Dallas, Texas

Miss Ellie watched Sue Ellen's expression as they spoke, there was more to her moods than just lost attachment and extra free time, Sue Ellen was unhappy, though she didn't make it easy to understand exactly why she felt that way, she didn't seem to want to admit the depth of her feelings. "So, you'd be interested in joining more DOA projects?" she wanted Sue Ellen to say no, and for the opportunity to arise where she could question her further, she had a feeling that more DOA meetings wasn't what Sue Ellen wanted, but Sue Ellen never communicated that, though she wasn't communicating much of anything really. Unsurprisingly, Sue Ellen didn't really seem to want to be in the discussion and promptly agreed that more DOA commitments were exactly what would fix her problems; it seemed as if she had just agreed to end the discussion though. "That's all?" Miss Ellie questioned her daughter-in-law, she sensed that there was more to the story than just a little bit of boredom, but if Sue Ellen didn't want to explain anything else, then she didn't really want to drag it out of her either; pushing too hard could damage their progress if she wasn't careful. Sue Ellen looked up at her when she asked the question, it seemed leading, as if she were looking for more information than what she had provided, "yes Miss Ellie, DOA work is probably just what I need to fill my time", she gave a weak smile and hoped that her words were convincing enough to end the discussion. The two women sat in silence for a few moments, both unsure of what to say; they both knew that the DOA was a convenient solution to the problem, but not the correct solution, however, social politeness was preventing either of them from voicing their honest opinions. Miss Ellie just wanted Sue Ellen to open up and answer her questions honestly, but all Sue Ellen wanted to do right now was leave the table, she felt like she'd already revealed too much. "Would you like anything else Mrs Ewing?" Teresa appeared by the table to clear the empty glasses, a welcome distraction for Sue Ellen and a minor annoyance for Miss Ellie, "no thank you Teresa", Miss Ellie turned her attention back to Sue Ellen, though she sensed that their discussion was over, at least for now.

Walking into their bedroom and shutting the door, Sue Ellen began to cry; everything was so confusing and she didn't understand anything she was feeling. She didn't know why, Miss Ellie really seemed to want to help, but she couldn't bring herself to explain anything to her; as much as she longed for someone to listen to her and care, she couldn't discuss her problems with Miss Ellie, she was too close to the whole situation, it wasn't right. She felt silly for feeling the way she did, she couldn't explain why she was so closed off, though she blamed her mother for part of it, she was usually to blame for things like this. Miss Ellie had openly asked her whether she was ok, and she had lied and said that she was, though that couldn't have been further from the truth; she had literally had the opportunity to get a third-party perspective on her life and had done everything she could to avoid it. She didn't understand herself sometimes. Fifteen minutes later, she walked into the bathroom, splashed cold water on her face and then reapplied her makeup; she had to go back downstairs and act as if everything was ok, otherwise Miss Ellie really would be concerned. "…homework first and then you can go in the pool", Sue Ellen smiled to herself as she heard that Lucy had arrived home from school, at least Miss Ellie wouldn't be so focused on her life anymore, she could still enjoy an afternoon by the pool as she had intended.

"JR, after dinner", Jock nodded his head towards the downstairs office as the family congregated in the living room for cocktails, JR nodded as his father spoke and then went back to listening to Bobby's story about a run-in he and Ray had had with a few men at the Longhorn Bar. Sue Ellen sat silently as she watched JR and Bobby speaking to each other, her jealousy and hurt growing as the evening passed; they were brothers and although they fought a lot, they also occasionally got along with each other, this just happened to be one of those times. She knew that she had no right to demand that he pay attention to her and only her, but that didn't stop her from getting upset about his lack of attention. She was his wife and she felt like she deserved more than a quick kiss on the cheek and a hello when he arrived home before he essentially ignored her for the rest of the night; however, she never said anything to him for fear of his response. She had an irrational, or rational, fear of being irrelevant, and at the moment, she felt just that; there was no way his actions were just him trying to protect her anymore, he had to be bored with her and she blamed herself for his feelings, she was a failure as a wife. Miss Ellie watched Sue Ellen out of the corner of her eye as she and Jock spoke, Lucy hadn't materialised for dinner yet and JR and Bobby seemed to be too wrapped up in their own conversation to notice that Sue Ellen was sitting all alone, looking as if she was on the verge of tears. She sighed with relief as Lucy came down the stairs and took a seat next to Sue Ellen, she was glad that Sue Ellen had someone to talk to and occupy her thoughts, even if only temporarily.

After dinner, Miss Ellie observed Sue Ellen as JR and Jock headed into the downstairs office to discuss business and Lucy headed upstairs to occupy herself for a while; Sue Ellen had that look in her eyes again, the one of loneliness and despair. It hadn't been as obvious earlier in the day, but Miss Ellie knew now that Sue Ellen's issues were deeper than just losing the constant companionship Lucy and Mary had provided her with during the summer; she and JR had barely said two words to each other during cocktails and dinner and that seemed indicative of a larger problem. Sue Ellen hovered in the foyer as everyone separated after dinner, she didn't have a clue what to do now, though she felt like she should, it was the exact same problem she dealt with every evening after dinner. She could see Miss Ellie watching her as the family cleared the room and as Teresa walked into the dining room to clear the dishes, Sue Ellen made her exit up the stairs; as much as she liked Miss Ellie, she just couldn't deal with another discussion with her right now, she was mentally and emotionally exhausted. Walking upstairs, she headed out onto the balcony above the swimming pool to get some air, she had all evening to do whatever she wanted, but she just couldn't deal with being in their bedroom right now, she spent entirely too much time in there already. Miss Ellie turned as Teresa left the room, not entirely surprised that Sue Ellen was gone; it appeared obvious to her now that Sue Ellen had a lot of things going on in her mind, none of which she wanted to talk about. She sighed to herself as she headed upstairs, she would think about how to approach the issue tomorrow, because as much as she wanted to respect Sue Ellen's wishes to remain silent, it hurt her to see her hurting herself by bottling everything up; however, for now, she would leave her alone, exactly as she wished.

To be continued…