Dear Prudence,
My sister just gleefully confessed to me that she is having an affair with her boss. She has been bored in her marriage since her husband started being a volunteer fire fighter and been away from home more often. She isn’t using protection because it “doesn’t matter” if she gets pregnant or not because her husband will be excited about a baby. He has wanted to be a dad since day one and they have been trying for about four years.
My sister has always had irregular periods and we all are working poor. Getting new eye glasses and dental work means going into savings. My sister has always been the pretty one and feels she settled by not going to California to be an actress. My brother-in-law is a decade older and not the brightest bulb so to speak, but he is sweet, honest, hardworking, and adores my sister. My sister wasn’t drunk. She just spoke about the affair out loud like she was commenting on the weather.
I feel sick. I can’t sleep. I can’t think why my sister told me. We see each other a lot but aren’t what you would call close. It feels like a dare to me. My sister often played mind games with her friends and old boyfriends in high school. But she is 28 now!
I lost my husband two years ago and moved back home. I worked and spent the rest of the time caring for my mother and grandmother. My sister rarely helps beyond coming over for dinner. What do I do here? Some part of me wants to pretend the conversation never happened, but I know if my sister decides to declare a pregnancy, I will not be able to pretend anymore. Should I record my sister or confront her over text? Why even tell me?