I think the Boss is backing off his notion that I need help. He called to ask for a report I just couldn't give him today, and he understood. Sort of. He made some comment about how he would just have to try to understand and back off when I was jammed up. He says things like that once in a while, but I'm never sure how much he means them. I know he won't remember saying it tomorrow, if by chance something should come up that he needs me to do.

When I told him I'd tried to get some work done on the weekend, he said, "You shouldn't have to work on the weekend."

When I said that I worked on the weekend because I wanted to take some time off later this month, he said, "You should be able to take some time off without having to work on the weekend."

Well, he just seemed to have an answer for everything, didn't he? It makes me a little suspicious, but I think he was as sincere as he knows how to be. Time off isn't important for him but he knows that for some reason other people like it. He knows that as an employer he has to give up a little of the time he pays me for, even if it doesn't seem quite fair to him.

Or maybe I'm the one not being fair to him. Maybe he really wants me to have a vacation. That goes against the image I have of him, though, and it's a little hard for me to wrap my mind around. I should do for him what I do for everyone else in the world, including perfect strangers. I should take him at his word. I should give him the benefit of the doubt.

What makes me think he's going to be less insistent about hiring someone to help me out is the way he said he was going to back off when I need some space. He said, "Since I can't convince you that you need help, I'm just going to have to let you work at the pace that's best for you." Since that's what I really wanted to hear, I'll definitely take him at his word.