I am not sure how I am meant to feel about this.
My very good friend, who I have known since school, has an adult son who is now 21. We used to go on holiday with our kids, so I have known him well until the age of about 10. She lives quite a distance from us, but she and I speak each week on zoom, and meet up a few times a year. However, she doesn't seem to want me to speak to her son.
He came to collect something for her from our house as he was passing, and organising that through her was really difficult, as she keep making excuses about why he couldn't/wouldn't want to do it. However, when he did come round, he was quite sweet, and I kicked myself for not encouraging him to stay for a cuppa and cake; I hadn't done it because she was adamant he would only pick the item up and leave.
On a recent weekend away, her son dropped her at the front door with all her bags. It was fortunate I was in, as they were at least an hour earlier than expected; he had gone by the time I had answered the door, even though he had just done a 4 hour drive and of course I would have offered a cuppa/snack etc (in fact, I had offered that he join us for a meal but that had been declined in advance). He also collected her from our house afterwards. She went straight up the loo when we arrived, and he had arrived at the same time. I invited him in; we were sitting in the garden having a chat about our trip and what he was up to. When she came down we were mid-conversation; she walked into the garden and then back into the house without a word or pause, and even her son said, 'Where are you off to, mum?' He followed her and she got him to load the car and they left.
She and I are good friends; she has no family to speak of, and he is an only child. I feel rather like an aunt towards him, as I do with all of my good friend's children. My own kids just muck in (whether they like it or not, they know it is expected of them!!). Can anyone give a different perspective for what is going on? I am a bit hurt, I suppose, and probably behaved like I was rather narked, which I shouldn't have, I know.