Dallas, Texas

"Now that we've all come to our senses, I expect we'll have less problems organising more evenings like this. This big house should be used for more entertaining than it has been recently, especially considering the promises that were made before you moved in, those promises shouldn't be broken. I expect there will be much less tension now that you've reconciled your differences though and those promises will be easy to keep". Listening to his father talking, JR sat silently, tossing up whether to call his father out on his remarks that made it seem as if he were the sole cause of problems in the family, or whether to say nothing and keep the peace. His father had said worse things to him in the past, so he wasn't overly offended by his comments now, it was just so typical of him that instead of acknowledging the new situation from a completely positive angle, he had made sure to remind everyone of the past negatives too. In all honesty though, he and his father probably weren't that different from each other, he himself had definitely been known to make backhanded compliments and bring up past issues at uncomfortable times, so although what his father was saying wasn't exactly appreciated, he thought it best not to call attention to it and instead just brush past it.

Before he really had an opportunity to say anything in regard to the point his father had made though, his father was talking again, this time addressing Jack. "I'm sure you've worked it out by now Jack, but in case you haven't, we like to have family dinners a few times a week. I expect you'll join us when they are arranged, it's a special Ewing tradition…" Allowing his tone to say everything about the tradition that his words hadn't, Jock paused for a second to allow the message to sink in; attendance was not optional at special, traditional, family dinners and if Jack was to join the family like he wished to, he would do well to remember that. JR had to smirk at Jack's facial expression, he seemed surprised for some reason that the man he'd spent weeks listening to talk about traditions was a stickler for the rules and expected him to follow those rules if he were to join the family; he wasn't special, he was just like everyone else, just how he had wanted it.

Deciding to take advantage of his father's pause and his cousin's surprise, he jumped into the conversation himself, "it's true Jack, when daddy calls us together for a special family dinner, we're all there, rain, shine, speaking or not speaking, the Ewing family dinner is a tradition that doesn't seem to be going anywhere". Grinning, he allowed his own pause to extend a few seconds longer than necessary before continuing, turning his attention back to his father's point, though not exactly as he had approached it, "I know what you're thinking, 'dinner happens every day, surely it's not always such a formal affair?', you're right, the answer to that question is no, it's not. Bobby has travel and personal engagements to attend to, Sue Ellen and I have our own lives, and I'm sure you've made some connections here by now, you're absolutely free to do with your personal time as you wish. All you need to be aware of is when a dinner invitation comes your way, acceptance is not optional".

Meeting his father's eye as he spoke, he could tell from the small hint of a smile that he was amused by the way he described things, which was surprising since he was in a way making fun of the rigidity of the event. He had a feeling his father enjoyed the vague language he was using though, it made him sound like he'd do a hell of a lot more than shout about family values if anyone didn't turn up, which he wouldn't, because they were adults, not children, and putting an adult son or nephew over his knee just wasn't an option. There was a serious point to what he was saying though, his parents had shared their concern about family dinners prior to him and Sue Ellen leaving Southfork and he and Sue Ellen had made comments about attending dinners 'a few times a week' if he remembered correctly, which some weeks happened and other weeks didn't. To him it really didn't matter all that much if he saw Lucy and Bobby on a consistent schedule, so a missed dinner here or there didn't concern him, especially if things weren't great in other areas and shared mealtimes ended up being tense for everyone. His father obviously remembered their past discussion and was using their current situation to bring attention back to the topic though, a topic he considered much more important than he did. Considering that importance to his father, there probably wasn't really any harm in making a few comments and efforts to satisfy his need for family time; he and Sue Ellen both agreed that they wanted John Ross to grow up comfortable being at Southfork and that in a perfect world, they would all be a close, happy family. Making an effort to maintain links to the family really wasn't a terribly hard thing to do, the most difficult thing usually proved to be getting everyone to make the same effort and give the same considerations to them.

Thinking about what his father had said regarding their home, he had to agree, first and foremost he and Sue Ellen had purchased their home for their own family, but it was a large space and undoubtedly the layout was suited to entertaining, which they didn't really do much of. The lack of social functions that took place in their home was partly due to their wish to create boundaries with the family, but honestly had more to do with the fact that even combined they only had a handful of people they would willingly socialise with, and of that group only a couple were close enough to consider friends. Sue Ellen was trying hard to socialise more though and he had seen a different side to his brother and cousin on their night out over the weekend, so in a distant vision of the future he could see their home possibly becoming more of a social setting. Nothing was going to happen quickly though, he didn't trust many people and he rarely became fast friends with anyone, so they still had plenty of time to figure out where they wanted the boundaries of their home life to be.

"JR's right, but he's also avoided my question. I expect now that we've come out of this disagreement that our regular family dinners will resume? Just like this, right her, right now; you call us together, invite us into your home, and we all enjoy it, like a family should". Hearing his father pushing the subject again, he knew he had to say something and couldn't just get away with joking about the mandatory Southfork dinners. "Well daddy, like I said when we announced we were moving here, we need our own space, for our family to grow and enjoy each other and to give us some space when things aren't so good. Nothing has changed in that respect, this is still our home and we'd like to keep it that way, but yes, as things seem to have improved now, at the office and in our conversations together as a family, I expect there will be more bread broken at this table". Hoping his comments were enough for his father, even though they were fairly noncommittal, he was surprised but pleased when Jack finally found his voice and made a comment that was sure to remove some of the attention from sedate dinner parties and his responsibility for hosting the family.

"Don't get me wrong, I like dinner as much as the next guy and I'll gladly attend whatever I'm invited to, but I've found that I can get to know people and enjoy their company in all kinds of settings; like riding at the weekend, or when we went out on Saturday night. Give me a drink and some good company and I'm happy". Grinning as he listened to his cousin talking, JR was thrilled to have some of his father's attention directed away from his commitment to a certain amount of dinners a week. Drinks were different, he had no problem with that kind of social activity in general, but especially with Jack, his father and even Bobby, his past experiences with them had been enjoyable in comparison to tense family dinners and if he could satisfy his father's need for family time with drinks instead of more dinners, then that would be nice. "I think we can arrange that, can't we daddy? In fact, let's start now", grinning, he looked over his shoulder and caught Francisca's eye, signalling that he'd like their drinks topped up. He was making an effort and he really hoped his father noticed, because if he did and he was satisfied, it would make family events a whole lot more tolerable, because he was beginning to get quite comfortable with the current level of social effort required from him.

To be continued…