Dallas, Texas

Sue Ellen smiled to herself as she left the building and walked back to her car; she had had a satisfying morning, sorting through the available clothes and styling them to suit the women who the organization was helping and she felt good about her efforts and how they affected others. She loved having something all of her own to focus on and she loved actually getting some personal reward from her work; she'd always participated in charitable work, on her own to boost her extracurricular involvement in the community, as a pageant queen and as Mrs JR Ewing, however, this was something that was different, this felt different. Yes, she had gotten the job through her DOA connections and being Mrs JR Ewing, but her role now was simply the same as any other volunteer with an eye for fashion; she worked with a small group of other women, but within that group, she was the only 'socialite'. Although she had never really been known to socialise with anyone too far outside of her socioeconomic circle, and if she did, they were always in a social class above her own, she was rather enjoying the experience she was getting with her new job. At the root of everything was the desire to improve other women's lives, it was a human to human connection, it wasn't a cause where the Ewing wealth was a major factor or something that was purely to make a certain group of privileged women feel like better people and boost their public image. She felt good having real goals and accomplishments and she enjoyed having an external commitment in her life again. Heading back to Southfork to collect Miss Ellie, she spent the rest of the day meeting with the DOA ladies, planning their next fundraiser and then socialising and having tea with them after the meeting was over. She really did enjoy planning, organizing and actually accomplishing goals and being an active member on as many committees as possible really benefitted her as a person as well as the people they were trying to help. She loved being a wife, but the fact of the matter was that JR worked long hours and she couldn't simply just sit around during the day counting down the hours until he came home again, it wasn't good for her and it wasn't good for their marriage.

Across town, JR sat in his office as he read over pages and pages of tedious paperwork, he really did need to read the documents and Ewing Oil would benefit from having a vice president who was knowledgeable and aware of up-to-date information, however, the business benefits weren't the only reason he was hidden away in his office. A little part of him was also purposely avoiding his younger brother, for everyone's sake; Bobby still seemed to be annoyed with him about using his authority to deny his prospective business expansion idea and frankly, after almost a week, JR was sick of dealing with his pouting and bratty attitude. Jock happened to agree with JR's position on the issue of natural gas, however, he also had a personal soft spot for his youngest son and he didn't like the idea of having an ongoing conflict between his sons. What he wanted to happen was for everyone to move on from this one issue but to still encourage Bobby to keep working at his role within the company and expanding his knowledge and understanding, however, it was no secret that what JR wanted couldn't have been further from that. Therefore, instead of pretending to act like everything was ok, JR simply avoided his brother, working independently in his office and planning on staying that way until Bobby left for Houston in the morning. He had arranged for Bobby's PR position at Ewing Oil for a particular reason and after dealing with his brother hanging around the office for a week, doing nothing but moan about how unfair JR was, he was beginning to wish they had more out-of-town connections that needed persuading. In an ideal world, he would be the only Ewing son at Southfork, perhaps even the only Ewing son, at least until his own son was born, but unfortunately, he wasn't living in an ideal world and he had two brothers, two brothers that were not on the same level as him in his mind. Of course, Bobby was better than Gary, and as people, they got along well enough, but that was their personal lives, business was different and he was just about done with having another Ewing son working at Ewing Oil.

He didn't even want to think about his father dying, but he couldn't say he wasn't looking forward to a future where he and he alone owned and operated Ewing Oil; he couldn't wait to have complete control. He hadn't decided Bobby's fate yet, because it seemed too far in the future to know exactly what their needs would be and whether he could use Bobby to his advantage, but at times like this, he began to question his own sanity and wonder why he would even consider including his younger brother in the business. JR's preferred method of dealing with his youngest brother was generally to leave him to stew for a while and then carefully directing him to focus on a new project, distracting him like he would a child. As much as he wished Bobby would just listen to his rational explanation for his decisions and not jump to the conclusion that he was out to get him, the reality was that Bobby was a hothead and when he was angry, all thoughts of rational conversation went out the window. Physical conflict resolution wasn't JR's style, so other, more passive methods would have to do in the meantime, at least until he could get rid of Bobby once and for all. He didn't like avoidance, but Bobby's spoiled child act wasn't worth getting physical over and with his father around keeping an eye on his eldest son's behaviour, JR knew better than to try anything underhanded, at least for now.

Arriving home just before five, Sue Ellen headed upstairs to get ready for cocktails and dinner; just because she knew better than to spend all day at home pining for her husband, didn't mean that she didn't still want to look nice and be there for him in the hours that they were together. She still took her role as a wife very seriously, she just knew now that she had to have more than just being Mrs JR Ewing, she had to be Sue Ellen, whether it was Sue Ellen Shepard or Sue Ellen Ewing, she had to do something for herself. However, her self-indulgence didn't need to take over her life, just as her selflessness didn't need to take over her life; it was all about balance and she finally understood that. Hearing JR's car parking in the driveway, she smiled to herself and made her way downstairs to greet him, she was his wife and she wanted to be the best wife that she could and that meant making the effort to really be there for him, no matter what the circumstances.

To be continued…