H has always been a worrier. I think that is why he talks to himself so much. It makes it hard to know whether he is paying attention when someone is talking to him. He can be looking right at you. Since I know that his mind is on something else so much of the time, I can't tell if he has really heard me unless he responds in a way to let me know. He used to get mad at me when I would ask him if he heard me. Now he doesn't and he makes some kind of comment that lets me know that he heard. Or he says, "I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said."
Things have been more stressful for h in the last couple of years. He is a VP at his company and has to deal with a lot of troublesome employees, s has moved out, his mom is getting more and more difficult, and all the problems between the two of us. Some of it is getting better. He and I are getting along better. S may move back over the summer--unless he gets a job in the town his college is in. One particularly troublesome employee has been replaced with someone who is so far an excellent employee. The other guy did very little work and mostly went around stirring up trouble.
H misses s. They have gotten close since s moved out. They enjoy talking during his short visits on the weekend. H calls s once or twice during the week. H doesn't think s will be able to find a job in his college town. He says it's too small. I don't know if h is hoping s will move back home or if jobs really are that scarce in s's town.
