Dallas, Texas

"…you really should spend more time up there… It's a lovely home, thank you for letting us visit. I can't wait to take John Ross again when it's a little bit warmer and we can enjoy the lake and the pool…" eavesdropping on his daughter-in-law's pre-dinner conversation with his wife, Jock Ewing had mixed feelings. On one hand, he was happy to finally have the entire family gathered together at Southfork again, that was the way things should be, however, on the other hand, he was still annoyed about the length of time that now frequently occurred before events like this happened. Of course he was thrilled that JR was finally taking his role as a husband and father seriously, but when he had told him to think about the important things in his life he hadn't meant for him to start neglecting the wider Ewing family, or the business they relied on to remain the wealthy, powerful family that they were. It was nice for JR to take his wife and son away on vacation, he almost regretted not doing the same thing more often when his own sons were young, but the fact of the matter was, Ewing Oil was their livelihood and it wouldn't run itself. They could afford to leave things as they were for a few days here and there, they had excellent staff, but any longer than a few days, and any more frequently than a couple of times a year and in his mind, problems began to emerge.

"…skiing in Vail for our anniversary; hopefully somewhere a little warmer in April; then we haven't decided where we're going, but we're taking ten days in the summer to go somewhere and do something. Then I was thinking we'd head up north to New England in August; then in October we'll probably take a little time away too, but after that, apart from the occasional strictly Friday evening through to Sunday afternoon weekends away, we'll be in Dallas. This past holiday season was lovely and I don't want to rush John Ross too much, but I am looking forward to him being a little older next time we're celebrating. I think as an eighteen month old he'll understand and enjoy a lot of the plays, parades and traditions a bit more than he did this past season…" Continuing to listen in on his wife and daughter-in-law's conversation, Jock subconsciously shook his head. JR's application for twelve days paid leave over the coming year was not just about keeping his options open, Sue Ellen was planning and that meant as long as he approved it, which he seemed to be cornered into doing, he himself was going to have to work smarter and probably a little harder. He wasn't ready for retirement just yet, he still had plenty of energy and passion for the oil business and he still needed to regain confidence about JR's commitment to Ewing Oil, however, no longer did he view retirement as the beginning of the end; by the time he was of age, he'd probably be grateful for the break.

"Daddy?" turning his attention back to his sons as he heard his name being spoken, he murmured a few words of acknowledgement and then took a drink in an effort to subtly signal to one of his sons to continue speaking. Embarrassingly, he had been listening to the women's conversation so intently that he had completely missed the more important men's conversation; it was ridiculous, he knew he shouldn't concern himself with such insignificant matters when his company and his country were on the verge of a huge crisis, but for whatever reason, JR's modern marriage got to him. Ewing Oil needed JR, but from the way Sue Ellen was talking, so did her and John Ross, and she intended to maintain his attention. He couldn't turn down JR's leave requests, he had applied within a reasonable timeframe and he was entitled to take a certain amount of paid leave, so there was nothing he could do about it, but that didn't stop him from grumbling. Unfortunately, despite having heard his complaints, his eldest son didn't appear to care too much about his opinion and hadn't even made an insincere offer to change his plans. There had been a lot of deliberation between JR, Sue Ellen and Diane prior to his application for leave had been submitted and to JR, the twelve days leave he had requested was much more reasonable and realistic than the extravagant, impracticable initial proposal Sue Ellen had originally come to him with. JR hadn't informed his father of any of that though, so naturally, to Jock, it was a shock when his eldest son, the future president of Ewing Oil and former workaholic, suddenly took his new personality to an extreme.

Twenty minutes later, after refocusing his attention, he found himself deeply involved in yet another discussion about the rapidly declining dollar, the government's response, the dwindling national oil supply and Ewing Oil's game plan to survive the looming disaster. He, JR and Bobby were discussing some fairly heavy topics, but he was in his element and it felt good to finally have the family back together in their family home again. Finishing his drink just as Teresa entered the room to announce that dinner was ready to be served, he nodded to himself with pride as he and his family made their way into the dining room, and sitting, he grinned as he noted just one empty space at the table. "Would you look at that, we're almost at capacity tonight. This is how it should be. Add another Ewing wife and a few more grandchildren, and the future looks near perfect. We finally have the whole family here tonight, three generations of Ewings under the same roof again. That is something to celebrate". Raising his glass, he was too wrapped up in his own words to notice the way a few of his family members were looking at him. For Sue Ellen, Lucy and Miss Ellie, Jock's words were bittersweet, because yes, it was nice to have a family meal together, but the fact was, it wasn't quite that simple. In Miss Ellie and Lucy's eyes, the whole family was not present and it was sad to think about just how easily Gary was forgotten. For Sue Ellen, the mention of more grandchildren brought back some painful memories and anxieties about the future, though it also made her happy, because John Ross was absolutely wonderful and she couldn't imagine and didn't want to imagine her life without him. All well aware that this was neither the time nor place for any serious discussions though, each of the three women kept their thoughts and feelings to themselves and allowed the moment to pass silently, letting Jock enjoy his moment without having to confront the other side of the situation.

To be continued…