Mr. Unavailable #111: The Phone Call

See Could it Be?, It's Not Him, It's Me, The Recovery, We're Just Not That Into Each Other, The Continuation, The Curse is Broken, Unfortunately and The Make-Up Date for the background on this one.

Signs of Hope: He finally called me. I was getting off the train at Montauk for the weekend when my phone rang. "I was going to send you a text wishing you a nice weekend and then figured I should just call you," he said. "I'm so impressed. You're doing great. The progress you're making is phenomenal," I said. He told me what he was up to that night and then I had to go to find out how I was getting to my share house. "Thanks so much for calling," I said. "Thanks for thanking me for calling," he said. Perfect exchange, really.

Red Flags: The next message from him came via text on Sunday, asking me how my weekend was, he said that his was good and referenced some photos on Facebook and said I should take a look. "Should we be friends?" I said. I got no response.

Hope, Again: He called me the next day, leaving an adorable message about how this was why he never called me, because I never answered. He said to call him back when I had a chance and let him know when we could get together during the week.

Red Flag, Again: A few hours later, I called him, got his voicemail and left him a message. I couldn't think of anything cute. He called me back about half an hour later and it was just about The Most Awkward Conversation Ever. I feel like everything I said led to a dead-end comment from him like, "Oh, I see." My confidence rapidly deteriorated and I began to fear I had a horrible phone voice that was turning him cold. But the real killer? He mentioned the Facebook photos again and when I said we'd have to be friends in order for me to see them, he said, "Oh. Oh, well."

Finally he asked when we'd get together and I said Tuesday or Thursday. He chose Thursday. Let me remind you that a few weeks ago, he asked if we could see each other more than once a week. With his selection of Thursday, we are firmly still in once-a-week territory.

Again, I feel like it's four steps forward, three steps back. Is this normal? Yes, he's started calling but the calls aren't consistently thrilling. The cute emails have stopped. He doesn't want to be friends on Facebook.

I'm beginning to doubt his availability status and I'm starting to wonder if I should start dating again. Maybe I threw all my eggs in his basket too soon. I feel like he's pulling away. Maybe I'm too available. Or is this normal?

Again, I don't seem to have the formula. "Maybe he needs more space than he thought he needed," Heidi suggested. Maybe I should do the same. In the meantime, stay tuned for Date #8. If it happens.