Elle's Reflects
When Elle left Dick's house almost two years ago, my initial thought was this is temporary. This isn't Dick, he's got a drinking problem, he'll get help and this nightmare will be over.
I was out of town and had called to check-in with Elle. I cried as Elle told me what had happened from the bathroom stall of a local restaurant.
The first thing I said is "This isn't your Dad, this is a person with a substance abuse problem." Second, why are you in the bathroom of a restaurant telling me this? Elle said "Malus doesn't want me to tell you or anybody else what happened. I'm supposed to keep it a secret." And right there was the biggest problem not only for my child, but for her Dad.