Dallas, Texas

"How is she mama?" JR whispered as he and Miss Ellie stood in the living room area of the hotel suite. Before he'd entered the room, he honestly hadn't been entirely sure how he was going to approach Sue Ellen and convince her to come back to Southfork, however, now, with his mother present, he knew he had no other option but to profusely apologise, make a lot of promises and beg her to come back. His mother had made it abundantly clear to him in the past that she wasn't going to sit by and allow him to treat Sue Ellen badly anymore and he was fairly sure that making an executive decision as her husband and ordering her to come home to face her responsibilities, was not something that she would approve of. "She's tired, emotional, hurt and she's dealing with it all alone JR, it's not a good situation at all. For the sake of your wife, your child and your marriage, I really hope that you understand the seriousness of the situation…" she paused before deciding she needed to know, "did you sleep with the girl in the picture?" JR listened to the first part of his mother's response and felt a little guilty, he knew he'd hurt Sue Ellen with his actions, but it had been weeks since she'd found out and left town, so if she was still this upset, he'd greatly underestimated the extent of the effect his actions had had on her. The second part of her response just annoyed him though, because he had absolutely not slept with the congressman's daughter, he hadn't even spoken to her for more than five minutes, but somehow the press had spun it into a much more dramatic story than it really was, one that had hurt his wife's feelings and made their situation worse.

"Damn! Is that what she thinks?" he sighed and then spoke seriously, "mama, I did not sleep with that girl; that photo was an obligatory press photo, I work for Ewing Oil and that means mixing with a lot of people, including politicians and their families. It was no big deal; the press just like to make drama where there is none". He shook his head and sighed to himself, things really were complicated right now; not only did he have to apologise for the lying and cheating that was actually his fault, he now also had to apologise for things that were really out of his control and were completely innocent actions on their own. Miss Ellie sighed, she believed JR, but what she believed and what Sue Ellen believed were two completely different things and in Sue Ellen's emotionally clouded state, she wasn't thinking very clearly or logically, so just hearing JR deny sleeping with the woman may not be enough. In fact, Miss Ellie feared that if Sue Ellen was in a particularly bad place, hearing him deny it may just bring up bad memories and upset her even more. "Ok, I understand, but please JR, if she says anything, please don't get angry with her, she's a very confused young lady right now", she sighed to herself again as she gave him a quick rundown of their conversation this morning. She decided that it was better for JR to have some idea of the context of his wife's behaviour and emotions rather than going into the conversation blind, because it was clear from experience that even when they spoke to each other, they still ended up missing the point and not communicating very clearly with each other.

A few hours later, JR stood by the window, staring out over downtown Dallas; at his father's request, he had taken the day off work to come here and fix things, but so far, all he had done was listen to his mother explain the severity of the situation and watch Sue Ellen sleep. His mother had kept repeating that Sue Ellen was a confused young woman, but in her analysis, it appeared that she hadn't even stopped to consider his feelings in the whole situation; he was just as confused as Sue Ellen was and his feelings were made worse by his lack of friends and the conflicting parental expectations placed upon him. When he was with his father, his mindset was very much one of tough love; he would do whatever it took to get his wife and child back on Southfork and her feelings about the matter really didn't matter in the short-term. However, when he was with his mother, he held a more empathetic, human view of the situation, one where he wanted his wife to come back because she forgave him and was willing to give him a second chance, not because she had no other choice. He knew that the situation was his fault and it was his responsibility to fix it, but just once, he would have liked someone to be on his side. He, like Sue Ellen, had no real friends, but in a way, he was jealous that at least she had his mother to speak to, something he had never had; Miss Ellie was someone Sue Ellen could express her vulnerabilities to, someone who would listen to her and validate her feelings and actions. In contrast, JR had no one, not his mother, not his father, not Bobby or anyone else; no one was on his side, and selfishly, he thought that that was rather unfair. Even if he knew that it was his own fault for alienating himself from forming any real friendships or having anyone sympathise with his situation, he still felt somewhat gypped, as if someone had taken the opportunity away from him and was punishing him unfairly.

As conflicted and annoyed as he was about the whole thing, as he stared out the window, the biggest emotion he felt was regret; everything in his life was terrible right now and in a way, it was all of his own doing, so really, he had no one to blame but himself. The thrill and freedom of being with other woman was really only enjoyable in the moment, because their trysts never lasted and in the end, all of his actions caused more harm than good, so it really was all for nothing. His mother had been right when she reprimanded him about the way he treated Sue Ellen; he took her for granted and then when she was gone, instead of realising his mistakes, he blamed her and still couldn't see that it was his actions that drove her away, at least not until it was much too late. In his heart, he knew that if he had just been a better husband, then they could have avoided so many of the negative things in their lives. Sue Ellen just wanted the simple fairy-tale life that she had been conned into thinking that she would live as Mrs JR Ewing, and if he had just stuck to his marriage vows and kept her best interests in mind, then she could have had that life. He knew what he had to do, but knowing it and actually doing it were two different things. He could make all the promises in the world, act like the best husband he knew how to and honestly change his behaviour, but it would all be for naught if Sue Ellen wasn't prepared to accept his apologies and changes, forgive him and move on with their lives together. He sighed to himself and turned around as he heard his wife gasp, it was an unmistakeable sound and if he knew her as well as he thought he did, she was both surprised and confused to see him and although anger was present somewhere inside her, it was not the main feeling she was currently expressing. Perhaps he did have a chance at forgiveness, at least a small one.

To be continued…