Dallas, Texas

"Sue Ellen, this is Marv, an old classmate and business associate. Marv, this is my wife, Sue Ellen", introducing the two as they met at their reserved table for lunch, JR watched with pride as Sue Ellen smiled charmingly and politely responded, "it's a pleasure to meet you Marv", to which Marv replied smoothly, "my dear, the pleasure's all mine". He wasn't exactly fond of the use of the word 'dear' in reference to his wife, however, he did enjoy watching Sue Ellen in new social situations; he couldn't stand Patricia but he had to give her credit for whatever lessons she put Sue Ellen through, she had the ability to convey a lot saying only a little. In the past, he and Sue Ellen had attended a lot of events together and she'd been very social, but more recently, they'd become somewhat reclusive. In making an effort to socialise with new and old friends though, he was reminded of how much he enjoyed taking her out and showing her off. He knew their marriage was about more than him just showing her off like some kind of trophy, but there was no harm in enjoying the way she could convince people she was a prized possession, especially so quickly, from just a smile and a polite greeting.

"JR, Sue Ellen, I'd like to introduce you both to my wife Anna", turning his attention to Marv's wife, it was JR's turn to play the charmed man, which he had no difficulty with, because Anna Alford was a clear Southern belle, she was well bred and had had a lifetime of training in preparation of where she was now. "How do you do? It's lovely to meet you, Marvin's told me a great deal about Mr and Mrs JR Ewing", hearing her use their formal titles, JR was pleased, the research he had done prior to extending a lunch invitation appeared to be correct. He didn't want to bore Sue Ellen with nice girls who were extremely similar to the ladies Patricia had carefully created her ideal daughters from images of, however, he also wasn't comfortable letting her just choose to befriend women like Pamela Barnes before she really had a chance to get to know any women in Dallas who shared her lifestyle. From everything his research told him, Anna was no threat to his wife's outlook on life, she was involved in a number of social and service activities, but none of them conflicted with her husband or their lifestyle and it just wasn't in her nature to challenge the status quo. A wholly subservient wife could get boring and he felt limited in his marriage when things were so rigid, so he didn't particularly want he and Sue Ellen to mimic Marv and Anna's relationship. With that being said though, Sue Ellen wanted friends and needed introductions to women outside of the DOA and if she was going to be influenced by anyone, he would rather it was Anna Alford than Pamela Barnes.

Taking their seats at the table, the conversation soon took a turn from basic introductions to the connection between he and Marv, which he had explained to Sue Ellen, but not in any great detail, partly because it just wasn't that interesting, and partly because he didn't want to remind her that he'd lived a full life before they'd met. Listening as Marv told the story himself, he mostly paid attention to Sue Ellen's facial expressions, because in all honesty, he found her more interesting and appealing than a story he already knew from more than a decade of quarterly business meetings. The way Marv explained things wasn't really cause for questions about him like he had imagined though, it wasn't nearly as detailed as he would have been, he focused more on himself and his company than them together.

"Well, JR and I went to college together, but that isn't really where we know each other from. After graduation I moved back to my hometown to assist my daddy in running the family business and it was there that I saw the opening for what is now my business. Alford Assistance started life as a company providing the temporary buildings for on work sites; you know commercial building and renovation jobs where they need an office but nothing fancy. We've now expanded our service to not only provide the structures, but some services too; so we have buildings for housing, hospitality, medical and administrative services, but we can also supply facilities and labour for a full catering service, housekeeping, and site security". Listening to Marv as he continued to watch Sue Ellen, he felt strange, as much as he enjoyed seeing her engaged and interested, he preferred to see her that way in regard to something he had done, rather than something someone else had done. He couldn't quite put his finger on what the feeling in the pit of his stomach was, but whatever it was, he didn't like it.

"That's right, Marv here owns one of the companies that keeps Ewing Oil's ground operations running. No oil comes out of the ground without workers, and when the work those workers are doing is located in the middle of nowhere, it's a hell of a lot easier to hire a company who specialise in creating a liveable environment than have to organise everything ourselves or risk losing valuable men because of poor access to basic facilities. Of course, it takes more than having a warm, dry place to commune at the end of the day to keep those men productive for Ewing Oil's benefit, but it's all part of a bigger process and every little bit counts. Ewing Oil utilises many smaller companies to assist us in holding our position and success and to work toward our eventual goal to be the biggest independent oil company in Texas". Adding in his own comments, bringing the attention back to Ewing Oil, he now knew what was bothering him; he was fine with Sue Ellen taking an interest in other people's lives, but he was just like a child when it came to getting his own word in and having his successes validated. He knew in his own heart and mind that Ewing Oil was the larger, more profitable of the two companies, oil itself was his industry, however, he wanted that to be acknowledged and he didn't like when the focus fell away from him.

"I'll drink to that, we're not so different, we both have the same goal, to expand upward and outward, and to do that we have to make connections and use the resources available to us in this marketplace". Listening to Marv's response, JR felt himself letting go of some of the tense jealousy that was inside him, they weren't that different and he was trying to be nice, plus, they weren't actually competing with each other, they were in two different, but complimentary sectors of the oil industry. Returning his gaze to his wife, he noted that she looked interested, but was sitting quietly, as was Anna, as if they were waiting to be spoken to before speaking. Thinking about it for a second, he realised that that was probably exactly what they were doing, because despite the intention of their lunch being a social invitation rather than a networking one, business had been the topic of conversation so far, and in their world, business was for men. If he wanted Sue Ellen to make friends with Anna, which was the intention of the meeting, then he had to open the conversation to allow the women to speak freely, because otherwise they would sit as pretty adornments at the table while he and Marv debated and discussed every aspect of business. Whether or not it made any sense for them to act in such a way, it was an unspoken behavioural norm until broken, and no matter how much Sue Ellen changed privately, she still had a firm grasp on her public persona. If he wanted things to changed, he would have to change them.

To be continued…

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