Being cold or aloof is not the point. The point is to avoid becoming infected with his anxiety. Two anxious people are not going to be an improvement over one anxious person. If YOU are calm, it should help calm the situation down. Obviously this will be VERY difficult to do over the phone - it's much easier in person (I think). However, bottom line is we can only do that which we are capable of at the time. Whatever that is, it is what it is. What you need to do is communicate your intentions CLEARLY, so he knows where you stand. If you're NOT going anywhere at the moment, it's good for him to know that. Each of you are in your OWN boat, you're not in the SAME boat. The possibility exists that you may sail in different directions, but different directions don't have to be AWAY from each other. Show him you're a friendly vessel, not a fully-armed man-o'-war. That's about the best I've got at the moment...
