, she insisted on an answer as the lunch was in a few days. I responded that I was “unavailable for the foreseeable future,” and for them to enjoy.

How do I sever this relationship with these clueless women of luxury? If I keep saying I’m unavailable, they’ll ask when I WILL be available. T

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