JR slowly pulled up in front of the big white house. He then parked the car and took the keys from the ignition. His visits with John Ross didn't normally take place at his ex-wife's house. But because of everything that was going on at Southfork, both Sue Ellen and JR thought that it would be better if John Ross didn't come there for his weekly visit this time. He certainly didn't need to be around while everyone was busy with the preparations for Rebecca's funeral. As it was, Southfork had quite a somber atmosphere right now.
While John Ross mainly stayed with JR every other weekend, it also wasn't uncommon for Sue Ellen to bring their son over to Southfork for a few hours during a weekday as well. Holiday visits were also equally alternated and shared between both of the parents. JR was still amazed at how civil his divorce and custody arrangements had turned out to be.
Over the years, JR and Sue Ellen's marriage had turned into a complicated mess filled with lies, numerous affairs (mainly JR's), and miscommunication.
Last year, Sue Ellen had finally had enough. She had taken John Ross and moved in with her boyfriend, Steven a.k.a "Dusty" Farlow. Normally, JR would have tried a lot harder to find a way to force Sue Ellen into moving back to Southfork, but this time things weren't so easy for him. Dusty was not just any man. His father was a wealthy oilman and owner of the Southern Cross ranch in San Angelo. This meant that Dusty was set to inherit a huge fortune. The Farlows had enough money and power to fight JR on equal terms.
But Sue Ellen herself had also surprised JR last year. Not long after she had left, Sue Ellen had invited JR out to the Southern Cross for a serious talk. Sue Ellen told JR that she did not believe that he loved her anymore and that she was going to divorce him. Sue Ellen had known all too well that JR had only wanted her back on Southfork so that John Ross would be there again. After all, JR had already attempted to kidnap him twice after Sue Ellen had left. After all of the deception and cheating, Sue Ellen just didn't believe that she and JR could ever make things right again. It had hurt JR the most when Sue Ellen had told him that she did not love him anymore. To make it even worse, Sue Ellen had also told JR that she loved Dusty and was committed to starting a new life with him. What had started out as an exciting affair to escape JR had turned into something more. Sue Ellen had made it clear to JR that she did not want John Ross to suffer from all of this. She told JR that for John Ross's sake, their divorce should be as fair and civil as possible. There would be no more games. Sue Ellen had stressed how important it was for them to act like adults and communicate with each other in a rational manner. It was the only way for them to be able to take good care of their son and to learn about what was going on in his life from each other.
After Sue Ellen had remarried to Dusty, they had moved to Dallas so that John Ross would be closer to JR. It had taken some time for JR to get used to this new arrangement. But once he had, JR had realized something. Once JR had accepted that there was no way for him to get Sue Ellen back, he realized that he actually had no desire to have a romantic relationship with her anymore. Sometime over the years of their marriage, JR had fallen out of love with Sue Ellen. He now knew that his desire to keep the family unit together and to have the appearance of a successful marriage must have been keeping him from realizing that. JR hadn't wanted to work at fixing his marriage, and ended up paying for it. Sadly, it had actually been a relief to JR when it was all over. Now he didn't have to keep trying to trick people into believing that he had a perfect marriage anymore.
One good thing had come from all of this, though. JR and Sue Ellen had really started communicating with each other about John Ross. JR had learned that there was a lot more to being a father than what he had been doing during his marriage. JR had always loved John Ross, but he realized that Sue Ellen was the one who had been doing most of the actual work when it came to taking care of their son. JR had always mostly just been involved in the fun things, like reading bedtime stories and playing games. But now Sue Ellen was teaching him that there was so much more when it came to being a parent. Now, JR felt horrible about how he had left all of that responsibility to Sue Ellen for so long. But he was learning now, and Sue Ellen had told him that he was doing a great job. Even his own mother had told him how proud she was of JR for being able to have a friendly divorce for John Ross's sake.
My divorce is more successful than my marriage was. How sad is that? JR thought to himself.
JR got out of the car and walked up to the front porch of Sue Ellen and Dusty's house. Before he even got to the door, John Ross came running to him from the direction of the backyard. "Daddy, daddy!" He yelled excitedly.
JR's face broke into a huge smile. John Ross was the only person who would always be able to make him smile no matter what.
"Hey, buddy!" JR greeted him excitedly. He then picked up his son and gave him a hug.
"Daddy, guess what!? Me, mommy and Dusty all went to the plan-tarum yesterday! And then mommy got me ALL the planets from the gift shop! You have to see them!" John Ross babbled excitedly.
"All of the planets, huh!? Well, I have to see that! Then you can tell me all of their names and which one is your favorite, too!" JR answered with genuine interest.
They both went inside the house then, with John Ross sprinting ahead. Once they were inside, John Ross nearly crashed into Dusty.
"Whoa! Easy there, partner! Rein in that stallion before you crash into someone!" Dusty cautioned with a smile.
JR had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes. Even though he had stopped hating Dusty a long time ago, JR still thought that he took his whole cowboy routine way too seriously.
"Hi Dusty, how are you?" JR asked politely.
"Great, JR! But I think that John Ross is seriously considering turning this house into a space shuttle now! Sue Ellen is in the dining room. See ya!" Dusty answered, then headed towards the door to the basement.
JR and John Ross continued on into the dining room. Sue Ellen was sitting at the table with a mug of coffee. She smiled when she saw JR.
"Hello, JR." Sue Ellen greeted him.
"Hi, Sue Ellen. Thanks for letting me come here today to see John Ross." JR answered back.
"Of course. I imagine things are quite difficult at Southfork right now." Sue Ellen said in a subdued tone.
"I certainly don't want John Ross to see what is going on there right now." JR said quietly.
"Mommy! We have to show daddy the planets!" John Ross interrupted loudly.
"Honey, why don't you go get your planets and space station all set up in the living room? Then daddy and I will come to see everything in a few minutes." Sue Ellen told John Ross.
"Okay!" John Ross agreed happily. He then ran upstairs.
"It looks like he has become quite the little astronomer now!" JR remarked with a grin.
"It has done wonders for his fear of the dark! Last night was the first time that he didn't mind not having the hall light on while he slept!" Sue Ellen said with pride.
"That is great news!" JR replied enthusiastically.
"He's already talking about wanting a telescope so that he can look at all the stars and planets! I imagine that he will be able to see a lot more of them at Southfork, though." Sue Ellen said thoughtfully.
JR's expression became uncomfortable after Sue Ellen mentioned Southfork again. He still couldn't help feeling guilty about Rebecca's death. But it was more than just that. JR could not figure out why Katherine had been so insistent on not blaming him for anything. She had even argued with her own sister in an attempt to defend him. How could Katherine, the person who had lost the most because of this, not blame JR for his careless actions?
"What's wrong, JR?" Sue Ellen asked with concern.
JR looked at his ex-wife. While it was true that he wasn't in love with her anymore, JR did see Sue Ellen as a friend. A friend who he was usually able to discuss his problems with. Sue Ellen was wise. Maybe she could help JR shed some light on this situation. So JR told her about everything that had happened with Katherine, including the ill-fated confrontation with Pam last night.
"I just don't understand why she isn't blaming me for this!" JR finally finished.
"Would you prefer it if she did blame you?" Sue Ellen asked JR seriously.
JR considered the question for a moment. "Well, no. I guess not." He admitted.
"I guess I just feel like I have to do something to try to make up for it. Maybe it's because Katherine is someone who never seemed to have anything against me. I don't know..." JR said helplessly.
"Well, it was nice of you to offer to talk to her if she wants to. But maybe you should also try to actually do something that could help you right now." Sue Ellen said.
"Like what?" JR asked.
"Why don't you go to the funeral?" Sue Ellen suggested.
"The funeral? There's no way that anyone would let me come to that!" JR said with disbelief.
"How do you know until you've tried? From what you have told me about Katherine, I think it's safe to assume that she would let you come. Either way, you have nothing to lose by just asking her." Sue Ellen said.
"Okay, I guess I'll try then." JR decided.
"Thanks for all of your advice, Sue Ellen. I really appreciate it." JR said with sincerity.
"I'm just glad that you are really starting to think about things like this more deeply now. I'm really proud of you, JR." Sue Ellen admitted.
A few hours later, JR pulled into the driveway at Southfork. He had spent a nice afternoon helping John Ross battle against imaginary space monsters. But now he had to come back to Earth and start facing his problems.
As JR walked around the house, he couldn't help but feel that it seemed a bit empty. Where was everyone? Thankfully, he happened to spot Theresa, the head maid.
"Welcome home, Mr. Ewing." Theresa greeted JR respectfully.
"Theresa, would you happen to know who is here right now?" JR asked her.
"Most of the family is out at the moment. But I believe that Miss Lucy is in her room right now. Oh, and Miss Wentworth is in the den." Theresa answered.
JR thanked her and went into the house. Now that no one else was here (except for the poison dwarf that was JR's niece), this was the perfect time for him to ask Katherine about the funeral.
As JR passed the staircase, he could overhear some of Lucy's phone conversation. "Pyramids!? I don't know what he is thinking with that one!" Lucy said. JR did not attempt to listen to any more of that conversation, whatever it was supposed to be about.
He went on into the den. Katherine was sitting on the sofa, studying a sheet of paper in her hand. From the way her eyes looked, it was clear that she probably hadn't slept at all last night. JR cleared his throat nervously. It was now or never.
"Hi, Katherine." JR greeted her cautiously before sitting down next to her.
Katherine looked up from the paper. "Hi. Did you just get back?" She asked.
"Yeah. I was with my son for a while today. What are you doing?" JR asked.
"Just going over the guest list for the funeral. It's actually a lot longer than I thought it would be." Katherine answered.
That made JR feel even worse, but he was also curious. "Is it alright if I look at it for a minute?" JR asked Katherine.
"Sure, I could use a break anyway." Katherine answered and then handed JR the list.
After looking at it for a while, JR noticed something strange. Not one person on the list had the last name Wentworth.
"I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but isn't anyone from your father's side of the family coming for this?" JR asked in confusion.
If Katherine thought that JR had sounded rude, she didn't show it when she answered back. "Daddy's parents died before I was born, and he didn't have any siblings or cousins, either. So I guess you could say that the last of us is sitting right here." Katherine explained, and then pointed to herself with a sad smile.
JR felt terrible. Except for Pam and Cliff, Katherine had no family left at all now.
"I'm sorry... I didn't know." JR apologized.
"No, it's alright." Katherine quickly reassured him.
JR looked at the list again to distract himself. It was then that he noticed the name Clayton Farlow near the bottom of it. Clayton was Dusty's father. He also seemed to be spending a lot of time with Miss Ellie lately. This made JR very uncomfortable. He hoped it wouldn't turn into anything serious for his mother. JR still wasn't over his father's death yet. Plus, it would be a little too much for him if the Farlows managed to have his mother as well as his ex-wife.
"Did mama put Clayton on the guest list?" JR blurted out before he could stop himself.
Katherine looked at JR in surprise. "She did, but it was also my idea. Clayton was an old friend of daddy's. Although I don't really remember him that well. He only came to the house a few times when I was really young." She explained.
"I see." JR said.
That man sure got around a lot! JR thought to himself.
Then, remembering why he was here, JR made himself ask about the funeral. "I know that I have no right to be there, but do you think that I would be allowed to go to the funeral?" JR asked Katherine nervously.
Katherine sighed tiredly. "Of course you can come, JR. If I say that you can come, then everyone else really doesn't have a choice in the matter." She answered him with with mild exasperation.
"Well, if you say that it is alright, then I guess I shouldn't worry about it. Thank you. I'll come." JR said. It was the least he could do, considering that he had pretty much killed Rebecca.
Katherine smiled softly at JR before replying back. "Thank you, JR. It's really nice of you to do this." She said sincerely.
"It's the least I can do." JR told her.
It was later that night when JR thought to himself that he had seen Katherine with a real, genuine smile on her face for the first time since he had met her. JR found himself hoping that he would be able to see Katherine smile like that again.
