Friend or Foe?

Dear Abby,

I'm afraid that I have a serious problem and I wanted to seek your advice first before I contact the appropriate authorities. My wife unfortunately passed away several years ago and so I invited her brother and a good friend from my youth to move in and help me with the raising of my three young daughters during this very difficult time for me. This arrangement worked out well for a while, but as time went on and my wounds began to heal, I started to become wary of my "old friend." At first,I just thought that he was being loving to my daughters during a tough time, but now I feel that his intentions are much more sinister.

You see, he has what would be referred to as a "Peter Pan complex", and at first I thought that this was just his way of connecting with the children, but by bringing himself down to their level, it is hard for the girls to see him as an adult and mistake him for a peer. You can imagine the disastrous possibilities of this. I've also insisted several times that he make the girls call him, "Uncle", a request that has gone ignored, this only adds to my fears. He's also constantly inviting the girls downstairs to the basement to "listen to new cartoon impressions" that he's been "working on." That's another thing, His official employment is that of a "standup comedian", but he has not gotten paid to do this as long as I can remember, making him a strain on me mentally and financially. His love life is virtually non-existent. He'll meet a nice girl, but ultimately scare her off with his immaturity and love of footsy pajamas. I can't help but wonder if its solely his immaturity or is he simply not very attracted to women his own age?

I teach the girls to be affectionate, but I'm afraid that my friend may be enjoying their hugs too much. I pray I am not too late.

- Suspicious in San Francisco