The Cardinal and the Crook

We started dating in high school and always talked about getting married. We got engaged six months ago, which was the happiest day of my life!”

John could see the glow in her face and hear the excitement in her voice as she described her relationship with Russell, but in the next instant, he witnessed the glow disappear as her tone became very somber.

“Then . . . a few weeks ago . . . I broke it off.”

John was confused. “It sounds like you and Russell had a great relationship. So, what caused the breakup?”

Danielle’s beautiful hazel eyes began to moisten. She took a deep breath and then explained. “Russ is a wonderful . . . really wonderful person. He’s bright and hardworking. He graduated at the top of his class and has an excellent job in Boston, where he is on a fast track. He is kind, gentle . . . fun to be around. But Russ has one problem, a very big problem. He drinks too much. It started in high school, when he would sneak around with his buddies and drink beer. Then, when he went to college, he moved up to hard liquor. At first, it would only be on weekends. Then he started drinking heavily on some weeknights. And over the past few months, it has been every single night. I told him I was worried about him, but he would tell me there was no need to worry. He’d laugh and say, ‘I work hard, so I play hard. I can stop drinking anytime I want.’ So, I challenged him to stop. He would stop for a couple of days, but then, by the third or fourth day, he was back at the booze again. I finally gave him an ultimatum. I told him that he was an alcoholic and needed professional help. I warned him that if he didn’t get it, we were through. That led to a huge argument and ended in my giving him his ring back. We haven’t spoken since then.”

She paused for a moment, gathering her composure. John was trying to figure out what he would say to all this, how he could possibly help, but thankfully, she continued, “You’re probably wondering why I took such a firm stand with the man I loved . . . and still love. I had an uncle, Uncle  Charlie—I never knew him, but I heard all the stories about him. He was handsome, outgoing, hardworking, and very successful. But there was only one problem—he drank too much. When people would confront him about it, he simply laughed and told them he could control his liquor. And he did for a long time, until one rainy evening. Charlie had too much to drink and was driving home from the tavern when he swerved into the oncoming lane and hit another car head-on. The driver of the other car was a young college student who was killed immediately. Uncle Charlie wasn’t seriously injured. He was arrested for vehicular manslaughter, but before he went to trial, he committed suicide.”

“Oh my God!” John said reflexively, truly taken aback. “I’m so sorry . . .”

Danielle shrugged. “Like I said, I never knew Uncle Charlie, but I knew my aunt Agnes, Charlie’s wife. She always seemed to be very sad and depressed. Right up until the day she died, Aunt Agnes would blame herself for tolerating my uncle’s drinking. My father says it was the guilt that eventually killed her. As much as I love Russ, I don’t want to have the same experience as my aunt.”

John was touched by Danielle’s fortitude.