Shopping colleague

[C1N1C]

I'm editing some tiny bits of this but the gist is the same.

Happily married man and i do the food shopping, but my wife is not interested in joining. Recently a colleague (same age, but single) moved locally. Colleague and I are OK friends but she doesn't drive, and as there is only the local supermarket... I have offered to take her, or if I bump into her there, offered to drive her home as due to our busy jobs, the time we can do the shop often coincides.

My wife is lightly jealous, i.e. she will make pseudo-jokey comments that most likely have grains if truth.

Strictly friends/colleagues... would you consider this dangerous? Would you be OK with it?

Crazy coincidence that you and this colleague always shop at the same supermarket at the exact same time. I live in a very small town with only one supermarket and can’t remember the last time I bumped into a colleague.

I wonder how on earth she managed her shopping before you came along?

I also wonder whether you’d be so eager to act the Knight in Shining Armour if it was Keith from Accounts that needed regularly escorting to the supermarket.

This!

It sounds like you're enjoying the fact your wife has made these comments and are either hoping for a thread full of women telling you your colleague must fancy you or a thread where people pounce on your wife for being silly so you can tell her women on Mumsnet think she's silly.

It's a remarkable coincidence that you and your colleague happen to see each other at the supermarket so often.

Good point @ChimpMcGarvey - would you be so keen to be so helpful Op if it were Keith from accounts? Your colleague has other options and had presumably managed to do her grocery shopping without your help previously so if you know it's bothering your wife (even if it's just bothering her a little) then you should stop. Put your wife and your relationship first (& if you don't want to do that or are even hesitating to stop slightly, then maybe she has a point).

"Often" I have to admit is a bit if a stretch... i think three times, but enough for my wife to comment.

Believe it or not, they have become quite good friends due to my colleague moving locally, they're always messaging and hanging out, whereas I tend to keep work separate and thought I was just doing a nice thing (for it seems more her friend now than mine). Three times over the past say four months of weekly shopping, as i said because we don't get a lot of free time due to work so our shopping time slots are quite limited.

I think I have my answer... due to her being local and now a sort friend of both of us (sorry, I should have mentioned that in the original post) I'd made the offers of lifts just as it seemed friendly and helpful, and it made sense if we were both going to the same place at around the same times.

...but recently my wife has asked "is 'Jane' going?"... and asking how many times I've given her a lift, is sort of telling. I've told her the truth, as I felt there was nothing to hide.

Any suggestions on how to rescind the offer?...

And no, not pretty, not compared to my wife :)

No need to rescind the offer, just don't offer going forward and if she asks, don't be available. If you bump into each other at the supermarket, again, don't offer and if you felt it was necessary, you could make an excuse for why you can't drop her home e.g. in a rush to get back, not going straight home etc etc.

Don't make a drama out of it, no need to mention it again & just don't do it. If you feel the need to tell her that your wife doesn't like it, then that's very telling as it means you obviously do like the attention and your wife is right to be wary.