Dallas, Texas

Spotting her daughter-in-law looking distressed and hurriedly rushing out of the community centre, Miss Ellie's stomach dropped, and apologetically excusing herself from the conversation she was in, she quickly followed in Sue Ellen's path. "Sue Ellen!" calling her name and seeing her turn around, now with tears streaming down her face, she had all the confirmation that she needed to know that something was very wrong. "Oh dear, what happened?" speaking in a calm, sympathetic manner, she stood next to and almost in front of Sue Ellen to stop her in her path; the last thing she needed her to do now was get in her car and drive off, upset and distracted. "How could he? I loved him, I forgave him, I thought he loved me, and now this…" sniffling and mumbling words that made little sense to Miss Ellie, Sue Ellen felt helpless, hopeless, angry, lost and most of all, confused. "He does love you, I know he does… why don't we take a seat over here and you tell me all about what's making you so upset, I'm sure talking about it will help clear your mind". Confused as to what JR had done now, but not underestimating the effects hurt and anger could have on Sue Ellen, Miss Ellie ushered her over to a small park bench next to the community centre building, and as they sat down, she simply stroked Sue Ellen's hand lovingly and allowed her to cry her tears; she would talk, eventually.

As she cried in the quiet, soothing company of her mother-in-law, Sue Ellen's mind wouldn't stop thinking and she soon found herself piecing together bits of information, and as she did, her upset soon became replaced by thoughts of anger and disgust. Looking forward, her eyes glazed as she subconsciously opened her purse and pulled out a small, lace edged handkerchief to dry her eyes with, she then spoke, angrily, but also audibly upset by the situation, "that whore… I hate her and I hate him…" there was only one explanation that she could think of and it was one that made her angry, especially since she already had such painful memories attached to that time in her life. Not helping the situation were the further details that had now come to light. Firstly, the young woman's age, she was very young and the thought of JR being with another woman, especially one younger than her made her feel ill and a little confused as to what JR wanted in a woman. Then there was the age of the young woman's baby; mentally comparing him to the size of John Ross, she knew that the baby had to be just a few weeks old, and after hearing that he was named John, she had no doubt of exactly when the young woman had 'met' JR. It hurt her to know that JR's past infidelity had not only had immediate consequences, but that it had had lasting ones too. That whore had spread disease to JR, who had spread it to her and unintentionally endangered their unborn child's life, and to know that the consequences of she and JR's actions hadn't stopped there, that a child had been conceived out of that act really hurt her. She trusted that JR had probably been faithful to her since they had reconciled, she couldn't deny that he had been a good husband over the past few months; and she trusted that he had been telling the truth in his disgusting confession, that it wasn't often that he didn't use protection, but recent faithfulness didn't make it all ok.

Still confused by what had happened just a few moments earlier, but able to piece together the larger picture, Miss Ellie was angry with JR and was growing increasingly more concerned for Sue Ellen as she heard the hurt and then anger in her voice, and when Sue Ellen stood, and began to walk toward the parking lot, she panicked. Opening her purse, Sue Ellen found her car keys and began to walk toward her car, only to find Miss Ellie in front of her, looking scared and concerned. "Whatever you're thinking of doing, I'll support you, but please, allow me to drive, I don't think you're in any state to be behind the wheel", hoping that Sue Ellen understood that she was supportive but also concerned, Miss Ellie then held out her hand and waited; she didn't drive often, but right now it was probably the safer option. Pausing momentarily as she comprehended the situation, she then realised that Miss Ellie was right; her track record when it came to emotional driving wasn't the best, and no matter how angry she was at JR, she had a son to live for and it would be irresponsible to drive when she was so emotional. So, making a decision, she then dropped the keys into her mother-in-law's open hand and strode purposefully toward her car, determined to go and see JR. Whether he was at Ewing Oil or at his business lunch didn't matter to her, she had decided not to play the weak victim any longer; they needed to talk and the location of that talk was irrelevant. She wouldn't run away and she wouldn't avoid uncomfortable conversations, JR didn't deserve to have time to practice a neatly apologetic speech; there was going to be a confrontation and she didn't care who heard it, JR didn't deserve privacy, not now, not after what he'd done.

Gleaning the overall context of Sue Ellen's anger from the few comments that she made as they drove into downtown Dallas, Miss Ellie grew less worried about Sue Ellen's emotional stability and more worried about the state of her son and daughter-in-law's marriage after their confrontation. Sue Ellen was angry, and rightfully so, she just hoped JR didn't do anything to further exacerbate that anger, because although she loved him, his wife was not the same woman she had been the first time she found out about his infidelities and she wouldn't be so easily swayed by his charm and promises now. Arriving at the Ewing Oil building and stepping into the elevator, Miss Ellie found herself almost regretting offering to drive Sue Ellen into town; confrontation needed to happen, but was now really the right time? It was a bit late to be second guessing her decision now though, because just as she was about to say something, the elevator bell dinged and the doors opened into the Ewing Oil reception area, and without hesitation, Sue Ellen strode inside. In her most neutral voice, not wanting to give the secretaries anything more to gossip about than her unexpected presence, Sue Ellen turned to Diane and spoke, "Diane, lovely to see you again. I know that it's short notice, but I need to see my husband, and it'll probably take a while, so anything he has planned for this afternoon will probably need rescheduling. No need to buzz him, I'll go straight through now", finishing her explanation, she did just as she said, walking toward her husband's office door and opening it; no business meeting or lunch was more important than their conversation, not where their marriage was concerned; they were going to talk, whether he wanted to or not.

To be continued…