Dallas, Texas

"Well, I'd better be going, I don't want to miss my flight", Bobby stood and said goodbye to the family before he left the breakfast table; Sue Ellen noticed as JR's mood changed when Bobby spoke, he obviously wasn't happy about whatever Bobby was doing today. "Come on JR, we'd better be going too", Jock stood and waited for JR to follow him, though he didn't really need to, they drove separate cars to the office anyway. JR reluctantly stood, he was still bitter about Bobby's new position within Ewing Oil, his brother was slowly taking over his role and he wasn't pleased about it. He knew how these things worked, Bobby taking responsibility for more meant that JR had to give up some of his responsibilities; a meeting here and there would soon mean that JR was no longer involved in anything other than final negotiations and that just wasn't acceptable to him. Then there was the issue of Bobby's inexperience, with the way things were heading in the oil industry, Bobby would be more use to them spreading around a few B's rather than actually doing any serious business, they would need all the friends they could get. JR would prefer to be the one doing any real business, he always felt calmer about anything when he was in full control, and right now he didn't feel like he had much control at all. He didn't mind Bobby working as an employee for Ewing Oil, but he didn't like the idea of him actually negotiating as one of the Ewings of Ewing Oil, he just wasn't that confident in his brother's ability. Sue Ellen had hoped that JR would have to go inside and get his hat or something, she wanted to talk to him and ask what was wrong, but unfortunately, he stood, kissed her on the cheek and followed his father; she would have to wait until he returned from work to find out what was bothering him. Miss Ellie looked at her watch, "are you ready Sue Ellen? We're supposed to be there at nine, and you know how the traffic is at this time of day", in thinking about JR's problems, Sue Ellen had almost forgotten her own plans, "yes, just let me get my purse and we'll go", she walked into the house and collected her things. Sue Ellen drove Lucy to school and then she and Miss Ellie made their way to an underprivileged school on the other side of Dallas, the DOA had fundraised to buy new textbooks and classroom furniture for them and the school was holding a special morning tea to thank the DOA for their generosity.

JR arrived at Ewing Oil and spent most of the day in his office looking over paperwork and making decisions about which fields they would focus on in the next year, and which ones would have their production cut back. It was real work, with real consequences and he knew that he had to get it right, because if he didn't, there would be hell to pay with his father, not to mention all of the people that relied on Ewing Oil for their livelihoods. Bobby was in Washington to meet with a few senators and spread a little goodwill, having as many powerful and influential people on their side as possible was always preferable and they didn't want anything to happening that would disrupt their business, especially not now with the whisperings of a possible uprising by potential foreign oil powers. JR analysed all of the information in front of him and made some hard decisions, what was best for Ewing Oil wasn't necessarily what was best for their workers or the US economy, but he had to do it, they had to do whatever it took to remain independent. Across town, Sue Ellen and Miss Ellie mingled with some of the school board members, teachers and other DOA members, though Sue Ellen found it hard to concentrate on the good deeds they were celebrating, she was too preoccupied with concern for JR's wellbeing, Bobby's promotion was really taking a toll on him. She felt that it was her duty as his wife to always support him and she truly just wanted him to be happy, because when he was happy, she was happy. It wasn't fair that JR had to work so hard for things and got little praise when he did succeed, while Bobby just cruised through life doing minimal work, but getting more praise for his accomplishments. She really felt bad for JR, the amount of hurt that he expressed had to be just a small amount of what he actually felt; it just wasn't right the way he was treated, no one ever seemed to be on his side. In that moment, she made the decision, she was going to do everything she could to help JR get back on top again, he deserved to be the one in control, and he deserved to have his efforts recognized; no longer would she just listen an empathise with him, she decided to take an active role in bettering his position.

"How was your day?" Sue Ellen sat and watched as JR removed his suit to change before bed; she hadn't had much luck that afternoon when he returned from work, but she really wanted him to talk to her, to confide in her, so she tried again. She wanted their marriage to be open to communication and for him to know that he didn't have to deal with everything himself, she was there to listen and support him. She even had a small plan if he wanted to hear it, though she would wait for him to ask before suggesting it, she didn't want to appear too presumptuous. JR stopped what he was doing and looked at his wife, it always surprised him how much she seemed to genuinely care, she didn't have to ask him, and he didn't have to answer beyond a standard polite response, but something about the way she asked made him want to tell her. "It was ok, I had to make some tough decisions, some people are going to lose their jobs, and I won't be very popular within the business, but I only did what I had to, Ewing Oil always comes first. I just hope that Bobby knows what he's doing, because we need all the support we can get, the situation isn't going to fix itself". Sue Ellen listened as he spoke, she didn't quite understand the oil business, but she gleaned from his explanation that they had an oversupply of oil and he'd had to cut back production to protect Ewing Oil from falling prices. She also gathered that he was concerned about a rumoured uprising by foreign countries and loss of control of the market for companies in the US; it seemed like an awful lot for him to be dealing with by himself and she hoped that Bobby and Jock understood JR's decisions and would back him up. He didn't deserve to have to take all the responsibility, it sounded like most of it was out of his control anyway. After listening to him speak, she decided to shelve her thoughts about how he should deal with Bobby, he already had so much going on and listening to her potential takedown plan probably wasn't something that would interest him. For now she would just hold on to her ideas, she could always share them at a later date if needed, but right now he needed her to listen and support him, not throw more onto his plate.

To be continued…

Enjoying the story? Consider leaving a review :)