Dallas, Texas

"Daddy, Sue Ellen has a few things to say, things that I wholeheartedly agree with and support, so I'd appreciate if you'd listen to her without interrupting or arguing". Closing the office door behind him, JR looked at his father and then at his wife and then moved toward the bar, a natural action considering the context of their meeting and the location they were in. Having discussed a lot of things with Sue Ellen earlier, JR felt a little less nervous and a little more confident about confrontation with his father; he and Sue Ellen both had the same goals and although there was still tension between them, they were mostly on the same page again. It would take a lot of grovelling, real change and marriage counselling to get them back to a truly good place in their marriage; however, he was confident that as long as they settled the major issues in their lives right now, a fresh start was possible. Hearing his father muttering something under his breath, he decided to ignore whatever smart comment he'd just made for now simply because questioning it would derail the purpose of their conversation.

"Thank you JR", giving him a small smile, Sue Ellen turned toward her father-in-law, and nodding, she gave him a small smile too, "Jock". Pausing for a moment as she gathered her thoughts, quickly assessing the situation and deciding to take the high road until Jock argued otherwise, she then began to speak. "Thank you for agreeing to hear me out. A few things have come to my attention recently that I believe need to be discussed openly", taking another pause, she then launched into her planned list of topics. "Firstly, before anything else, I'd like to make my opinion on this whole thing quite clear; I understand the reasoning and motivation behind your actions, but that doesn't mean I agree with the contract itself or wish to live with the consequences of it any longer. I am hurt and disgusted by JR's infidelity, lies and deceit, and my trust in him and confidence in the success of our marriage or even a good personal relationship with each other has been damaged greatly, however, the relationship JR and I have or don't have is no one's business but ours. Whether we are happily married or not has nothing to do with Ewing Oil, so I'd appreciate it if both of you would stop connecting the two together."

"Take a step back and think about it; it's only fair that JR is next in line for the role of president of Ewing Oil, and it's only right that he is also the one that inherits Ewing Oil when you do retire. As far as I'm aware, through what I've heard from you personally, Miss Ellie, JR and in general, that has always been the plan, one that has been in place since before JR was born, so to be putting new and extra conditions on that guarantee seems entirely unfair to me. Of course, Ewing Oil is your company and you're free to do what you wish with it, and of course, I do not take any of JR's actions lightly, because they were hurtful and wrong and I do wish he'd never acted that way, however, I also know JR and I know how much Ewing Oil means to him. I don't quite know how to eloquently word what I want to say, but what my main point comes down to is that although I dislike JR's actions and I believe that there has to be consequences for those actions, I don't believe that those consequences should be automatically linked to Ewing Oil; our marriage is not a business deal. I'm not denying that we have relationship problems, however, I do not appreciate them being used as a weapon, because plain and simple, they're no one's business but ours. JR and I are currently attending marriage counselling sessions with Doctor Williams and in those sessions we are working through our marital issues together, so for now, I'd like to consider that a closed topic of discussion outside of JR, myself or Doctor Williams."

"In saying that though, I respectfully request that you please really think about that and what is right for everyone in relation to Ewing Oil and the Ewing family as a whole. I don't want to see the family separated or hurt, but I have a bad feeling about what will happen if you start punishing JR at Ewing Oil for reasons that have nothing to do with business. The fact is, JR is the eldest Ewing son and is the rightful heir to Ewing Oil, and that status combined with his knowledge, passion and love for the oil business and the fact that he has been working toward the role of president of Ewing Oil since he was a child, tells me that it's only fair. Yes, there needs to be consequences for his bad behaviour, however, it's just wrong to have the consequences for his personal behaviour be in business, and even I, JR's wife, the person affected the most by all of this, can see that. As I said earlier, our marriage is not a business deal gone wrong, it's our lives, so please, I'm asking for you as my father-in-law, JR's father, JR's boss and as a decent human being to get rid of that immoral and humiliating clause in JR's contract, and to please allow us to figure out our relationship status, alone". Pausing as she finished her main points in relation to the contract, she took a moment to really look at and analyse both JR and Jock's facial expressions, and if it hadn't been such a serious moment, she would have laughed; they both looked incredibly shocked that sweet, mild-mannered Sue Ellen Shepard/Ewing actually had her own opinion and voice. It wasn't as if JR didn't know that she had feelings and wasn't afraid of speaking them, but doing so toward such an imposing figure like his father was a new experience, one he was thoroughly impressed by though, even if she had said a few things that alluded to her hesitation about their relationship right now.

Shocked by Sue Ellen's audacity and annoyed that she was inserting herself into Ewing Oil business, even if she had a point, that it wasn't really Ewing Oil business at all, Jock looked between Sue Ellen and JR and then spoke. "JR, what kind of man are you? Are you really going to stand by and just allow a woman to speak for you? Make decisions for you?" a male chauvinist at heart, Jock's response came out sounding every bit as sexist as it was, and if Sue Ellen had been any less of a lady, a strong slap would have been the next occurrence in their meeting. However, as JR was quick and Sue Ellen was a lady, there was no time for Sue Ellen to respond before JR did it for her, and for him, "excuse me? That woman is my wife and I told you before she started speaking that I wholeheartedly agree with her and I do. My wife is just as much involved in this situation as I am and I happen to respect her opinion and feelings about all of this, and I don't think that makes me any less of a man. The fact is, I was a terrible husband, but I'm trying to be a better one now, but really, what happens in our marriage is our business and no one else's". Angry with his father, JR took a deep breath in order to control himself and stay on topic, because right now, he couldn't afford to start throwing insults, that would have to wait until after he and his father reached an agreement.

"I never should have agreed to the terms of the contract, because my marital status has nothing to do with Ewing Oil or my ability to do a good job at Ewing Oil and if what you inferred when we were originally negotiating was true anyway, the contract is pointless. I am the Ewing heir, the eldest Ewing son, I am entitled to Ewing Oil, and you always intended for it to be that way. You and I both know that I am the only Ewing son that will be able to continue to build and grow Ewing Oil at the same or greater rate than it currently is, so for us to even be negotiating the future of Ewing Oil was silly anyway. You love Ewing Oil just as much as I do and because of that, your conscience would never allow you to give up control to a less capable man like Bobby or Gary. As Sue Ellen said and as I have admitted before, I did wrong and I deserve to be punished for my misdeeds, however, my personal life and my business life aren't particularly connected and it's not fair to tie them together. I have admitted my wrongdoings to my wife and we are working through the consequences of those together, alone. In light of that discussion though, we're both requesting the contract be changed, it affects both of us and together, we want to start afresh, but to do that, we need a clean slate. So please, I'd really like for you to seriously consider it and consider allowing us to work on our marital issues independent of Ewing Oil, as it should be". Knowing he was risking a lot by talking to his father in such a direct and demanding way, JR was a little nervous, however, he also knew that he also had no other option, not really; he and Sue Ellen needed clarity and the only way to get that was to lay all of their issues out in the open. Analysing his father's facial expression, his anxiety about the situation grew, though the fact that his father hadn't immediately started screaming at him for talking back was a positive sign. Waiting and waiting, he found some comfort in Sue Ellen's hand reaching out to grasp his; the small things really did make a difference and right now, he was pleased to have any support he could get.

To be continued…