Dallas, Texas

"…and I'll have a Caesar salad", waiting for their waitress to finish taking their orders, Sue Ellen then thanked her and took a sip of her water. Observing her eldest daughter silently, Patricia was pleased at her choice of food and beverage and at the fact that prior to their lunch, she had gone for a run and a swim, explaining that she tried to exercise regularly. Perhaps Sue Ellen wasn't so stupid and naïve after all, she knew that getting back into shape was a priority, alongside being a good mother to her son and as long as she was making an effort, that was enough to satisfy her and keep her silent for now. However, if she visited again in another two months and Sue Ellen still looked pudgy, then she would say something, she had to, for Sue Ellen's own good. "This is a nice restaurant. Do you come here often?" looking around and making polite conversation, Patricia asked a basic, neutral question and Sue Ellen was relieved when she heard it; it was easy to answer and led them toward talking about the DOA and her other charity work. She liked safe, fairly impersonal topics when it came to her mother, they gave her less opportunity to nit-pick and if she could avoid having her life overanalysed and critiqued, then she would always choose that path. Even though she was stronger now and she felt as if she could stand up for herself in a situation where there was conflict, she still didn't particularly want to have to do that, she didn't want to fight, she just wanted to get along. She knew she and her mother would probably never agree on everything, but they didn't have to; they didn't live close and they were both adults with their own separate lives; in the times where they did see each other, all they had to do was be polite to one another.

Leaving the restaurant after their light lunch, Sue Ellen was in a good mood; her mother and sister's visit was shaping up to be the calmest and most pleasant weekend they'd all spent together in a long time and she didn't care if it was because they were on their best behaviour out of fear of being cut off. Whatever deal her mother and JR had together was between them and the less she knew about it, the more she liked it. JR wasn't stupid, he knew exactly how to stay in control and if paying her mother a small amount of money allowed him to call the shots when it came to what she could and could not say or do around her daughter, then Sue Ellen wasn't going to argue, all she wanted was a peaceful, happy life. Looking at her watch and noting that John Ross would have just gone down for another nap, she knew they still had a couple of hours to get back to Southfork; "mama, would you mind if we stopped by The Store for a moment? I need to get a few new things for John Ross, he's growing so fast". She knew she'd probably end up purchasing a few things for her mother and sister, but she didn't mind; as long as they didn't beg or complain, she liked being generous and she liked when they thought highly of her, even if it was mostly just because she spent money on them; she was used to expressing love like that. She did actually need to go shopping though, her explanation was the truth, John Ross was growing fast and did need a few new outfits and if they were in Dallas, she may as well purchase them now. Even though she was a stay at home mother, she didn't actually get very much time to herself, so to be out now seemed like the perfect time to get some errands done. "No, of course not. Lead the way", in a pleasant, cordial mood, Patricia waved forward and allowed Sue Ellen to guide them. All the years of teaching her daughters to be charming and polite had been mostly for public consumption, not private, but in practicing those skills herself today, she was really experiencing how they worked; being a kind, polite person really did reap rewards.

Leaving The Store, Sue Ellen was pleased that her mother had been so occupied by the selection of womenswear, juniors and infant clothing that she hadn't even enquired about Sue Ellen's lack of personal purchases. She was well aware that she still had a few pounds to lose and a little body toning to do before she was back in her pre-pregnancy shape, she didn't need her mother to remind her of that, so the fact that she had stayed silent so far really was a blessing and a relief. It was Saturday afternoon and they were staying at Southfork until Sunday evening, and at the rate things were going, Sue Ellen hoped that their remaining hours together were as pleasant and uneventful as the past day. Doctor Williams had taught her a few skills to help her to be strong and stand up for herself, but so far, she hadn't actually had to use those skills and she was enjoying that. She didn't like fighting and if they could get through the weekend without conflict then that would be a success in her mind, even if they didn't actually confront any of the underlying issues. She knew at some point Doctor Williams would insist that avoidance wasn't a long-term solution and she would have to defend herself one day, but if her mother wasn't pressing the issues and was being a pleasant person, then she really didn't want to be the one to break that. She knew that their current good relationship was probably only temporary; there would be plenty of opportunities to assert herself as independent and strong in the future, but if she could avoid it for now, then she would.

Sitting in the downstairs office at Southfork, JR reclined in the large leather chair as he attempted to catch up on some paperwork from earlier in the week, but as his eyes scanned over the words, his mind wasn't really in the right place to actually comprehend what the words were saying. He was worried about Sue Ellen; he knew Patricia, she was acting sweet and polite, but he had a strong suspicion that she was thinking her usual mean-spirited thoughts and that always meant bad things for Sue Ellen. Despite knowing deep down that leaving her alone with her mother was a bad idea, he'd still facilitated the opportunity for that to happen and now, he was definitely having regrets about his actions. He'd had a long week at work and honestly hadn't really felt like putting up with Patricia for hours on end, so, in a moment of selfishness, he had suggested that the three Shepard women needed an afternoon to reacquaint themselves and had insisted that they all go to lunch in Dallas, alone. In doing so though, he had really just excused himself from having to interact with Patricia any longer than necessary and now he felt awful about it.

Looking at his watch, he knew that if his calculations were correct, John Ross was scheduled to awake again in about half an hour and if he knew his wife, she wouldn't want to miss two playtimes with him in one day, so she would probably be arriving back at Southfork soon. He was fairly certain that his assumptions were correct, John Ross was back on a somewhat predictable schedule now and Sue Ellen was a good mother; what he couldn't be sure of though was what was happening somewhere in Dallas right now. He couldn't control the interaction between Sue Ellen, Kristin and Patricia and he was annoyed at himself for giving up any opportunity to at least mediate it; he had been thinking about the present, not the future and that was a mistake. Antsy and unable to concentrate on the work in front of him, he headed upstairs to the nursery to look at John Ross for a moment, his son had a special effect on him and he was always amazed that he could feel so much for someone so tiny. He'd disliked Gary and Bobby as babies, there was never much good attention left for him when they were around; and being a man in his early twenties when he brought Lucy back to Southfork for his parents, he hadn't really spent much time thinking about her or even just with her, but with John Ross, everything was different. John Ross was his son, his son with his wife that he loved more than anything; he, like Sue Ellen had had no idea what it was like to really love someone in the way that he loved John Ross, but now that he knew that feeling, he was incredibly grateful that it was there to stay. He'd originally wanted a baby for reasons mostly relating to the future of Ewing Oil, but the moment Sue Ellen told him that she was pregnant, he'd begun thinking differently and in feeling and seeing his son growing inside his wife, his expectations and hopes for the future Ewing begun to get more personal. He loved being a father, not because his son had secured him ownership of the family company, but because he truly loved and adored the little boy sleeping in the crib and he truly wanted an opportunity to be a good father and have a good father-son relationship.

Caught up in his thoughts, JR didn't notice the minutes ticking by and was startled when Sue Ellen entered the nursery behind him, taking hold of his hand as they waited for their son to awake from his nap. Once he got over his initial microsecond reaction to the presence of another person, he then observed his wife for signs of damage, emotional or physical, and he was honestly surprised when she appeared to be smiling and happy; an afternoon with her family almost never resulted in such emotions, so he did have to wonder what was going on. However, noticing John Ross begin to wiggle and stretch, he knew that now was not the time to start that conversation; they were parents and now was the time to act like parents and honestly, right now, there was nowhere he'd rather be.

To be continued…