No Pain if I Gain

I ate my way thru the next month. As long as he saw me with food...and he wasn't drinking, he didn't hit me. I learned a few "eating tricks" to help slow down the weight gain. I took much smaller bites, I chewed until there was nothing left to chew, & when he wasn't watching me - I hid my food. The trash can was too obvious. I had tuperware stashed under the couch and under the kitchen sink, ziplock bags in the planters and I kept a piece of foil in my pocket when I could. If he walked outside for a minute or went to the bathroom or to check on the kids, I made a mad dash to wherever I could to put a portion of my food away. When he went to work the next morning - I'd empty my containers into a bag, wash them & restash, and drop off my "trash" when I left for work in the big dumpster. Thinking back on it now, I must have looked ridiculous jumping thru all those hoops, but hey - it worked! I'd even begun to think that this lifestyle was "acceptable".

He then discovered the "wonderful world of gambling". They put video poker machines in his favorite bar. NOT a good combination! Wouldn't ya know it - they started cashing checks too!
We had opened a joint account the previous month because he was making an effort to quit drinking and if he didn't have access to cash, then he couldn't buy alcohol. I kept the checkbook and the bank card. The only time he really bought alcohol was on payday, he'd go cash his check and that money burned a hole in his pocket so that seemed to be a good solution at the time.
He brought his check home, I deposited it in the bank and all was good!