I'm so so sorry, especially that he crept in, as Jeanette says, like a thief in the night. Cowardice seems to be another hallmark of MLC.
Ugh, the whole thing with S17. Again, I think your H talks with him because emotionally that is about H's level right now--teenage boy. I know my X chats a great deal with S15 in a guy-to-guy way. Frankly, S15 is far more mature right now, but he humors his dad!
Seriously, I know how hard this is the first time and it must be especially wrenching after getting your hopes up for piecing. As breton suggests, it might comfort you to reread the MLC stages, some of them take a long time.
Take care of yourself, and give S17 some odious assignment that will last him a year or two!
