Dallas, Texas

It was the Tuesday after Labor Day weekend, and the first day back at school and work after the Ewing Barbecue; Sue Ellen sat outside Southfork, underneath an umbrella as she watched Lucy and Muriel play in the pool. She was mostly waiting for JR to come home from work, but she didn't mind being the adult supervision for Lucy and her friend, the weather was nice, and she really didn't have to do anything except be there, the girls were happy to entertain themselves. Her mind wandered to the Ewing Barbecue that had just passed, and the previous barbecues that she had attended, she'd gotten used to dramatic happenings at events like the barbecue and it was almost shocking that no one had ended up in the pool this year, everyone had been very civilised and well-behaved. Miss Ellie had insisted that Sue Ellen invite her mother and sister and she was surprised when the day passed without something going wrong within her own family, her mother and sister had acted completely normal and polite. She had been sure that her mother would do or say something that would make her feel uncomfortable or Kristin would act like a total brat and ruin everyone's good time, but that hadn't happened, the day had gone well and they had gone back to Austin without any drama, she was grateful to them for that. She and JR had mingled with their guests and she felt wonderful every time he used the word 'wife', he said it with such pride, as if he were showing her off to anyone would listen, it made her feel happy and secure and just added to the love that she had for him. Her happy thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car driving and parking in the driveway before the driver got out and slammed the door shut; she looked up nervously and saw JR storming toward the house, she immediately stood and followed him. JR didn't acknowledge her presence as she called his name as he entered the house and she began to wonder whether he was angry at her, though she couldn't imagine why he would be; "Teresa, the girls are in the pool, will you please watch them", she spoke quickly and hurried up the stairs behind her husband.

JR vaguely heard his name being called but he didn't register that his wife was following him until he got to the top of the stairs and felt her hand on his shoulder. "JR", she looked up at him, her big, brown eyes full of concern; he forced himself to take a deep breath and calm down, he wasn't sure what he would do if he didn't, he was so angry, but it wasn't right to take it out on his wife, she wasn't the one he was angry with. Silently, he took her hand and pulled her into their bedroom, slamming the door behind him; Sue Ellen jumped at his forceful manner, but she didn't say anything, she would do whatever he wanted her to, she just had to wait for him to do or say something. He paced back and forth, trying to regulate his breathing and calm his temper; "JR?" she watched him as he moved and wished that he would just talk about it, it couldn't make the problem any worse. "Ewing Oil is mine", he clenched his jaw as he spoke and Sue Ellen was surprised at how angry he seemed, something really bad must have happened, "of course Ewing Oil is yours", she softly replied, trying to bring him down to a calmer level of emotion. "I am the eldest Ewing son, Ewing Oil is my birthright, but that doesn't mean that I haven't worked hard to earn everything I have. I was the one that put in all the long, hard hours of work, I was the one that sacrificed my whole life for Ewing Oil, whenever daddy needed me, I was there, no matter whether I had plans or not. My daddy is a tough man, he's not easily pleased, and when he gets angry, he gets really angry, but do my brothers know that? No, I don't believe they really do. Sure, they've seen daddy angry, but not the way I have. I was the one that bore the brunt of my daddy's anger, his harshest discipline, his unfair judgements and expectations, all because I am the oldest. I accepted that, that's just the way it is, and everything I do is for the good of the family and Ewing Oil, but for some reason, that's still not good enough. Then you have my little brother, the fair-haired boy, given everything that I had to work for, oblivious to the other side of being a Ewing. I don't hate my brother, but I hate everything he stands for; just once, I'd like to be in his position, but that will never happen, because he is daddy's favourite son, he doesn't even have to try, he just is". Sue Ellen stood and listened as he spoke, slowly moving toward him and pulling him into a hug; he had started off shouting, but by the end of his speech he was much quieter, sounding almost defeated as he finished speaking. Of course, he would never show any kind of emotion that could be interpreted as weak, and when she wrapped her arms around him to comfort him, he pushed her away; it wasn't that he didn't need her, but he didn't want her to know that he needed her. Sue Ellen said nothing as he pushed her away, she knew not to take it too personally, his daddy was a sore spot for him emotionally, and she wouldn't push him any further than he was willing to go.

She watched him for a moment before speaking again, "what happened?" JR looked up at her and was comforted by the way she was looking at him, she seemed to genuinely want to listen to his problems and make everything ok; it was nice to have someone who was always on his side, he'd never really had that before. "Bobby happened. Everybody loves Bobby Ewing, he's such a good guy", JR spoke in a sarcastic tone and then explained about his father's decision to make Bobby the director of public relations, something JR saw as a code name for fulltime socialising and zero real work. Bobby didn't know the first thing about what the PR division of Ewing Oil did, but he got the job title and the praise, and he would leave anything difficult up to the other people in the department. It wasn't that JR wanted Bobby's job, he didn't, he was very pleased with being vice president, but he didn't like that Bobby always managed to get the fun, easy side of life that never involved real hard work. JR hated that their father would praise Bobby for his accomplishments when he was virtually ignored for the same and greater things. The double standard was something he was used to, but that didn't mean it didn't still hurt him to experience it. He had accepted the announcement when Jock made it that morning, because praising Bobby for largely unearned or unremarkable achievements was standard practice in the Ewing family. It was the last straw when Jock praised Bobby for all of the new connections and handshake deals they had made at the barbecue though, because a majority of the deals he credited to Bobby were actually JR's doing, not Bobby's. It was something his father didn't acknowledge and Bobby hadn't corrected him about, and when JR had spoken up about it, they had both told him that Ewing Oil was what was important and who made the deals was irrelevant as long as they were valid. JR hated that, it was total hypocrisy, from both his father and brother, they had just praised Bobby's performance, but the minute anything was credited to JR, it was suddenly irrelevant; he had said nothing after that, knowing that it was pointless to argue against the status quo when it came to anything involving Bobby. It had taken all of his willpower to return to Southfork after work instead of calling one of his 'friends' or going to a bar, but it wouldn't help his case if he wasn't home for dinner, and he wasn't going to do anything to make his father even less sympathetic to his case.

Sue Ellen listened to his story and silently cursed Jock for the way he had raised his sons and continued to treat them, he had no idea how much he hurt his eldest son with his actions; not that JR would admit he was hurt, he always claimed anger or annoyance, even when they weren't really the right adjectives. "That's not right; you don't deserve that kind of treatment. Your father should recognize all of the hard work that you put into Ewing Oil; it isn't fair to dismiss the time and commitment you have dedicated to the company", she didn't mention Bobby, it wasn't really his fault, it was mostly up to Jock. Bobby had never known any different, he couldn't possibly understand the pain that JR felt when his efforts were constantly dismissed or went unrecognized, because he had never felt like that, it had always been the opposite for him. Jock Ewing's divisive parenting strategies meant that each of his sons was missing something, something another brother had; if each of their best qualities were combined, then they would probably be one well-rounded man; but they were three men, not one; three very different men, each missing something important, something Sue Ellen was sure was down to nurture, not nature. "I'm sorry JR", she didn't know what else to say, she couldn't do anything to make it better, she just had to follow his lead and offer whatever he needed; "thank you darlin'", he meant it, it was nice to have his opinion validated for once, he wasn't alone in thinking that it was unfair. He stepped closer to her, now much calmer than he had been when he first arrived home, "let's change the subject, I don't want to talk about my day anymore", he looked her up and down, only now realising that she was in her bathing suit and a short cover-up. "Ok, what do you want to talk…" she began to speak but was cut off by his lips on hers, she had her answer, there would be no more talking now.

To be continued…