Dallas, Texas

"It sounds to me like Ewing Oil has a lot of capable employees, but it also sounds like you're not convinced. So tell me, what's the issue, and where do you go from here?" taking a sip of her red wine, Sue Ellen relaxed back into the couch as she waited for JR to respond. He had done an excellent job calming her down earlier and he had been right, a drink to take the edge off the long day was exactly what she needed. She never wanted to become like her father had been, dependent on alcohol for sanity, and driven to insanity by the very same thing, but she didn't see anything wrong with enjoying a drink with her husband at the end of the day. There had been a few times in the past where she'd drowned her sorrows, the biggest two being when she'd seen JR and Julie together, clearly after an afternoon romp, and as well in the days following her Miss America pageant loss; overall though, she knew alcohol didn't solve her problems so it wasn't worth trying to change that reality. A few drinks with friends and family was different though, it was social and enjoyable and it was the furthest thing from dependency like her father had had, and with that in mind, she allowed herself to enjoy the relaxing, warming effects of her wine.

She knew JR liked having someone to vent his frustrations to or simply just having someone who would listen to him and she was happy to be that person. He was a smart man and he was capable of making his own informed decisions, so he didn't need her input to get himself out of the situations he found himself in, and he didn't like her to stress herself out about his problems like she had done in the early days of their marriage. Sometimes it was a little hard for her to accept that he was so independent and he didn't rely on her the way she did him, however, she understood why things were the way they were. JR was his own man because of how he was raised and because having a need to be independent and powerful was just who he was. She was different, she was able to make decisions herself and in the past few years had grown more sure of her own likes and dislikes, but she was still just a bit more dependent on other people than he was. History had proven that it wasn't good for anyone if she got too deeply involved in his problems, because in trying to assist him, she often got too personally involved and ended up stressing herself out about things that truly weren't her responsibility. JR was reasonable though, and she was better equipped now than she had been in the past, so he did still tell her about his problems and ask for her opinions on certain topics, and she was able to give him a few thoughts without spending her entire day stressing about issues she didn't even know the half of. They had always made a good team, but now that they had matured together and had a better understanding of each other's strengths and weaknesses and their joint strengths and weaknesses, they made an even better team.

"We do. Ewing Oil only hires the best, but that's an issue when it comes to promoting one of our existing staff; I don't want to lose any of the men we have placed very specifically in the positions they're currently in. I'll be honest too, Bobby's job isn't quite as easy as I might have made it sound in the past, but it's also not near as technical as some of the things the rest of our employees do and I can't justify removing one of our current skilled workers just to fill the vacancy Bobby is creating. I think we're going to have to open applications to the public, through an agency of course, I don't have time to sort through all of the unqualified applicants I'm sure we'll have and I'd rather our internal HR department didn't spend hours doing that either, they're already busy enough as it is. If I had it my way we wouldn't put up with the perpetual complainers, but Harve is always telling me it's better to settle small disputes than waste our time and money legally defending ourselves when an employee decides to sue us for treating them unfairly. Back to what I was saying though, there isn't really an issue with recruiting, I'm more concerned about the time constraints we're working under; I'm busy, daddy is busy, hell, even Bobby is busy, now isn't really an ideal time to spend days interviewing and then weeks training Bobby's replacement, but it has to be done, so ignore me". Finishing his drink as he finished speaking, JR placed his glass on the coffee table in front of him. He had had a long day and he hadn't exactly returned to a calm home, but things were beginning to look up; a drink always helped him relax and whether he was venting his frustrations or just recounting his day, it always felt good to get his feelings out in the open. Sue Ellen didn't need to say anything, in fact, there was little she really could say, he hadn't exactly asked her any questions or stated his intentions as if he were looking for her input, for him, just knowing she was listening and she wanted to support him was enough. Naturally though, she did have something to say, even if it was just a general, supportive, "everybody has their strengths and in this situation you're playing to those strengths, whether it be in leaving your current employees where they are, or hiring recruitment experts to send you the best applicants, everyone has a role and everyone is performing that role". She was right, and she hadn't said anything profound, but he did feel better having spoken to her about it.

"Mr and Mrs Ewing? Your dinner is ready to be served now", turning around as Francisca appeared in the doorway, Sue Ellen smiled to herself happily as JR stood, held his hand out, and then escorted her into the dining room. "Enough about my day though darlin'; tell me about your day. What did you and John Ross get up to today? Did you speak to Lucy or mama? I didn't get any real answers from daddy about that whole situation last night, but he did say he wants us to come over for dinner sometime this week and he wants us to resume attending Sunday family events more regularly". Listening to JR's words, she was filled with a mixture of dread and happiness; she had answers to his questions and they weren't bad answers, but she was a little nervous about how she would explain the result of her conversation with Miss Ellie. As JR had asked her two easier questions to begin with before she would ever need to explain how her conversation about his childhood had occurred though, she swallowed her nervousness, smiled, and began to speak as they walked into the dining room, sat down, and began eating.

To be continued…