Wheelsup....Oh, I think he has noticed your distance...and, I think he knows why....
I think that if you could see inside of his head...you would see a "war" going on in there....
He is a practicing alcoholic....the thing that scares an alcoholic more than anything else, is the idea of giving up the thing that allows them to function...It is like asking a fish to give up water, or you to give up oxygen...they can't imagine living without it....
He is probably fighting that alcoholic voice that whispers to him 24/7.....that tells him to keep drinking....
The more he worries about it...the more the voice tells him to drink.....
When faced with life's difficulties...most non addicted people will think to try to deal with it...the alcoholic thinks..."I will have a drink and I will feel better".....
A question---If he does say that he notices you behavior changes....what do you think that will mean? What do you anticipate will happen...?