Each time he returned he gradually grew more withdrawn. He wore his headphones like talismans to ward away the outside world. Normally they stood at attention, but around friendly company he’d allow them to rest around his neck. One girl who’d had a passing affair with him during his stay in town even claimed that even in the bedroom, when stripped of all his other trappings, he’d refused to remove them. That was probably the first hint I had that he was starting to lose it.