ArcaMax

We who live with long winters naturally pine for ways to socialize through the chill, but our patience will be rewarded if we continue to do everything possible to stop the spread of this pandemic.

I urge you to look into playing games online with these friends. Classics like Monopoly, Risk, and Clue are all available to play online — and word games such as Scrabble and Words with Friends are fun to play virtually. Trivia games might be the best bet — and they translate well into the Zoom-age.

Dear Amy: My fiance wants to invite "James,” his old college buddy, to our wedding. James and I had a silly drunken fling prior to my relationship with my fiance (he knows about this and we have come to terms with it).

Still, I regret my fling with James. What's more, I think he is a mean-spirited meddler. Years ago, he referred to me as "sloppy seconds" to my fiance.

Is it unreasonable for me to say that he can't come to the wedding?

I don’t want to act like a Bridezilla.

— Hopeful

Dear Hopeful: You and your fiancé each have the right to invite people from your individual list to your wedding. As obnoxious as “James” might be, my own perspective is that you simply not liking someone on your fiance’s list does not justify eliminating him altogether. However, that “sloppy seconds” comment does put James in the invitation “red zone.”

You and your fiancé should talk about this. Why does he want to include James? Why don’t you? Would James’ presence at your wedding and reception ruin it for you? Would his absence at the wedding ruin it in some way for your fiancé?

Having a point of view about who attends your wedding does not make you a “Bridezilla.” (Let’s reserve that term for brides who throw tantrums over trivial matters.)

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