Dallas, Texas

"Now Sue Ellen, since Jack is going to be here tomorrow, and we haven't had a proper family day for a while, it would be nice if you, JR, and John Ross would join us tomorrow. Do you think you can make that happen? I know Ellie misses having John Ross around…" Nodding politely as she and Jock spoke quietly with each other since they were seated next to each other and JR and Miss Ellie seemed to be occupied by John Ross and their own conversation, Sue Ellen couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the reason her father-in-law gave for wanting them to join the family again the next day. Sipping her wine to give her time to think before responding, she began to wonder if perhaps JR was fighting a losing battle with his father when it came to getting him to understand his feelings because Jock didn't even understand his own feelings, or if he did, he wasn't quick to admit them.

Placing her wine glass down in front of her, she leaned slightly toward Jock and began to speak in a quiet voice, hoping to avoid the rest of the family taking notice of their conversation. "Jock, please, let's not play this game, Miss Ellie sees John Ross plenty, so let's not pretend bringing him here for family time is solely for her benefit". Giving him a look that made it clear she wasn't interested in participating in creating depth to his excuse, she waited a few moments before continuing to speak, softening her facial expression as she explained her position. "I wish you would just admit that you miss John Ross and you want him here because you enjoy being a grandfather, it's not something to be ashamed of, in fact it's something the rest of the family like to see and really does benefit everyone. I'm sure you've noticed, but in case you haven't, everyone is a lot happier and family events are a lot more enjoyable when we're not all arguing about something or trying to fit into very specific roles that aren't truly our own personalities. I spent years trying to play the perfect daughter, girlfriend, pageant queen, and wife, that was a lot of pressure and though I can't say it was all bad, I can honestly say I've never been happier than I am now in my role as JR's wife, John Ross' mother, and whoever I am as my own imperfect, human person. JR is trying to do the same, he's been trying to communicate with you more on a personal level and from what I gather that's not going as well as hoped… I'm not going to get into that though, it's not for me to make right. I didn't mention all of that for no reason though, I said it because I'm trying to express to you that it's difficult to really understand and be honest with someone when you only see a certain side of them and that side isn't really them. In this case, I think your formal patriarch role is too overbearing and you'd really have more success with keeping the family together if you just relaxed and embraced being a father and grandfather".

Bracing herself for her father-in-law to start to quibble and possibly even shout at her for being disrespectful toward him by judging the situation and telling him what to do, Sue Ellen was stunned when she managed to take a breath and take another sip of wine without any sound coming from him. Meeting his eye again, she had a feeling he was silent not because he was enthralled by what she had to say and was respectfully waiting for her to continue, but because he too was stunned, for different reasons to her surprise though. She had a feeling he was mostly surprised that their conversation had taken such a turn, because in the past, and even earlier in the evening, they had never really spoken at length, or in any real depth. Sure, they had exchanged heated words with each other before, but JR had been present in the majority of their conversations and although Jock and JR weren't particularly close, he did have a certain amount of respect for his eldest son, and with that came a respect of her position as JR's wife and a proper lady. Now though, things were different, she was speaking to him without JR to guide her or protect her, and she wasn't exactly sticking to the safe, neutral dinner topics that they usually touched upon when seated next to each other.

Deciding that while she had his attention she may as well say what she wanted to say, she then continued speaking, using the same quiet voice she had before as to not draw attention to their conversation. "I know you don't push transparency in business and I understand that, but our family isn't business, it's ok to just state what you want and move in a straight line toward that goal instead of playing a game of smoke and mirrors to ambush and defeat your enemies. JR is your son and John Ross is your grandson, if you're inviting us to spend the day with the family and we don't have any prior commitments, then we'll be there, we're all on the same side, part of the same family. With that being said though, I do think you should ask JR himself and ask him honestly, I know he would appreciate hearing you express that you miss having us around and you enjoy us all being together and acting like a family. Believe it or not, he doesn't hate this family and he wants many of the same things you want, he just lashes out when you try to control everything without consulting anyone, and it's tough on him when you don't acknowledge that you're acting that way".

Holding eye contact with Jock for more than a few seconds, she could see him gearing himself up to respond to her 'accusations', so quickly, before he could do that, she spoke again, reiterating her answer to his question and hoping to avoid ruining what had been a relatively nice family dinner so far. "That's just something to think about, like I said though, we'll gladly come tomorrow, we like being a part of the family when everyone is happy and no one is arguing", repeating again that she wasn't trying to be difficult, she hoped Jock was actually listening to some of what she was saying, not just hearing her. Receiving a loud laugh, a pat on the shoulder, and then seeing him taking a large drink, she knew he had heard something, though exactly what was a mystery to her, because she hadn't said anything particularly funny. "Lord help JR", not quite sure what to make of Jock's reaction, she took another sip of her wine and sat in stunned silence again. Her conversation with Jock hadn't gone as expected, but even with his confusing reaction, she felt positive about the direction of the evening and hopefully the direction of their family relations. Now that she knew she could speak to Jock in a way that he sometimes needed to be spoken to, without fear of him cutting her off and shouting at her immediately, she suddenly felt like a door had been opened.

To be continued…

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