Aspen, Colorado
"Well, I won't say it's more beautiful than Texas, because nowhere will ever beat Texas, but it sure is pretty", walking along the Maroon Lake Scenic Trail, stopping every few minutes to take in the scenery, JR made a casual comment to his wife; he wasn't much of a rancher, but he could appreciate the beauty of land. His family didn't think that he really cared about Southfork or had any real Southworth blood in him, but he did; he just happened to be a little more Ewing than Southworth, really understanding and appreciating the land for its practical uses, especially oil-rich land. However, that didn't mean that he didn't understand other land uses, even passive use like just observing it for its beauty rather than cultivating it and gaining some benefit from it. His opinion was backed up by observing how his wife reacted to the scenery; the beauty of the landscape wowed her, especially now that it was summer and the plants were thriving and the sun was shining. Although she had planned their weekend getaway, he still felt responsible for making sure it was an enjoyable trip for both of them, however, judging the situation by the way things were going so far, he had a strong feeling that he had nothing to worry about. "It truly is", sighing with happiness at the pretty picture in front of her and the contented knowledge that their marriage was stronger now than ever, Sue Ellen kept her comments short, there really wasn't much else that needed saying.
Dallas, Texas
"Grandma?" entering the nursery and having to raise her voice to make sure she was noticed, Lucy knew that her decision was the right one. "Yes Lucy?" holding John Ross to her chest and gently bouncing her own weight between each of her feet in an attempt to calm him, Miss Ellie turned to her granddaughter and waited for her to speak. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm going down to the stables… it's too noisy to do anything here", muttering the second half of her sentence but knowing that her grandmother had still heard her, she waited for her to nod and remind her to be back in time for dinner before she left the room. Her new little cousin was visually adorable, but the sounds and smells he produced were less adorable; he had been crying for what seemed like hours and although she had been trying to practice tolerance, he was only a baby after all, it was all too much for her to deal with now. Knowing that it was better for everyone if she simply left the house for a while instead of getting bratty and lashing out at her grandmother or cousin, she changed into her riding clothes and then headed down to the stables.
Sighing as she looked out the window and caught sight of her granddaughter walking away from the house, Miss Ellie empathised with her position. In hindsight, the way she had treated JR when Gary was born was not at all the correct way to approach things and even if it was difficult, she really didn't want to repeat the same mistakes with Lucy and John Ross. She would make time for Lucy, eventually; she didn't like the idea of having the baby nurse solely raising her grandson though, especially not when she was available to look after him, so her time with Lucy would have to wait until JR and Sue Ellen were back at Southfork. She had encouraged Sue Ellen to take the weekend to re-bond with JR and she knew that everything would be ok in the end, however, right now, she did wonder whether perhaps John Ross would have benefitted from being in his mother's arms. She couldn't blame Sue Ellen or JR for being away though, Sue Ellen was a wonderful, dedicated mother and when he wasn't at work, JR was a wonderful father; they deserved to have a little time to themselves every once in a while. Brought out of her thoughts by the increasingly shrill and pained sounds of her youngest grandchild, she turned her attention back to soothing him. The baby nurse assured her that he was medically fine, he was either just overtired and overstimulated or he was in the middle of a growth spurt and it was changing the way his natural schedule and habits occurred; either way, giving him her love and attention was just what he needed right now.
Aspen, Colorado
"JR?" sitting in a small café in the main town, enjoying their afternoon coffee, Sue Ellen's eyes focused on a family sitting over the other side of the room; "yes darlin'?" oddly relaxed despite the foreign location and lack thoughts involving Ewing Oil, JR turned his attention to his wife. "Promise me that we'll be a real family…" seeing the confusion on his face, she realised that he hadn't been looking at the same thing she was and had no idea why she was bringing up their family now. "I just mean, promise me that we'll really spend time with John Ross as a family. I want him to have good memories of his childhood; trips to the park, the zoo, the aquarium, riding horses on Southfork, spending time with us together and alone, seeing us sitting in the bleachers at his baseball or football games, maybe even a real family summer vacation; all the things we missed out on". She knew they were on the right track as a married couple and as parents, she just wanted to reiterate their goals and keep them focused, and discussing it openly and regularly instead of waiting for things to deteriorate before they addressed them seemed like a good way to do that. Miss Ellie had assured her that although she had questioned whether she should leave John Ross for the weekend to spend time with JR, it was necessary for the health and strength of their marriage and John Ross would only be better off in the long run. To make sure that that really did happen though, she knew they had to be on the same page as parents too and she needed reassurance of that from JR right now.
"Of course darlin'", reaching out, he took hold of her hand, "we are not our parents; I want this, you want this and together, we will make it happen. We're a family, a real family and I promise, I won't allow anything to get in the way of that. I know we didn't have the strongest relationship in the past, but I am trying and not to toot my own horn too much, but I do think I'm… we're succeeding. I love you, I love our son and I love that we're finally a real family", gently rubbing her hand with his thumb as he spoke, he was a little surprised when he saw tears in her eyes, though knowing his wife's tendency to get emotional, he knew he shouldn't have been too surprised. "Thank you JR. That's all I wanted. I love you and I love our family", giving him a teary but very happy smile, she spoke again, "let's go back to the house…" she didn't want to cry in public, but mostly, she just wanted to spend as much time alone with her husband as they had. "Good idea", standing and taking hold of her other hand, he guided them out of the café.
To be continued…