Dallas, Texas

"So, what do you think? Is this your new home?" clapping his hands together eagerly, Mr Wilson, JR and Sue Ellen's real estate agent, waited with bated breath for the words they all wanted to hear, the words he was sure would be spoken after viewing their final property of the day. The Ewings had toured several properties prior to this one and hadn't quite found what they were looking for in any of them, however, saving the best for last, he hoped that the streak of disappointment was about to end. The large home situated in Dallas' prestigious Preston Hollow featured five bedrooms, six bathrooms, a home office and swimming pool and was surrounded by three acres of manicured landscaping; it was perfect for what his wealthy, important clients needed and wanted and as far as he was concerned, there would be no further need to keep viewing available properties. Unfortunately though, if Mrs Ewing's body language was anything to go by, his hopes for a quick sale of a very expensive home were about to be dashed.

Shaking her head and quietly whispering the word "no", Sue Ellen could feel the change in atmosphere in the spacious formal dining room. It was quickly becoming clear to her that although she'd thought she knew what she wanted, she really didn't and until that point, she wasn't ready to commit to any home. She and JR had discussed it at length over the past couple of weeks and had decided that location wise, they didn't want to be any further from downtown Dallas than Southfork already was, but at the same time, in moving closer to the city, they didn't want to forget one of the main reasons why they were moving, privacy. In addition to not wanting to be too close to their neighbours, they'd also considered the size of their family right now, and discussed the very real possibility that they wouldn't always be a family of three, so if they were going to purchase a home, then it needed to be one that could accommodate their current and future needs. Of course, no family of three, four or five really needed acres and acres of land to explore and a several thousand square foot house to live in, but seeing as money really was no object, they saw no reason to limit themselves to a regular suburban neighbourhood or to settle for anything less than perfect. Because of their discussions and agreement about what they wanted, she'd thought that they'd done pretty well at communicating their realistic needs and idealistic wants when they originally met with Mr Wilson earlier in the week, however, after viewing multiple homes and properties today, she wasn't so sure anymore.

Feeling Sue Ellen's shyness and slight embarrassment at delivering what had to be frustrating news to Mr Wilson, JR decided to step in and explain their decision. "Don't get us wrong, it's not the location or homes that are the problem, in fact, admittedly, most of the homes we toured today fit our list of must-haves and would-likes, so logically, there should be one that we're taken with, however, that's not the case right now. None of these homes feel right and until we find one that does, we won't even consider putting in an offer. I'm sorry I can't explain it any more than that…" feeling slightly embarrassed himself, because he could see the disappointment and frustration on Mr Wilson's face and he knew what it was like to deal with wishy-washy clients, JR attempted to explain the odd feeling both he and Sue Ellen had, one that had no logical reason for existing.

"I understand", remaining professional, even though he was confused and disappointed, Mr Wilson listened as JR described what so many of the clients he'd dealt during his first few years in the real estate business had naively expected to gain out of the home-buying process; the magical moment. It wasn't unusual for first-home buyers to expect to be completely enamoured with every detail of a property before purchasing it and to then be disappointed when they lacked the economic means to purchase their dream property, and instead, settled for something smaller, older or in a less desirable neighbourhood, however, with Mr and Mrs Ewing, the problem was atypical. Detailing exactly what they needed and wanted, he had compiled a list of suitable properties, ones that Mr Ewing himself had admitted were exactly what they were looking for and should have been drawn to, however, that hadn't happened and he had no real explanation why. He dealt with wealthy clients on a daily basis, but thus far, Mrs and Mrs JR Ewing were the most specific but ambiguous; direct, but confusing; and decisive but indecisive couple he had ever met. "Where would you like to go to from here? I can compile another list of properties that fit your specifications, however, I do have to be honest with you; the properties we looked at today are the ones that met the most criteria…" offering them the opportunity to decide their next move, he gave them his honest assessment before pausing and waiting for a response.

Half an hour later, as they exited the highway and drove through Braddock, toward Southfork, Sue Ellen's hazy, confused thoughts about their future home suddenly became a lot clearer. There was something very soothing about driving down the long, straight road and passing nothing but grass, trees, cattle and the occasional house; the land in the neighbourhoods they'd visited earlier in the day was nothing like the land in Braddock County and as much as she'd thought she was ok with that, she wasn't. The fact was, she liked riding her horse around Southfork and exploring the rural, unmanicured landscape; she liked being able to look out the window and not see another house for miles; and she liked that John Ross spent a good amount of time with Lucy and Miss Ellie. The only things she really disliked about living at Southfork were the lack of privacy, lack of autonomy and awkward atmosphere at times, however, none of those were things that really required a solution more drastic than a simple, short-distance change of location. "JR?" looking over at her husband as he drove toward Southfork, she spoke calmly, "I'm not confused anymore. I know what I want now".

To be continued…