Commenting because of that last part, because that isn't appreciated enough in this sub. And not only friends, it always feels really good to me when a stranger is able to deal with your stutter really well, usually when he/she is familiar with stuttering - unfortunately this is relatively rare. I can imagine it must feel really awkward for other people sometimes when someone is blocking at one word for a long time because the stutterer is looking in someone's eyes rather intensely while staying silent, so if you're dealing with it well: well done, and thank you!