Austin, Texas

"Oh Sue Ellen, it was so frightening. You know, it's true what they say; when you're on the verge of death, your life and everything that's truly important flashes before your eyes. The things I saw and felt when that car came hurtling toward me and then so violently smashed into my car; I thought I was going to die. I thought I was never going to see my family again…" speaking in an overly dramatic tone, Patricia recounted the previous night's events once again. She was lucky, she hadn't been seriously injured and would be back to full health within a couple of months, and she had reasonable insurance, so she wouldn't be left with any huge debts to pay from medical expenses or car repairs. Knowing she was fortunate and actually acting grateful for that good fortune were two different things though, especially in the presence of her daughter and son-in-law.

She knew she would be pushing her luck and her plans would be much harder to complete if she plainly announced her intent to leave Austin and relocate to Dallas, but in her mind, it made sense that if her decision was seen to be made during a time of personal distress and reflection, Sue Ellen may be more sympathetic. JR would be a lot more difficult to convince; he was sceptical of her motives and after years of bargaining and trying to please her, he had finally snapped out of his uncharacteristic people-pleasing mentality and behaviour and told her no more. No matter her daughter and son-in-law's opinions though, she would still do what she wanted, which in this case, was to leave Austin and take up residence in another part of the state, preferably Dallas.

She was sick of living in Austin, she had lived there her entire life and she had seen and done just about everything the city had to offer; she was ready for a change. A new city offered new people and experiences; she needed some of those, because in relation to the men of Austin, she had mixed and mingled with nearly all of the wealthy, eligible ones she could get an introduction to, and for one reason or another, they had all been eliminated from her list of potential husbands. In relation to other aspects of her life, with Sue Ellen now living in Dallas and Kristin off at school in New Hampshire, the only things she really occupied her time with now had to do with her friends, her social clubs, her work and her home. She did a small amount of administrative work at a local bank in order to stay financially afloat now that JR was no longer giving her any financial help and neither Sue Ellen nor Kristin were bringing in any prize money from pageants or modelling contests. After years of scrimping and saving to support the lifestyle she encouraged Sue Ellen and Kristin to participate in, she was fairly good at stretching a dollar, however, that didn't mean she wanted to do so for the rest of her life. To other people in similar situations to her, her financial circumstances weren't so bad, but to her personally, it was fairly depressing; she didn't enjoy being thrifty or feeling middle class, she wanted to be a wealthy woman and she was actively doing what she thought would propel her toward a new life. She liked her friends, her social clubs and her home, but if finding a wealthy man to make her husband meant she had to move away from Austin, and in the process, make new friends and purchase a new home, then so be it. Personal sacrifices would be difficult in the short-term, but in the end, they would be worth it, or at least that's what she told herself.

She was determined to make headway and achieve something in the future, but her plans would be a lot easier if she had Sue Ellen and JR's support. She wanted to be free to see her grandson without having to book a time with Sue Ellen weeks in advance, and she wanted to be free to live her life and pursue networking activities without JR sabotaging her efforts with men in his social and business circles. She was realistic in her expectations though, she knew neither JR nor Sue Ellen would probably be very enthusiastic about her move; they seemed to enjoy the distance between Dallas and Austin a little too much. Because of her expectation of a negative reaction, it seemed like a good idea to her to elicit sympathy before telling them her plans; surely they couldn't deny her access to a little familial support while she was recovering from her accident, and surely, after having her around for a little while, they would see a different side of her.

She did enjoy being a grandmother and she knew if given the opportunity, she and her eldest daughter may be able to work on their strained relationship. Things were different now that Sue Ellen was a wife and mother, she wasn't a teenager or unmarried young woman anymore, she didn't need the same kind of guidance, guardianship or strict mothering; it was a difficult thing for her to accept sometimes, but she couldn't deny it was true. She had many motives for wanting to leave Austin and relocate to Dallas, and some of them were selfish, but others were selfless; there was nothing wrong with wanting to be a mother and grandmother as well as wife, they didn't necessarily have to be related to each other. She wouldn't explain all of her thoughts and feelings to Sue Ellen, because she feared she would receive some judgement and negativity in return, however, if her daughter did ask, she would gladly explain a select few reasons behind her plans. For now though, her long-term plans were still a secret; in the short-term, all she wanted was a little sympathy and an invitation to recuperate from her physical injuries and emotional trauma away from the location where they occurred.

To be continued…