DEAR ABBY: I am a 20-year-old gay man. I recently started a new job in which I thought I’d be replacing an aging co-worker who is supposed to be retiring “in a year.” Every time I have mentioned anything to her about her retiring, she has corrected me, saying she’s only going to cut back to a day or two a week. When I was hired, I was told she’d be gone in a month. I’m uncomfortable because she is politically conservative, deeply religious and sometimes moody, which makes her difficult to be around.

I have kept my mouth shut since I have been here only a month, whereas she has been here more than 20 years. I recently found out two other people had been hired for my role before I was, and both quit within six months. Should I stay and wait it out or follow the possibility of happiness elsewhere? — HOT AND BOTHERED IN INDIANA

DEAR HOT AND BOTHERED: Talk with your employer about the circumstances under which you were hired. You were told you would replace this woman and she’d be gone in one month. Exercise a little patience for another month or so and, if she’s still there, ask your employer if something has changed because she’s telling you she’s not quitting. You deserve a straight answer if circumstances have changed. If that’s the case and the job is no longer what you thought it was going to be, then “follow the possibility of happiness elsewhere” AFTER you have found a new job.

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Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.