Dallas, Texas

"…good, good, it'll be a full house tomorrow, the way it's supposed to be…" listening to his uncle's words and tone, Jack Ewing grinned to himself and relaxed into his motel bed. "I look forward to it, I'll see you all tomorrow", responding with a polite comment, he nodded to himself when Jock reiterated that it was going to be a good evening, and then said goodbye as Jock ended the call. Hanging up the phone, he looked around the room and smiled to himself; the room itself was small and basic, but he was happy; what he had told Jock about looking forward to the next evening was true, he liked Dallas and he liked feeling like he was a part of something.

Coming to Dallas had been a bit of a sneaky, selfish move, he had been seeking money and power, even if just a small amount, but he'd found more than that. He liked his uncle Jock, he had been nothing but nice to him since he had shown up in Dallas unannounced and if his comments were to be trusted, he was a generous man. He hadn't been offered any role at Ewing Oil yet, but he had been given the special family tour and from the way Jock acted with him, it was only a matter of time before an offer did come his way, because Bobby's final day was fast approaching and it sounded like they weren't having much luck with recruitment. As nice as Jock had been to him though, JR was a different story, he seemed to have doubts about the motive behind his presence, probably rightfully, because it was true that he hadn't exactly been naïve about Ewing Oil's success, or the vacancy they currently had, but to treat him with the amount of scepticism he did seemed excessive. He hadn't done anything to JR, in fact he'd thought he'd been pretty friendly and given him exactly what he wanted when Jock had first introduced them, he'd answered all of JR's nosy questions and chosen not to get angry when he was met with a passive aggressive attitude, but still JR hadn't warmed to him the way Jock had. The rest of the Ewing family seemed to be decent though, or what he had seen of them so far anyway. Miss Ellie had been somewhat reserved, but still polite and reasonably friendly; JR's lovely wife Sue Ellen had been the same, though perhaps a little jumpy, and she had been quick to excuse herself to get home to JR; and Lucy was a chatterbox. Bobby was the only member of the family he hadn't had much of a chance to talk with, at the office or at Southfork, but from the very brief interaction they'd had, he seemed likeable enough. There was John Ross too, everyone spoke very highly of the child, but he was just that, a child, there probably wasn't a whole lot he had to do to get his approval, or disapproval, so he wasn't too concerned about him, he liked kids well enough, but he wasn't the main focus of his time in Dallas.

Overall, his time in Dallas so far had been positive, and with Jock's invitation to a full family dinner the next evening, he felt good, he felt like he was a part of something bigger than just his own individual self and bigger than his individual interactions with different family members. He might just be wishing for something more than he had back in Alaska, he knew that, but he really did believe there was potential for something more in Dallas. His immediate family were different to the Dallas Ewings, they were close, but distant; after his mother had died the closeness between Jamie and his father had become more apparent, they were alike and he was the odd one out; in Dallas though, he felt like he had a chance to be someone important. Jock was an inviting man and if everything went smoothly, an invitation to join the family business wouldn't be too far off. Everything did have to go smoothly first though, and that meant building a relationship with people other than Jock, people like JR, Bobby, and Miss Ellie, the other major players in Jock's life. He didn't anticipate slowly integrating himself into the Dallas Ewings lives would be too difficult though, he liked to think of himself as a people person, and although he had come to Dallas with somewhat questionable motives, he was genuinely interested in making real relationships too.

Lying on his motel bed for a little while, just thinking, he was surprised at the time when he rolled over and caught sight of the clock on the nightstand. It was early, surprisingly early, and as much as remembering the events of the day and thinking of the future interested him, those thoughts probably weren't enough to occupy him all evening. He had to get out of his motel room, at least for a little while; being cooped up wasn't good for him, in fact, part of the reason why he'd left Alaska was to avoid being cooped up. He wasn't necessarily cooped up at work, because drilling for oil was hard, laborious, outdoor work, but during the long, cold winters, the rest hours between shifts could get a bit claustrophobic when shuffling from the drilling site, to home, and around the limited locations in town. He really wanted his life in Dallas to be different, and with that in mind, he stood and walked into the bathroom to freshen up. He didn't know his way around Dallas very well at all, and other than his family and the secretaries at Ewing Oil, he didn't really know anyone in town, but that didn't stop him from wanting to get out and do something and meet some people. He was an extrovert, he thrived on social interactions, or even just being around people, so there was only so much research and alone time he could take before he really started to get antsy by himself.

A few minutes later, after freshening up a bit, he put his coat on, grabbed his wallet and headed out. Driving his rented car, he was cautious at first because he didn't really know where he was going, however, after following the road signs for some time and realising he knew more of the street names and suburbs than he'd realised, he grew more confident. He still didn't have a destination, but that didn't really matter, getting out and seeing the city he intended to make his home was enough of an activity for now; exploration could be fun, as could the challenge of integrating himself with a new set of people. He would have plenty of time in the future to become like JR, uptight, always busy, always on a schedule, and always holding a bit of power to control the actions of those around him, like when Sue Ellen had rushed home to be with him. Right now though, he was young, single, and free to enjoy an evening without any kind of plan, except of course to boost his energy and happiness and relieve his potential boredom.

To be continued…