Dallas is the sole property of Warner Brothers.
Donna and Ray walked hand in hand to the new brick house that Ray had built, neither one speaking to the other. What was supposed to be a happy night, a celebration, turned into a war between the matriarch and patriarch of the Ewing family.
I am Takapa! Jock's loud, booming, authoritative voice shook Ray minutes after the words had been spoken. Jock Ewing was one of the only men who could scare Ray, make the normally tough and sufficient cowboy shrink back. She had no idea, Miss Ellie had no idea that she was fighting her husband over the Takapa area.
Donna went into the kitchen and started the coffee pot. She didn't have to ask Ray if he wanted a drink, she knew the answer would be yes. They both needed to unwind, and it was better for them to do it together.
The look on J.R.'s face – when Ray was included in the will, I could have sworn I saw pure hate in his eyes. All he sees are dollar signs, someone cutting into his inheritance. Donna slammed the mug down in anger, not noticing the tiny chip on the bottom that was forming.
"That was intense," Ray said, taking a seat at the table.
"You could say that again," Donna agreed. "But I suppose I should get used to it…the Ewing drama."
"You knew I was a Ewing before you married me," Ray chuckled.
"Yes," Donna nodded, "It came as quite a shock to me at Lucy's wedding."
"How do you think I felt? For years I thought Amos Krebbs, the town drunk was my daddy."
"Does it change anything?" Donna asked silently. "Knowing that the great Jock Ewing is now your daddy, you're part of the Ewing legacy."
Ray looked up at Donna with a quizzical look. "This changes everything, Donna. Jock Ewing is willing to admit that I'm his son, he's claiming me as his own. Amos Krebbs was never proud of me, he sent me off here when I was just a boy. But Jock Ewing, well he's always been a father to me, even when I was just a ranch hand. Now that I know that he is, well that's something that no one can take away from me."
Donna smiled, she knew that Ray had always idolized Jock, and that the two had formed a strong bond over the years. "What about the Ewing legacy?"
"You mean Ewing Oil?" Ray laughed. "I couldn't care less about the oil business; I don't know a thing about it."
Donna let out a heavy sigh. "But Jock put you in the will, whether you're in Ewing Oil or not, you're part of the Ewing legacy."
"Jock was willing to stand up and call me his son, which means more to me than all the Ewing millions."
"I'm glad," Donna smiled.
"Not that having the trust fund is necessarily a bad thing."
"Oh."
"Well now we're even."
"I don't understand," Donna said, sipping her drink. "Are you saying that my having wealth made things uneven between us?" A look of concern crossed her face; she didn't want Ray to be bogged down by a power competition between them.
"Donna, you don't understand. A man needs to be able to have something of his own, not just rely on his…"
"On his wife," Donna finished curtly.
"You have to understand, Donna, I'm proud of what you've done, and what you have…"
"But you want something for yourself."
"Which is why I've joined Jock in the developing business. This is my chance to be more than just a ranch hand."
Just a ranch hand, Donna thought silently. When did being a ranch hand become such a bad thing? Two years ago, Ray was content to running the ranch, what's changed him? "Ray, I just, don't want things to change between us."
Ray pulled his chair closer to Donna and kissed her mouth. "The way I see it, things can only get better. We're partners now, equals."
Donna pulled away from Ray's kiss. "We weren't equals before?"
Ray let out a sigh. "You were married to one of the most respected politicians in Dallas, how can I compete with that?"
"Why are you competing at all? I loved Sam Culver, I loved him very much. But I wasn't in love with him. He was more of a mentor to me than a husband. I don't regret the years that I was married to him, but I feel so differently about you. I'm in love with you, Ray Krebbs, just as you are."
Ray brushed a strand of hair out of Donna's eyes. "And I'm in love with you, which is why I want to make you proud of me."
"But I am proud of you," Donna insisted. "You are a smart and diligent worker, you are loyal to your family, you are a good man."
"But not successful."
"I've had enough success to last me a lifetime, I don't need it."
"But I do." Ray stood up and put the mugs in the sink. "I want to know the feeling that J.R. and Bobby feel when they make an oil deal, to know that Jock is proud of me."
"Jock has always been proud of you," Ray.
"But now we're partners. He took me under his wing; I love working with him, side by side, father and son. I can't quit."
"I understand," Donna said softly. "But I want you to be careful."
"I will," Ray assured her. "Jock is a good teacher, I'm learning a lot from him, and from Punk Anderson."
Donna nodded, knowing that she couldn't fight Ray to stop his developing. All she could do was warn him, be there for him, and support him, the way a Ewing wife would.
A Ewing wife. I have now joined the ranks of Miss Ellie, Pam and Sue Ellen as a Ewing wife. Ray's breathing began to taper off as he fell asleep, but Donna was wide-awake. At least I have Miss Ellie as an ally, she seemed happy for Ray and myself, she's always been a wonderful friend to me, even when I was married to Sam.
Donna wondered about Pam and Sue Ellen. Both women seemed so distant tonight, plagued by their own problems…and their husbands.
Donna hated to admit the fact that she did not know Pam or Sue Ellen very well. She had gone out with Pam and Bobby on a few occasions, but never engaged in an intimate conversation with her, never sought her out by herself. I never would have gotten to meet her in the first place if Sam hadn't introduced me to them. Then the two of them discovering me and Ray together – neither one of them said anything. And that was really the last Donna saw of Pamela Barnes Ewing. The two may have seen each other at political events or parties, both being polite enough to say hello, but neither one venturing out to the other.
It doesn't take a kindred spirit to know that she's troubled. When Pam and Bobby stood up for Ray and me at city hall, there was a distance between them, an unseen curtain separating them, they were together but apart. Donna saw the detached couple, but thought nothing of it at the time, for her only thoughts were of Ray.
Donna had always seen Bobby and Pam as a happy couple. She had gone to school with Bobby and admired him for his work ethic and sparkling personality. The world will be his one day, Donna had decided as she left school, seeing now that her prediction was very true. Bobby Ewing was at the top of his game. He had held his own at Ewing Oil, doing it his way, and now he had transcended into the political arena, taking charge of Texas.
Donna liked Pam the minute she met her in the Southfork living room. Pam was easy going, confident, strong, so much like her husband. The two were partners, comrades, why shouldn't they be happy. And they were, for a long time, Pam and Bobby were happy, but something happened, something changed. Donna didn't know what that something was. She didn't know that by suggesting that Bobby run for senate, she was driving a wedge between a husband and wife. She didn't know that Pam had been struggling with the prospect of an extramarital affair, or that Bobby spent more nights at his desk than at home with his family. At least they were both happy for Ray and me tonight, they congratulated us, sent us best wishes, which is more than I can say for the other Ewing couple.
Sue Ellen Ewing. She's as difficult as her husband, Donna laughed to herself. She had seen Sue Ellen at many Daughters of the Alamo functions, the prim and proper president who commanded the attention of everyone in the room. But being privy to private meetings with the Ewing family showed me a different side of her, a side that no one sees. Sue Ellen isn't as confident as she lets on, she isn't as kind or noble, or charitable. In so many ways, she's as ruthless as J.R. Ewing himself. From Donna's first intimate meeting with the Ewings, she saw the real Sue Ellen and the real J.R., and she didn't like either person one bit. He is an opportunist, ready to prey on another man's misfortune, and she – well she's along for the ride, for the money, for the power, for the name. Donna frowned as she pulled the bed sheets over her shoulders. How can I respect someone like that – someone who has no respect for herself?
Donna knew the tumultuous marriage of John Ross Ewing II and Sue Ellen Ewing all too well. Heck, half of Dallas knows of J.R.'s little indiscretions. Not that Sue Ellen is entirely innocent herself. The two Mrs. Ewings shared a lover by the name of Cliff Barnes. Sue Ellen had had him first, starting a lengthy affair with the aspiring attorney and politician, which ended in an ugly paternity suit. That's what you get for playing with fire, Donna had thought as she read about the scandal in the paper, feeling little sympathy for either party. As far as she was concerned, J.R., Sue Ellen, and Cliff had all brought the mess upon themselves, and Donna had trouble feeling sympathy for those who acted selfishly.
Perhaps it's the fact that Ray and I were once in a similar situation to Sue Ellen and Cliff, having a hidden affair, a hidden life. The difference is that I knew to stop it before it went too far, I confronted Sam with my dalliance, and he forgave me. When was the last time Sue Ellen or J.R. truly regretted one of their decisions?
Donna knew that she shouldn't judge her new sister-in-laws, after all, she was now one of them, and there were sides of the stories yet to be seen. She didn't know that Pam was having difficulty conceiving a child or struggling to find her roots. She didn't know that Sue Ellen loved her son John Ross more than anything in the world, and that she was in love with a man who never really loved her.
All I know is that I am now a Ewing wife, I have entered their world, and I cannot go back. I cannot lose Ray, I won't lose Ray. I won't let the money, or greed, or power, or manipulations keep us apart. I'm ready to fight for what's mine, and I will do whatever I have to in order to be a strong Ewing wife.