Dallas, Texas

"I'm very pleased about this change of heart; you know how much it means to me to have harmony in the family. I am curious though, did you happen to mention to him what you and I spoke about earlier or was this all him?" Leaning in toward Miss Ellie as she spoke, Sue Ellen smiled at her mother-in-law's comments, though she did find it a bit sad that there was still a small amount of wonder about what JR was capable of on his own. JR wasn't a naturally selfless man, nor was he generally the kind of person who had to see a situation from all perspectives before forming an opinion, however, he tried, he tried extremely hard to please people when it was made clear to him that his actions made him unpopular with those he valued the opinion of. With Jack, when he'd first come to Dallas it hadn't been at all unreasonable for JR to hold back from immediately bringing him into the inner circle, because at that point Jack had been a virtual stranger and caution was a natural reaction. As things had unfolded though, he'd developed his opinions based on what he came to know and what he assumed would happen in the future. Jock and the rest of the family's reactions made it easy for him to build walls and have heightened suspicions, in some ways, he was compensating for their lack of awareness of just how dangerous the situation could be if Jack did turn out to be more than an opportunistic kid looking for his next adventure. What Miss Ellie didn't give JR enough credit for was developing a rounded perspective of the situation without too much pushing. She had told Sue Ellen that she had sons and she hoped that if any of them were ever in Jack's position, they would be made to feel welcome and at home; little did she know, Sue Ellen had not passed on that exact message to her husband and he'd managed to come to a similar conclusion on his own.

"No, that was all him. We've discussed the situation a great deal and I certainly encouraged him to think outside of the worst case scenario conclusions he's prone to jumping to, but I really can't take credit for the majority of the changes. You know JR, you can't make him do anything he doesn't want to do and it's usually best to let him do his own research and analysis before jumping in with any other opinions. That's exactly what I did. I told him you and I talked about Jack, but before I got any further into what you thought about being inclusive, he was off talking about his own thoughts. I think Saturday night helped ease the tension and actually looking at what the reality of Jack joining Ewing Oil would be for the family was what really began to change things. You know JR has been hurt time and time again by the inequality of affection and positive attention in the family, so it's only natural he'd fear adding another competitor to the mix. He did look beyond his fear though, at the facts of the job Jack would be accepting and the relationship dynamics between Jack and Jock and he managed to conclude that having Jack around in a defined position is better than having him floating around somewhere in Dallas without clear tasks and boundaries. What I mean by that is, he's seen the light in regard to employing Jack at Ewing Oil and I think he's begun to realise Jack isn't all that different to other young men, like Bobby, or himself. He's excited to be a part of a family, but when this is all regular life to him in a few weeks or months, he probably won't be quite as fascinated with Jock as he has been and Jock may begin to realise he has more family members than just Jack".

"JR wants his daddy's love and attention and he was excited to be getting it at the office with Bobby leaving, Jack's arrival really made a mess of what he saw as things finally righting themselves. I really do think now though he's worked through what Jack being here means for him and the family and he's ok with it. Jock has a responsibility as a father and an employer to not alienate his son like he has in the past, but it's not up to JR to keep reminding him of that responsibility and what he should be doing, he's done that many times in the past and now it's up to Jock to make a go of it. I think that's something else entirely though, JR and Jock are in a better place now, but I still think there's a long way for them to go before everything is as it ideally should be. I think the same goes for your relationship with him, like you and I discussed before though, that's something you and him need to work on together, I'll support him however I can, but I can't make him do anything or change his mind one way or another".

Answering her mother-in-law's question, Sue Ellen made sure to reiterate other points in their previous conversations too because although Miss Ellie had made some efforts to right past wrongs, she and JR still had a long way to go before their relationship would be good and stable, and it was important for her to continue to make an effort. Ideally, as she had just pointed out to her, the comments regarding how pleased she was about JR's change of heart would have been said straight to JR, but for whatever reason, instead of doing that, privately or in front of everybody, she had stayed silent, even when JR had paused and asked for feedback. Miss Ellie was a kind, sensitive woman in most aspects of her life, however, where her eldest son was concerned she lacked good judgement.

"Yes, he can be stubborn can't he? Jack's never been the enemy, but he took his time to come to that conclusion. I suppose better late than never though". Hearing the joking tone in her mother-in-law's voice, Sue Ellen was able to smile politely in response to her comments, however, internally, she had to groan a little; she'd said so much more about JR than that he was stubborn, but somehow it had come back to that. "He's stubborn, but he's cautious, and rightly so. None of us knew who Jack really was or why he was here when he arrived and I think somebody had to ask those hard questions in order to protect the family. I don't think it's fair to regard research as a negative thing; as you said, in the end he did come around, but I think the story would be quite different if Jack hadn't been who he said he was and we were all in danger because we were too accepting". Probably coming off sounding a little more tense and frustrated than she wanted to, because Miss Ellie had been using a more casual tone in her response, she still didn't really feel bad about what she had said, because someone needed to say it.

Luckily for everyone, Miss Ellie seemed to understand what she was saying more thoroughly when it was said in a harsher tone, and after a long pause, she responded again, this time giving JR the credit he was due. "That's true too, JR is protective of this family and that's very honourable; even if his opinions make him unpopular, he still sticks with what he believes, until the evidence says otherwise. In this situation, things appear to have worked out, but you're right, they easily could have gone the other way and if not for JR's digging we may not have known. In that respect he deserves to be thanked, I think he deserves to be praised for his personal progress too, accepting a new man in his daddy's life isn't easy for him and I want him to know I'm proud of him".

Not going quite as far as to say she was going to actually tell him how she felt, but still managing to redeem her earlier casual remarks, Miss Ellie's comments both pleased and disappointed Sue Ellen. Smiling politely, she accepted that she was going to have to explicitly tell her mother-in-law that when she said she and JR needed to work on their relationship, she meant they needed to talk and communicate directly with each other, not through her. "I'm so glad to hear you say that, I know JR will be too, and I know he'd like to hear it from you himself. He values your opinion just as he values Jock's opinion and I know he would love to hear his mama tell him everything you just told me". Glancing over at her husband, she could tell he was deep in discussion with Jack and his father about something, so suggesting Miss Ellie interrupted now probably wasn't a good idea, however, there was nothing wrong with keeping an eye on the progress of that conversation and jumping in when JR was free to talk again.

"Thank you Sue Ellen", turning her attention back to Miss Ellie, she felt at peace again as she took note of Miss Ellie's small smile and listened to the tone she used when replying to her comments, "I'll make sure to speak to him before the night is over". At some point things had changed and she was pleased they had; Miss Ellie was still a wise older woman who she sought answers to many of life's little problems from, but now, she had something more than thanks to offer her in return, she had valuable advice of her own to give away and it felt wonderful.

To be continued…