Hi Slowly, good for you to know when to back off. I agree with you that we have to be able to share at some point when in "piecing" .....after months of shutting up it's hard to know how, isn't it. Sounds like you were clear about both how you were feeling and about your reluctance to share. It also sounds like he received it. And now you give him space to digest. And see if it works (cheese!).
Do you think he has been quieter than usual out of grief/withdrawal from OW, that is, the finality of it?
I am also trying to give my H emotional space this week.