Dallas, Texas

"You look very… womanly", "Is that a new dress?", "Kristin's been taking dance lessons. Have you been keeping up with your exercise regimen?" "More snacks? Are you sure you want to eat that much before dinner?" Sue Ellen repeated the words in her mind and wanted to cry, though she held herself together for the sake of her image and because she didn't want to give her mother the satisfaction of knowing how deeply her criticisms hurt. Being in the same room as her family and her in-laws wasn't at all where she wanted to be or what she wanted to be doing right now, but socially, she was obligated to be there, at least physically anyway. Although she often hated being ignored, today she was content to just blend into the background and not be the centre of attention, so that's exactly what she did, sitting quietly on the couch as she 'watched the parade', though truthfully, she hadn't been paying any attention to the television. She was relieved when no one seemed to notice her lack of participation in the conversation, but she knew that despite the fact that everyone was occupied with conversation or the parade on the television, if she slipped out of the room for a while, her disappearance would be noted fairly quickly. The long list of questions she'd face when she did eventually return was enough to put her off the idea of leaving, so instead, she found herself physically present, but mentally and emotionally distant. Her mother had a wonderful talent for making something wonderful into something awful and she already felt emotionally drained. Despite the fact that her mother and sister had only been in Dallas for a little over an hour, she was already ready for them to leave, because in that hour, her mother had taken every opportunity to direct their conversation back toward Sue Ellen's changing body and none of her comments were positive.

Although Sue Ellen tried to ignore her mother's words and remind herself that she was pregnant and it was completely natural for her body to change, she still found herself feeling sad and hurt that her mother always made such comments toward her. What hurt the most was that the comments and criticisms her mother made weren't just about her appearance, they were catty observations about the way she lived her life and she felt more self-conscious than she had in a long time. She hadn't realised that she'd changed so much physically, because no one had said anything to her, not even the DOA ladies, and they were known for their Southern 'charm'. Truthfully, she wasn't really sure that she had actually changed all that much, because she was still just barely pregnant and her mother was known for being overly critical, she was always looking for negative things to comment on, so really, even if she weren't pregnant, she would have found something else to critique, it was just who she was. However, just because it was who she was, didn't make the thought of her mother always having something negative to say any more bearable, especially in her heightened emotional state, and being in the same room with her or having to spend the weekend with her was the furthest thing from what she wanted to do. She had been looking forward to finally telling their families the good news, but now, she was dreading it; her mother's presence had reminded her that no matter what state she was in, she would always find the negative side, and with pregnancy came weight gain, her mother's favourite criticism.

JR eyed his wife as she stared off into space and although he hadn't personally heard her say anything, he just knew that Patricia was responsible for her mood. The drive home from the airport had been filled with small talk and then when they arrived at Southfork, his father had pulled him and Bobby into a conversation about the football game later in the day and he'd lost track of what the women were doing and discussing. Now, watching the parade and socialising as a family in the living room, he had a free moment to ponder what had happened in his absence, because Sue Ellen had gone from looking relatively happy to downright miserable, and he had a suspicion that her pregnancy mood swings alone were not to blame for this change. They'd discussed it at length and had decided that sometime before dinner would be the right time to tell the family their good news, however, from the way Sue Ellen looked right now, he wasn't sure she would be able to hold herself together long enough for them to present the news in a united, happy way. Although dinner wasn't for hours and now definitely not an appropriate time to make their announcement, he knew that in Sue Ellen's emotional state, her mood was only going to worsen and if he let her hide her unhappiness for much longer, there wouldn't be an appropriate moment all day. What she needed to do was deal with her emotion, and he knew one way he'd like her to do it, though with the rest of the family present, it definitely didn't seem appropriate to call Patricia out on her rudeness, nor did he think Sue Ellen would actually do it even if the opportunity did present itself. She definitely needed some time alone to deal with her emotions though, because he was fairly tuned into the signs now, and from the sad, empty look in her eyes, she was heading straight for an emotional meltdown. Excusing himself, he walked into the kitchen and asked Teresa a few leading questions, finally getting an answer that he could use to his advantage.

"Miss Sue Ellen?" no one took much notice of Teresa as she appeared in the living room, collecting a few empty glasses and making a quiet comment asking Sue Ellen about the pumpkin pie she had baked for the family, so when Sue Ellen followed her out of the room, it didn't seem unnatural and no one questioned her exit. Sue Ellen was a little confused as Teresa said that she had a few questions for her, she was usually so competent, however, she didn't care why she was being asked to clarify simple things, because it gave her the perfect excuse to get away from the family for a while, exactly what she'd been wanting for the past hour. Walking into the kitchen and seeing JR standing there waiting for her, she soon realised that her original judgement of Teresa was correct, she was well capable of performing her duties as the Southfork maid, duties that included doing as her employers asked, and it was clear to her now that JR had been behind the mystery pie questions. JR watched his wife as she breathed a sigh of relief at being away from her mother and the stress of the party for a moment, but he could tell that she wasn't entirely relaxed yet and she was still repressing everything she felt. Sighing to himself, he realised that she was still on an emotional down and it was going to take her more than a few minutes alone to collect her thoughts and bring herself back to a stable emotional state. He didn't understand her sometimes, but he knew that all he could do was wait it out, because from what she'd explained to him, even she felt like her emotions and moods were out of control sometimes, so getting angry or frustrated with her would just upset her even more and aggravate the problem, not fix it. However, just because he couldn't get upset with Sue Ellen didn't mean that he couldn't be angry with Patricia for causing today's problems, because despite not hearing her say a whole lot and not having a confirmation from Sue Ellen, he was almost certain that whatever she was upset about right now was due to something her mother had said. For the sake of social politeness and having not personally been present to respond to any of her cruel comments, he'd kept his mouth shut, however, when Sue Ellen was feeling better and they re-joined the party, he was done playing the charming Texan gentleman where it came to Patricia. He was sick and tired of dealing with the aftermath of her actions without dealing with the problem directly, so from now on, if she was going to be rude, then he wasn't going to feel obligated to bite his tongue and be civil toward her either. She treated her daughter terribly and he wouldn't just stand by and watch it happen anymore, because, for all his own faults and mistakes, he did love his wife and he was protective of her.

To be continued...