Still growing...

This was a good day...

Just finished inputting chapter 3 of APoS-Derry, and so far I've added 10 pages and 2500 words...all natural enhancers. This sucker's gonna be nice sized. What's joined the rest of the story is moments between Brendan and his mates, and the growing suggestion Brendan is slightly autistic. In a world where kids have dozens of friends and such, he has only a few close ones and lots of kids he just knows. He's not gregarious...and I would say this is something I'm prone to, as well.

I'm not the type who can get to know people, easily. I can count on one hand the friends I have, real friends. I've been living off by myself for decades and actually love it. The occasions where I shared space with people were always less than comfortable, for me. When I went to stay with my mother, when she needed someone, I had to build myself a little cubby hole to stay in because she had one bedroom and my youngest brother had the other bedroom.

That situation made for some difficulty, but I knew it was only until my sister got out of the navy and could take over the care of mom, so I handled it. Little brother couldn't do that; he never got a driver's license and has issues of his own. Still does. My sister and I support him, and we will till he can get early Social Security.

But now I've been living on my own steadily for nearly 12 years, and the Covid lockdown suited me, just fine. I'm vaxxed and wear a mask when away...but I don't like going out all that much. When I had to work in an office, that was one thing, but I'd usually come straight home, after I was done. Now? I leave when I need groceries or have a doctor's appointment. In fact, tomorrow is the dentist. Big sigh.

So my tendency towards isolation is playing neatly into Brendan's life...or vise-versa. I'm not above thinking he's influencing me. He was already somewhat solitary in the earlier drafts; now it's just clarifying itself in my head...and it's making a lot of what happens with him understandable. I'm rather liking this.