Dallas, Texas

"What is going on with this family? Why is everyone so quiet? Again", looking from her grandparents to her uncle and his wife and then over toward Bobby, Lucy broke the awkward silence at the dinner table. A tense atmosphere wasn't extremely unusual at Ewing meals, not when Bobby and JR were arguing about something at Ewing Oil or there were problems in the oil business in general, and it wasn't that unusual as of late for JR and Sue Ellen to be a little distant from each other, however, tonight seemed different to those situations. Tonight, it seemed like everyone was upset with everyone else, but no one was willing to say anything to each other and no one had told her why they were upset in the first place. Looking at Bobby for an answer, but receiving only a weak smile, shoulder shrug and then an awkwardly detailed vision of him cutting into his steak, she soon realised that although he was an adult, this time, he was just as clueless about the situation as she was. Sitting in silence for a few moments longer, JR cleared his throat and answered his nosy, confused niece, though it was probably not the answer she was looking for, "Lucy, didn't anyone ever tell you it's not polite to pry into other people's business?" Receiving a glare in response to his response, he then just sighed and went back to eating his own steak, silently; he wasn't in the mood to deal with Lucy as well as his parents, wife and clueless brother.

Finishing dinner, after what felt like an eternity, the family quickly separated, Miss Ellie and Lucy heading upstairs to their respective bedrooms, Jock making his way into the downstairs office for another drink and Sue Ellen heading upstairs to bathe John Ross, unfortunately for JR though, Bobby pulled him aside before he had the chance to leave the room. "JR, I want to speak to you", confused as to what was going on, but determined to find out, Bobby then motioned to his brother to join him in the living room. Walking over to the drinks cart, Bobby poured two drinks and handed his older brother one before asking him a direct question, "why are mama and daddy fighting? I know you know, so don't even try to pretend that you don't. Things have been tense around here for weeks, but that was mostly between you and Sue Ellen, then today, mama and Sue Ellen show up at Ewing Oil, a shouting match ensues and then all of a sudden, not only are things tense between you and Sue Ellen, but between the entire family. I want to know what's going on", finishing speaking, Bobby paused and waited for a response. For some reason, he naively believed that just asking JR for that information would make it happen, so when JR just finished his drink and then let out a small laugh, he was somewhat surprised. "You're right Bob, it does have something to do with me, but guessing that fact doesn't entitle you to know what that something is. Didn't you listen to anything said at dinner tonight? It's not polite to pry into other people's business", placing his empty glass back down on the drinks cart, JR looked at his brother, "now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to spend some time with my son before he goes to bed", and turning, he left the room, making his way upstairs to join Sue Ellen and John Ross.

Looking out over the ranch from her bedroom window, Miss Ellie sighed to herself, she felt silly for not putting all of the pieces together earlier and she felt unsure of how she truly felt about the situation she was in with her husband and the situation JR and Sue Ellen were in as a married couple and with Jock. If she had just thought about Jock's words a little more when he'd said them, perhaps she could have prevented some of the things he'd done; it wasn't as if he had kept her entirely in the dark, he had indicated clearly when Sue Ellen had left Southfork that he wouldn't stand by and allow her to control the situation. He had indicated clearly that he was forcing JR into bringing his wife back, by whatever means necessary. He had indicated that she had nothing to worry about after Sue Ellen's return in regard to JR's future as a good husband, and he had indicated that with JR behaving properly and with John Ross Ewing III finally present, his retirement wasn't too many years away, details he'd always been a little vague about in the past. If only she had thought a little more about what he was inferring when he made those statements rather than just listening and then reminding him to stay a safe distance away from being overbearing. If only…

Downstairs, Jock sat at the large wooden desk in the office, drinking his bourbon and branch and mulling over the day's events. How was it that in trying to do something that was equally beneficial for Ewing Oil and the Ewing family, he had managed to make everyone so angry with him? He had initially had hesitations about his decision to suggest a morality clause and had initially been bothered by the fact that he'd raised a son that needed such a clause to act like a man, it shouldn't have had to be that way. However, in negotiating the terms of the contract with JR and two lawyers, the final agreement had seemed fine to him, and to JR, so the fact that it had come up for renegotiation so quickly had struck him as odd. Because of those thoughts, he had been cautious about changing the agreement, JR wasn't exactly known for his fidelity. Unfortunately for him, somehow, in raising questions about JR's motives, questions that any father, business owner and sane negotiator would ask, somehow he'd become the bad guy. Taking another drink, he sighed to himself, everything was a mess.

To be continued…

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