Dallas, Texas

"…it is how it is mama, you either take it or leave it. Kristin is happy to go and if you'd let go of your controlling thoughts for a moment, you'd see that it's probably the best thing for her and for her future. Boarding school in New Hampshire will bring her into contact with a completely new group of wealthy classmates and social connections than those she already knows in Austin and will give her a wonderful edge over other students when applying to colleges in just a few years. The school JR has selected and Kristin approves of has a one hundred percent college acceptance rate, offers numerous academic support programs for students and employs only highly qualified and experienced teachers. They also offer a diverse selection of interscholastic sports along with recreational, intramural, and instructional sports during the fall, winter and spring seasons; in addition, the arts are very well funded and the school prides itself on offering a wide range of activities for students to participate and excel in. The campus is in a small, lakeside town with an impressively low crime rate and high quality of life index rating; I promise, Kristin will be well educated and trained for the future you envision for her, so please, just sign the paperwork, it's the best choice for all of us". Nervously wrapping the phone cord around her finger as she explained the situation and change of plans to her mother, Sue Ellen hoped that she was doing the right thing. Sending her sister away from the drama and dysfunction that was present in her life in Texas seemed like the wisest choice, but she knew that sometimes hindsight could offer a completely different perspective and she really didn't want that to be the case in this situation.

After having received a confusing phone call from JR the previous afternoon and then discussing the situation with Kristin on the way from the office to Southfork and then for a good portion of the afternoon, she completely understood and agreed with JR when they spoke with each other alone that evening. They couldn't keep Kristin with them in Dallas, but they couldn't send her home either. What she needed her mother to do now was listen, think and then agree, but she wasn't sure it was going to be that simple; in her experience, nothing ever was with her mother. In applying to colleges when she was in high school, her mother had laid down the law; nothing outside of Texas, nothing too far away from Austin, no co-ed dorm living and if possible, no dorm living at all; if Sue Ellen was 'choosing' to stay in/close to Austin, then she could live at home and commute to college. Listening to her mother, she had applied to six colleges and been accepted into four of them, two with almost completely paid scholarships. Upon hearing the news, Patricia had been thrilled, until she learned the locations; neither of the scholarship funded colleges were located in Austin, one was in Houston and the other was in San Antonio, both less than three hours' drive from Austin, but she wasn't happy with that and therefore they weren't options anymore. Despite the fact that she had allowed Sue Ellen to apply to colleges within the large state of Texas, she'd only ever really intended for her to actually attend a college close to home, close enough for her to be able to watch over her; she liked to be in control and letting go was not something she did willingly. It had taken Sue Ellen over a month, including three campus visits and two meetings with the resident advisor, before she was finally able to talk her mother into letting her live in the dorms freshman year and then the sorority house for the rest of college. Therefore, knowing what she knew about her own college experience, knowing how mad her mother probably was right now and considering that Kristin was much younger than she was at the time she had struggled for independence, Sue Ellen wasn't entirely confident that it was going to be as easy as JR had tried to convince her it would be.

They needed to send Kristin out of state for two reasons though, one, as a check for authenticity to the origin of the request and two, to truly help Kristin as a person. Although they both believed Kristin when she recounted her version of events and didn't doubt the sincerity of her request, they knew they couldn't be too lax in their approach, just in case it was something Patricia had sneakily thought up with the expectation that JR would take pity on Kristin and continue to fund her private schooling in Austin. No, Patricia needed to be giving something up in order to gain something and Sue Ellen knew that control of the situation was something that was important to her, as was ensuring her daughters were successful in achieving the goals she had set for them. So, if she agreed to give up some control in return for the opportunity to better her daughter's life, ticking all of the boxes she had set out originally, only without allowing her to maintain control over the situation, Sue Ellen felt that only then would she be sure that her mother hadn't planned everything. There were other motives behind the decision too though, it wasn't simply to force Patricia into sacrificing her control in order to truly improve her daughter's life; both JR and Sue Ellen wanted the best for Kristin, but they also wanted the best for themselves, and that meant a continued separation of the Ewing and Shepard families. She and JR had only just gotten back into a good routine and emotional place in their relationship and adding an additional child into that equation would not help them. Being in constant communication checking up on Kristin's wellbeing under Patricia's control wouldn't help their relationship either, especially since neither of them particularly wanted to be any more involved with Patricia than necessary.

Kristin was still a child, she deserved a chance to succeed, but that chance wasn't limited to Texas and seeing the benefits of separation, the decision to send her out of state had been easy. There were boarding schools all over the country and for the right price, space for another student could be made, even in early August, just weeks before the beginning of the school year; after considering it, JR had decided that Kristin needed a completely new environment and being a person who was open to anything, Kristin had readily agreed. Putting down some ground rules and expectations before making any promises, the three of them had discussed it and decided to follow through with the plan, JR had then found a beautiful and very highly regarded school in New Hampshire that would accept Kristin's late application, and although it was pricey, it was worth it to him. The freedom of not having to be in contact with Patricia as well as having control over what she could and could not do by way of being in control of her youngest daughter's destiny, away from her influence, was a small price to pay and he was happy to pay it. So, with everything decided, Sue Ellen had then had to make the uncomfortable call to her mother, though she seemed less upset about the reasons why her youngest daughter had run away from home than she was about the fact that she had missed a dance class that afternoon, a class that she was paying for herself. Explaining the situation to her mother and making it clear that it was the best option for everyone, she then waited, and waited, the silence on Patricia's end of the line a clear indicator of her opinion; she was not happy, but she knew she was locked into at least considering it, it was the best choice. Eventually, after pondering Sue Ellen's words for a while, she then spoke, quickly and directly, "…I'll think about it. Send me a prospectus and I'll get back to you with my answer in a few days". She knew that there was really only one option if she wanted Kristin to have the life she had imagined for her, however, never one to concede too easily and annoyed at both of her children, she decided to drag out her decision.

To be continued…