Dallas, Texas

"Your mail sir", JR's secretary smiled and placed the stack of envelopes down on his desk before waiting for him to give him further directions. Opening the boring mail first and making a pile for his secretary to reply to, file or dispose of; reaching the final item, he grinned to himself as he recognized what it was; giving his secretary her directions for the pile of now-opened mail, he waited until he was alone to open the brown, manila envelope. "Well, well, well" he muttered to himself as he began to read, lapping up the new information in the report; Sue Ellen hadn't been wrong, her mother had a motive far greater than just wanting to see her daughter and the Ewing family; in true Patricia Shepard fashion, everything always came down to money, and this was no different.

"Mary", Sue Ellen whispered sternly as she watched, and heard, the younger girl eating, "do you remember what we discussed about soup?" the look in her eyes made it clear that she was not pleased right now. Sue Ellen felt strongly about etiquette and she felt it would reflect badly on her mentorship if the other DOA ladies saw Mary slurping her soup. Although she hadn't really intended on appearing strict around Mary, she wanted the girl to like her, not fear her, her mother had once again influenced the way she acted and she was unconsciously acting the way Patricia had so many times during Sue Ellen's childhood. Mary looked at Sue Ellen, surprised at the cold look she was giving her, it was different to the way she had acted during their previous 'lessons'; Sue Ellen had always taken a gentle approach in the methods she used when trying to train her to be what she referred to as a 'proper lady'. "I'm sorry", Mary looked Sue Ellen in the eye and apologised, it was easier than arguing about the correct way to eat soup; manners seemed to be awfully important to Sue Ellen and to humour her and do as she said really wasn't that difficult, it just took a little bit of practice. Sue Ellen watched and listened as Mary apologised, her expression softening as she realised how she must have sounded; the last thing she wanted was to imitate her mother's version of parenting, especially since Mary wasn't actually her daughter and she had little real authority to hold over her if they did argue. There was nothing to keep Mary from leaving their relationship if she felt mistreated, something that would personally offend and upset Sue Ellen if it did happen. However, it was clear that the girl was trying and that was all that really mattered right now; not all hope was lost, if she tried hard enough then she had a chance to really better herself and her social situation.

Although Mary didn't see any real problem with the way her life was, Sue Ellen saw her as a project, someone she could focus her time, energy and money on and really achieve something with; Patricia had instilled the idea that there was always something better than what one already had, and with the right training, everything was attainable. Of course, her mother had taught her lessons with the idea that a wealthy husband and good social connections were the ultimate prize, but Sue Ellen could see a little something more in Mary's future. If she met a wealthy man while in college then that would be wonderful for her, but to get a college education would do her the world of good in itself, it would provide a gateway to a better life for her family, something they clearly needed if she was eligible for the DOA charity program. Sue Ellen wasn't stupid, she may have been raised with a certain set of ideas about her future and never intended on using her degree, but she went to college with plenty of girls who did and were now professionals. She knew what having a college degree meant in society, it was always better to have one than to not, and that's what she wanted for Mary, she had an attachment to her now and she wanted her to really succeed. To prepare her for future success, Sue Ellen was employing all of her known techniques, a lot of which were straight out of the Patricia Shepard handbook; it wasn't something that she necessarily wanted, but she'd never known another way and it just made sense. If she could make her into a proper lady, then she would already have an advantage over the other girls when it came to both the social and business worlds; good manners were always in fashion and to instil those teachings would serve her well in later life. "No need to apologise; just remember what we discussed", Sue Ellen smiled as Mary listened and did as she said, spooning the soup from front to back and gently sipping it from the side, silently and elegantly enjoying the food. Relaxing, she resumed their conversation and went back to eating her own food.

Sue Ellen smiled to herself when she heard JR's car parking in the driveway as she finished applying her makeup before dinner; she'd had a good day, both Lucy and Mary seemed to actually enjoy her company and it made her feel good to be needed and have her opinions validated. "Good evening darlin'", JR entered the bedroom with a grin and Sue Ellen gave him a quizzical look, she was happy for her own reasons, but she didn't remember JR mentioning anything about a special meeting or deal he was working on this week, so what he was smiling about, she had no idea. Standing to meet him, she gave him a quick kiss and was relieved when he spoke, "I think you may be interested in this", he handed her the envelope and watched her face as she read the report. JR found Patricia's whole M.O. oddly satisfying to read about, she so desperately wanted to be someone, but she just wasn't, and he enjoyed reading about the lengths she would go to for money. Sue Ellen couldn't help but roll her eyes at the information JR's private investigator had gathered, it was so like her mother to put her greed in front of her responsibilities. In the past, it had always been her that was used in the game and it surprised Sue Ellen that her mother was now actually personally involved in her strategy. From the day she turned eighteen, Sue Ellen had been her mother's ticket to a better life; she'd been on countless awful dates with wealthy men, all while her mother directed her life from the side-lines. Things were different now though and Sue Ellen was a little annoyed that her mother chose now to pursue her love of money through her own actions; it could have saved her a lot of pain and frustration growing up if her mother had focused more on controlling her own life and less on controlling her daughter's lives. From what was written in the report, it appeared that her mother had been specific about the dates she wanted Kristin to visit Southfork, not for Kristin's sake, but for her own. She had been invited to spend a week in Aspen with a not so handsome, but very wealthy older gentleman, and she was doing everything she could to make it happen, even if it meant ignoring her primary responsibility as a parent and lying to her eldest daughter. It was almost unbelievable how focused on money her mother was, it was clear to Sue Ellen that her mother had no interest in this man for any reason other than his bank balance, he wasn't worldly, college educated, attractive, nor close to her age, and he only seemed to be interested in outdoor hobbies, something her mother detested. If she hadn't lived with her for the majority of her life, she wouldn't have believed that her mother could ignore their obvious lack of compatibility in pursuit of money, but she had, and she did, and she couldn't help but smile at it, her mother really was a special kind of woman.

To be continued…