Dallas, Texas

"Are you sure you don't need any help packing and moving tomorrow?" leaning back in a large leather chair in the downstairs office at Southfork, looking over some documents his father had handed him, JR found himself more focused on the conversation occurring in the background than the work in his hands. It hadn't even occurred to him to ask Jack such a thing, but he supposed that if he was to make an effort and try to be friends with his cousin rather than acquaintances or enemies, he'd better look at adopting a few of Bobby's more friendly traits. "I think I can manage, I came to Dallas with one suitcase and I haven't done much shopping since I've been here, so there's really not that much to move". Raising an eyebrow at Jack's understatement, he kept quiet, because although he lacked some social graces, he wasn't completely unable to read social situations and he knew Jack wouldn't appreciate the story of how he knew exactly how little he possessed; breaking into a motel room didn't really qualify as a friendly, accepting action. "You could come over and have a beer with me while I unpack though", freezing at Jack's invitation, he glared at the papers in front of him; it was amazing, he hadn't even wanted friends, but now that he saw Bobby and Jack becoming friends, he wanted to at least be asked if he wished to join the club. "Sounds good to me", hearing the confirmation of plans and subsequent nattering about the unimportant details of such plans, he zoned out.

Brooding for far too long over the thoughts that came from feeling left out, he suddenly knew that Doctor Williams was right, not just potentially right, he needed a friend, more than that though, he wanted a friend. He could see the benefit now of having someone he just liked and who liked him, someone who he spent time with just because they wanted to spend time together, not because there was a business deal to negotiate or some old family relationship to mend. He had found that with Sue Ellen when they had started dating, discovering a whole new set of feelings he'd never really known existed, feelings of appreciation and genuine happiness at being in another person's presence. He didn't plan on falling in love again or anything quite that dramatic, but he did find the idea of having that kind of mutual enjoyment without the weight of expectation to be appealing in a way he hadn't considered in years. He had had friends before, he wasn't a complete loner, in college especially he'd had a lot of friends, or at least close, friendly acquaintances; after college he'd really become completely immersed in Ewing Oil business though and then easily and without pain, his personal relationships had started to be replaced by business ones. Where 'going out for drinks' in college had meant for enjoyment, in his post-graduate life such phrasing was usually said in relation to sealing a business deal, often with some female company, which also eliminated any need to really date women to get what he wanted. Sue Ellen was different, he had wanted all of her and he had respected her wishes to wait for marriage before he could have her; again, he didn't plan on loving a new friend like he did his wife, but in a way he did understand the appeal of having a friend.

The way his thoughts were going was only made worse by the situation he was in at present, because as much as he had zoned out and wasn't focusing on the exact words his brother and cousin were exchanging back and forth, he was still very much aware of them and their plans, plans which he was excluded from. Considering it again, he realised how pathetic he would seem if he said aloud how he was feeling, he was sulking over not being invited to a spontaneous event in a conversation he wasn't even participating in and hadn't made an effort to participate in. If there was anything Doctor Williams had said that made sense to him it was that communication was important, nobody was a mind reader and expecting people to be caused more problems than it solved. Just as with his unspoken resentment toward his parents, he had to verbalise his feelings in this situation, otherwise nobody would have any idea he felt anything either way, in fact, with how quiet he had been so far he was beginning to realise it wouldn't be that surprising if Bobby and Jack had no idea he was even listening.

Flipping the clipped documents back to the front page, he tossed the pile of papers onto the desk as he stood and sauntered over to the drinks cart. "What's this?" raising an eyebrow as if he'd just caught the end of Bobby's comments about what time they should meet and what time he had a date later in the evening, JR took the opportunity to fish for an invitation, even if this one was a little forced. "I'm moving into the condo tomorrow and Bobby was offering to help me with that, since I travel light though we decided instead to have a beer while I unpack and well, that's as far as we got. I don't suppose you'd want to come, would you? It'll be casual, I don't have much hosting experience like you all do, but I think I can manage that at least. We can play the rest of the night by ear, that's how I usually do things, make a loose plan, not a rigid one". Listening to Jack's reply to his enquiry, he was genuinely shocked, it was disarming to have someone respond to his droll tone with real friendliness, though in light of his previous thoughts, it was rather nice too. "That sounds like a plan", responding enthusiastically, he felt a little silly about how easily the disappointing situation had been resolved, clearly he had thought far too much about it before communicating anything, because when he did communicate, invitations were extended and friendliness was present. That was perhaps a lesson for him, instead of silently glowering about what he perceived to be someone wronging him or excluding him, he should try harder himself, other people were not solely responsible for his involvement. Making himself a drink as Jack happily filled him in on the details, he actually felt good, they were at Southfork, but he felt comfortable and positive and that was progress.

To be continued…