Dear Prudence,
So my brother brought his new girlfriend “Bea” to Thanksgiving. For context, Bea was sitting around and playing on her phone while everyone else was working or cooking (we had an issue with the bathroom that required my father and brother to go to the hardware store). I was trying to breastfeed my cranky baby when our dog needed to be taken out. Our yard isn’t fenced and our old boy is a small sweetheart. I asked Bea if she would mind taking him out and around the block to do his business. Bea rolled her eyes, huffed, and took the dog out. When she got back, she snidely told me she did mind, that you don’t treat guests like servants, and then waltzed right into the kitchen. I was stunned and didn’t bring up the conversation to anyone. I did note that Bea felt free to root around in my kitchen to help herself to my containers to take the first pick of the leftovers before anyone else (and hasn’t given them back).
This was only the second time I have met Bea. She obviously doesn’t care about making a good impression, but my brother is crazy about her. He wants to invite her to the family Christmas. At my house. I know people have differing expectations on hosting and being guests, but we live in the South. It isn’t like I asked Bea to go out in a blizzard. How do I handle this?
—Guest Gone