Guys escorts some times take time off for holidays, family, R & R, etc.
Reading this thread made feel there was some stalking goin on... Glad to hear he's not retired, I guess he's giving some of the posters a good deal and therefore he's irreplaceable.
Very professional of him taking time to reply saying he just need some time off. Younger men like him are usually less likely to show that kind of basic polite behavior.