Dallas, Texas

"So you're a Ewing and your daddy was there when Ewing Oil was first starting, but you're not a Ewing of Ewing Oil? Doesn't that get confusing? Don't people ever hear your last name and start trying to talk about Ewing Oil business?" Interjecting in Bobby and Jack's conversation after listening for a little while and still not really grasping Jack's connection or lack of connection to the family business, Lucy stared expectantly at Jack and waited for an answer. She wasn't stupid, she had just been raised in a world where Ewing Oil was always somewhere near the centre and everything else revolved around it, including family relations, so it was new to her to meet a Ewing who had lived a different reality to the one she and her immediate family lived. Of course, she knew not all Ewings were destined for a job at Ewing Oil, her father had run as far from it as he could, and Bobby was choosing to leave too, plus, she wasn't being raised to see Ewing Oil the same way her uncles and cousin did, but still, Jack's circumstances were difficult for her to understand.

Hearing Lucy's question, Jack wasn't quite sure what to make of the little blonde girl. She didn't seem to be joking, and he didn't feel like she was purposely being difficult or sarcastic like JR had been during their few conversations, still though, he thought she seemed old enough to know where Alaska was and how far removed life there was from life in Texas. Making eye contact with her, meeting her expectant stare, he answered as best he could with the limited understanding he had of what was going on in her mind. "Well in short, yes, no, and no. I am a Ewing, but not a Ewing of Ewing Oil; mistaken identity really isn't a problem for me in Alaska, mostly because the fact is, nobody there ever really deals with Ewing Oil, so there's nobody to mistake me for someone important. You're in school, I'm sure you learn geography, Alaska isn't all ice, that's a stereotype, but it's a stereotype based on something somewhat factual, that fact being that Alaska's geography is a whole lot different to Texas' geography. The companies that drill in warmer climates like Texas are generally not the same ones that drill in Alaska, or if they are, they're not the independents like Ewing Oil. Plus, my job in Alaska was a lot different to the jobs your uncles and granddaddy do here in Dallas, there was very little opportunity for other people to find out about my family history in oil, it's not something me, my daddy, or my sister ever really talk about, and it's not something anybody ever asks about. Does that answer your question?"

"I guess so, Alaska is pretty far away and apart from you I've never met anyone from there, so I suppose it only makes sense that nobody there has heard of Ewing Oil, especially when no one from your family talks about it". Seeing Lucy think about his words for a moment and then shrug and accept his answer with a short response, Jack watched with amusement as she really showed her age by then turning her attention to Bobby, tapping him on the arm and whispering something in his ear. From looking at her and listening to her questions, it was clear she was still a young girl, but from her present actions he felt like he was seeing another side of her, she hadn't ever struck him as a shy person before, not until just now. Watching her and Bobby whispering for a few seconds, he felt less defensive and more comfortable with just being who he was when she finally spoke again, "this might be a stupid question, because you said Alaska isn't all ice and I think they kind of require ice and snow to be of use, but I'll ask anyway… Last year Bobby took me to see this movie, it was about a man and his sled dog in Alaska, or maybe it was Canada, I'm not sure. Anyway, I was wondering who's looking after your dog and if you had any pictures of him, but I feel now that I should probably ask first whether you even have a sled dog?"

Letting out a loud laugh at Lucy's naïve question, Jack grinned and leaned in toward her and Bobby and spoke in a quiet voice to avoid the whole family thinking he had been trying to get their attention. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, because believe me, more than once I've wanted one, but I don't have a sled dog, heck I don't even have a dog that just plays in the backyard. I think I know the movie you're talking about though and I should probably tell you it was set in the Yukon last century, so if you ever head up north, you might be in for a bit of a shock if you're expecting everyone to be living how they were in the movie. Not everything is different though, dog sledding is real and you can pay to do it yourself, it's just not something everyone does, and in populated areas most people use cars".

Blushing in slight embarrassment as Jack explained to her that what she had been hoping to see and hear wasn't really all that close to reality, Lucy was grateful to Bobby when he spoke and drew the attention away from her mistake, but still kept her in the conversation. "Come to think of it, that movie was set in the past… I suppose we have the same sort of thing here, not with dogs, but with horses, we use them as working animals, but they're also sort of like pets, especially Toffee and Chestnut, Lucy and Sue Ellen's horses. As you were saying about stereotypes though, not everyone in Texas has a horse, we just happen to live on a working ranch so we do, but if you're in the suburbs it's probably unlikely; I assume that's how things are in Alaska, generally everyday life just isn't that different". Nodding as Bobby spoke and watching Jack's face for a reaction to her uncle's words, Lucy decided then and there that their new family member was a Ewing in the way that really mattered, or at least in a way that she could relate to. His smile at the mention of their horses told her everything she had been seeking in her questions about his dog; she didn't know anything about oil, so trying to get to know him by relating to him that way was pointless, instead, she liked animals, and apparently so did he, that was their common ground. "Bobby's right, I love Toffee, he's beautiful, and so responsive, and he's extra special because he was a birthday gift from granddaddy. I'll introduce you tomorrow when you're here, you can meet Ace and Chestnut too, they're all very friendly. Do you ride?" Feeling comfortable with the conversation and company after a period of cautiousness and then embarrassment, she relaxed back into her chair as Jack began to respond to her question.

To be continued…