Ok! A glimmer if progress... Just asked H if he would read "Five Love Languages" w/ me... At first hemmed and hawed, then I said "Yeah, it took (my friend) leaving her H for 3 months to get (friend's H) to read it".

THAT got his attention. (He had just finished telling me about a colleague at work who dropped dead yesterday at 51, going through a bad divorce.)

well, my hints are getting more direct... Maybe there is hope???