I'd like to tell you all the story of Jack and Jill. This isn't the story you think it is. I would like to point out, too, that any relation to persons you think you know is purely coincidental. Sorry its so long but it is what is.

Jack is an A. He's had a long struggle with alcohol, drugs and crime since he was 15. He's spent the better part of his adult life in prison and whenever he was not in prison, he was drinking and using drugs and conning and manipulating all the people in his life who he thought he cared about and those, too, who cared about him.

Jack has been in and out of rehabs, 28-day programs, and 12-step programs. Once, his sponsor convinced him to go live in a recovery house, thinking it might give him some structure. Jack wasn't sure about this; he'd been to so many of these places with no success and figured he should just give up altogether. His sponsor said there was a guy who worked at this particular house who might be able to get through to him. The guy's name was Bob. Jack agreed to the deal and said he'd really give it a try this time.

But Jack wasn't really being honest. He had an upcoming court date and he saw this as a get out of jail free ticket. He lied to his counselors when he moved in, conning and manipulating as he always did. It was really all he knew how to do.

One of the things Jack lied about was being in a relationship with a girl he met in detox. Her name was Jill. She was a drug addict with mental health issues who had been forced to go to detox by her aunt whom she had been living with. Jill was also a dancer in a local nightclub, had been in a string of abusive relationships and had on several occassions tried to take her own life. The perfect couple.

Even though Jack was conning and using everyone around him, he never lied to Bob. Bob was different. He was also in recovery and he often saw through Jack's bs. One day, Jack told Bob about Jill. He said you know she really needs a good sponsor. maybe you know someone who can help her. And he gave Bob her cellphone number.

Bob looked around, thought he'd found the perfect sponsor for Jill. So he gave her a call and they chatted a bit about recovery. She took the number but told Bob she'd heard a lot about him through Jack and asked if she could call Bob from time to time, just if she had a question about the program. Bob said sure no problem. She was pretty convincing about trying to get better and within a week Bob was her sponsor.

Things seemed to be going well, until Jill fell down and broke her crown. she started using, just a little at first, but before long she was back at it full tilt. And because Jill was using and Jack was in love with Jill it wasn't long before Jack came tumbling after.

But Bob caught Jack using and regardless of their friendship, Bob had to discharge Jack from the home. And because Jack was there as an alternative to prison, he stood a good chance of going back to jail. So, he ran. Jack and Jill used together for a few months more, but using is expensive and neither one of them had employment so Jack had to return to his life of crime to support their habits.

Eventually, Jack was arrested and returned to prison to await trial. Naturally, Jack called Bob to see if he could return to the recovery home. Bob asked him if he would have called if he wasn't in jail. A long silence followed. Although Bob had his doubts, he wanted to help Jack if he could so he said he would try.

Jill tried to clean herself up again. She got in touch with her sponsor Bob and said she wanted to try the steps again. Bob wanted to help but in the back of his mind he saw that she didn't really want to get clean. She just wanted to be close to Bob in case he heard any news about Jack. Of course Bob was trying not to judge Jill so he kept in touch with her and tried his best to sponsor her without giving her any information about Jack.

After about 2 months, Jack got a break. The judge had agreed to a conditional sentence. This one was a bit tighter than the last one. So they were right back where they started with Jack conning and manipulating, trying to get out of jail free and Bob being his counselor. The only difference is that there was a new condition that Jack had to agree to. He could not see or talk to or have any contact at all with Jill. And even though Bob was Jill's sponsor, Bob was the one who had to tell him.

Its a good thing Bob is in Al-anon as well as AA. Otherwise he might have resigned.