Austin, Texas
"…take me home", holding his weeping wife as they left their disastrous meeting with her mother, JR's plan to leave Austin as soon as possible was solidified by Sue Ellen's three mumbled words. The further away from Patricia they were, the better, and the sooner he could make it happen, the better.
"How could she?" breathing shallowly through her tears, Sue Ellen looked at her husband before burying her face in his chest once again. "I hate her…" uttering three small, but very powerful words, her sobs got louder and her need for comfort grew stronger. Somehow, she didn't quite know how, she had other things on her mind, they made their way from seeing her mother, into the back of a waiting chauffeured vehicle, and in the back of her mind, she was eternally grateful that JR was as wealthy as he was. She was in no mood and wasn't entirely sure she would be capable of composing herself enough right now to make an appearance in a public space like she would if they were flying back to Dallas on a commercial airline. Additionally, she couldn't wait to leave Austin and delaying their departure by visiting their hotel or sitting around in an airport lounge, waiting for a commercial flight to leave sounded like agony right now. She knew she was being dramatic and if necessary, she could and would do what was socially acceptable, stop crying, hold her head high and get on with life, but she was grateful for the opportunities privilege afforded her; she was grateful for the sheltered life she was able to take advantage of if she so wished.
Naturally finding herself cuddled up to her husband, with her head nestled in the crook of his neck and one hand on his chest, she found herself relaxing as he gently ran his fingers through her hair and murmured a few kind words to her. It was a small gesture of kindness and they both knew she would need a lot more than what he was giving her now to eventually move past her hurt and anger, but for the duration of the journey to the airport and the freshness of her emotions, it was exactly what she needed.
Dallas, Texas
A couple of hours later, after a short waiting period at the airport and then what felt like a long flight simply because of how many thoughts had been running through her head, Sue Ellen breathed a sigh of relief as the pilot announced their imminent descent and the familiar sight of Dallas Love Field came into view. She was a lot calmer now than she had been earlier in the day, thanks not only to her husband but also to the time she had had to think and express her feelings, as well as the growing physical distance between her and her mother. Still, she didn't think she would be completely calm for a while, not until she was home with her son and she had had time to actually work through her thoughts and feelings. Right now, she was a mess, a calm mess, but a mess nonetheless; JR had been wonderfully kind and comforting to her and the personal strength she had gained within the last year was definitely an asset, but she wasn't naïve enough to believe everything would get better without a lot of hard work and realistically, professional help. She liked Doctor Williams and he knew and understood her difficult relationship with her mother, so unlike when she first met him and had hesitations about opening up, she now had every intention of asking him for his opinion and relying on his education and experience to help guide her through this painful, confusing time in her life.
Unfortunately, although she had managed to calm herself down and figure out a plan of action for the next little while in her life, Sue Ellen couldn't help but feel shaky and sick as they neared Southfork a little under forty minutes after landing. It was silly, she knew it and JR assured her so, but still, she was worried about their immediate future, specifically, how to explain to Jock and Miss Ellie what had happened. "JR, I know your parents, they mean well, and since we haven't spoken to them since last night when the only thing we really knew about my mother's condition was her physical state, they'll have a lot of questions if we return with a completely different attitude. I'm ok, I'm sure cried enough over the last few of hours that I don't have many tears left, but still, even if we don't really elaborate, your parents are going to know something is wrong, and honestly, I don't have the emotional energy to explain everything right now. Not to mention that I'm not even sure I want to explain things. When we moved out of Southfork, we made a point to separate our lives from the life we share in so much detail with the rest of the family. I love your mama and I wish my own mother were more like her, but I don't know if I'm ready to tell her everything just yet…"
Explaining her feelings to her husband, again, Sue Ellen wasn't too surprised when he glanced over at her and then pulled over. It had taken them a while to get on the same wavelength in a few areas of their marriage, however, for the most part, JR had always understood her feelings about her mother and had always known how to counsel and comfort her when she was upset because of something her mother had said or done. Because of their shared past with difficult parents and fighting to overcome the painful self-doubts that came from the things their parents had said or done, and judging by the last couple of days, she had no doubt JR would be the same wonderfully supportive and understanding man he had always been in situations like this. She didn't want to be a mess, but she was, so to have someone on her side was a blessing, one she was eternally grateful for.
To be continued…