DR. WALLACE: I'm 16 and have been dating a wonderful guy my age for the past three months. We spent most of our time laughing, kidding each other and just generally hanging out.

We reached the point of holding hands regularly and giving each other a kiss goodnight. All was well in my social world! But I've just learned that his father was transferred by his job and this wonderful boy will be permanently moving out of state in less than two weeks!

Now I fear that I'll never see him again in my lifetime! Several of my friends have told me that I will soon forget about him, but I highly doubt that.

Is there anything I can do to sidestep the broken heart I'm about to experience? — Just Received the Bad News, via email

JUST RECEIVED THE BAD NEWS: You can make the most of the time you have remaining. I suggest that you engage him in a realistic discussion. Tell him that you will of course really miss him, but let him know that it's still possible that your paths might cross at some point in the future.

I'm not sure if either of you have college plans, but it's not impossible for you to both attend the same college someday.

Also, take note that your relationship was brief but sweet, and know that you'll be all the better for it. From here you'll be able to measure potential future dates against the nice experience you've just had, and this will make you much more likely to only accept future dates from guys who at least act as close to this behavior as possible.

And it's likely that he will have similar feelings and future experiences. With today's technology you can keep loosely in touch over the next few years if you both elect to, and it remains a possibility that you might see him someday. But for now, you should do your best to accept your new reality and take some time to reflect and appreciate the special bond you two enjoyed.

SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE'S ALL ABOUT

DR. WALLACE: This summer, my best girlfriend is doing all she can to try to get a certain guy to ask her out! She flirts with him every chance she gets; she even tracks him online and tries to be at events she knows he will be attending.

The problem is that I know for certain this guy is a huge loser who treats girls really poorly. How do I know this? Well, my mother works with another lady who has a daughter who dated him previously. It turns out he called her names in public in front of other people and he made it a point to flirt with every other girl he could find anytime they went out on a date together. Then he would tell her that if she didn't "meet his standards" of behavior, he had a lot of other girls ready who would!

And worst of all, this girl and her mother found out that his prior girlfriend before her had the exact same experience! So, to me it's obvious he's a serial manipulator all the way around. What can I do to get my best friend to stop paying attention to this jerk? — Her Best Friend, via email

HER BEST FRIEND: It sounds like your warnings are falling on deaf ears. The only other thing I can think of at this point would be to have your friend visit your house at some point and have your mother ready to join a conversation with the two of you.

If your mom agrees, have her lay out the evidence that she has regarding this particular guy. From there, you can likely do nothing more to convince her. Perhaps your mother's knowledge will wake your friend up and snap her out of the dangerous state of infatuation that she currently finds herself in.

From there you might try to set your friend up on a blind date with someone else so that she can focus on something other than this unsavory character.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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