Oh I totally did that.. I'd have just a few beers to show I could. I'd not drink for a week to show I was 'in control'. Just so I didn't really have to lose my precious alcohol for good. And, like Ste, I also started hiding what I was drinking.. sure I'd drink 2 beers out in the open, but I was guzzling vodka out of the closet in the bathroom when no one was looking. It was really manipulative and twisted.. both towards my husband and my OWN mind to even think like that. As an alcoholic I know that I cannot have one drink.. not one. Sure I *could*, but that would start the sick cycle of craving, obsessing, lying, hiding, rationalizing, misbehaving, and living the life yet again of insanity, as an active alcoholic.
Once I was done, there was no looking back. I have not one time since my 'sober date' entertained the thought of a mere sip of alcohol, it practically cost me my life, much less my marriage and career. It's sick thinking to hold onto it.. I hope he pursues recovery soon, for him. I hope you can think about what you're willing to live with, and what you are not, as he finds his way (or doesn't).