DEAR ANNIE: A small group of “friends” from work has been cultivated over the past one to two years. We are all in our 40s-50s. We’ve bonded through some after-work events and activities. At first, I was really happy with this development because I felt like I had finally found my people. However, as time wears on, I realize that I’m the background friend. I have been myself with this group and have invested a great deal emotionally. On occasion, two of them seem to flaunt their get-togethers (just the two of them), which I think is rude. Since this is an unavoidable situation due to our work …
