Nonsensical

I agree. I want and need to get comfortable around drinking people. Not alcoholics, of course, but this seems like a contained place to cut my teeth on learning how to gracefully abstain.

Yeah. That story is rather strange. I was packing the car yesterday (we drove my wife's car here) and I noticed a box in the trunk. Not unusual, and there was still plenty of room, so I packed our stuff in next to it. Never noticed what it was.

As we pulled out of the driveway I heard rattling from the trunk, so I said, "what's that?" My wife was incredulous I had not noticed it was a wine box with 6 bottles of wine in it - but I really hadn't. Mind was on other things, I guess.

We had received a gift card from Total Wine for Xmas and my wife does not want to have alcohol in the house yet. She wanted to use the gift card, so she used it for her father. Like I said - everyone has given up on convincing him not to drink. Might as well give him something besides Carlo Rossi. I don't necessarily agree with that thinking, but I'm also not willing to fight with my wife about it.

I have a mental note of the levels in both bottles. He might be hiding some elsewhere, of course. It's a common tactic for us alcoholics - display the bottles we want you to see, while keeping a hidden stash.