Dear Abby: I’m told I need to ‘get over’ the creep at the bar

DEAR ABBY: I have a group of wonderful women friends I have known for decades. We get together monthly for dinner and drinks at a local restaurant. The location is generally left up to whoever has a birthday that month, and usually varies among three choices.

Occasionally, I bow out if they choose a restaurant that caters to a local creep. This man, “Bob,” has never been charged with an offense, but I was one of his victims 20 years ago, weeks after my first husband’s death. Bob broke into my home and stole items from my husband’s office. I was there at the time, and he came into my bedroom while I was dressing. I screamed at him, and he responded that I hadn’t heard him knocking at the door and “he wanted to make sure I was all right.”

I have no ties to Bob, but my friends do. All of th