Is there a glimmer of hope for I'mstillhopeful ?

[I'mstillhopeful]

Today H was supposed to come over to work on our income taxes. Last night he telephoned to ask if there was anything from the city that I would like for him to bring to me in the country.

This morning he showed up WEARING HIS WEDDING RING!! The last time we saw each other he wasn't and, as you know if you have been following my sitch I am following his lead. I removed mine and am wearing it on a chain around my neck. It's on a long chain so it is not visible.

I was out of the room for a few minutes and when I returned he had taken his ring off. Color me confused. I wasn't sure if I should have put mine on when I saw that he was wearing his, or, perhaps taken his hand and remarked on it. Instead, I just made a mental note that he had worn it.

He seemed quite relaxed and happy. We laughed a bit, I showed him the new Brain Age game I had purchased and asked him his professional opinion on whether it would really increase my mental acuity. (He had never heard or seen of such a game but had fun playing it for quite a while.)

He admired a coffee cup I had purchased on our last vacation and told me I should have bought two should the first one break. He went on to tell me that he had meant to give me the other souvenir bath towel he had purchased on the same vacation. At that point I gave him the second cup which I had, in fact purchased for him as a surprise. Note: my gift to him was about one tenth the price of the gift he meant to give to me.

I then drove off to the recycling center and left him with the results of his procrastination. About an hour and a half later I returned and didn't enter the room where he was working, instead, busied myself in the pantry. If he needed help finding some documentation I helped him but didn't hover. He then asked for a tomato sandwich so I brought in a few varieties of heirloom tomatoes from the garden and let him do the rest.

At three he had to leave to go to a friend's birthday party but before he did we picked some vegetables from the garden and some apples from the orchard.

When he left he said he was sorry he had agreed to pick up the birthday cake for our friend's wife since he would have to be on time.

He telephoned on his cell to thank me again for the coffee cup.

While he was working on the taxes a friend from the UK telephoned to tell me that the husband of one of my childhood friends had been killed in a freak accident in London. H was mildly interested but then said he would like to hear more about it at dinner some time.

The good news? We may be tiptoeing into friendship, and the dreaded property settlement/divorce paper discussion did not materialize today. I think we made tiny,tiny, baby steps, and I rejoice that they are forward.