Dallas, Texas

"You look lovely Sue Ellen", complimenting her daughter-in-law on her appearance, Miss Ellie meant every word she said, Sue Ellen had clearly put a lot of effort into preparing for her date with JR, from her hair to her makeup, to her dress, to her jewellery, she looked stunning and she deserved to hear such things said aloud to her. "Thank you; JR is taking me to dinner and then we're going to the ballet, and if I can convince him, we'll be going dancing too". Listening to Sue Ellen's response it was clear that she was ecstatic about spending a nice evening with her husband and Miss Ellie smiled knowingly at her daughter-in-law as she thought about how likely she was to get everything she wanted. Earlier, JR had phoned to ask whether she and Jock would mind watching John Ross overnight, so whatever plans he had made for his and Sue Ellen's evening likely did not end when the curtain came down at the end of the ballet. She and Jock did have dinner plans with Punk and Mavis, but they were at Southfork, and with John Ross now sleeping through the night, she didn't anticipate it being an issue to juggle both.

"That boy better watch out, taking you dancing in that dress is sure to attract a few admirers", turning toward her husband as he spoke, Miss Ellie wasn't sure what to make of his comments. On one hand she was pleased that he seemed positive when it came to his eldest son's marriage, because sometimes he could appear to be quite negative when it came to JR showing Sue Ellen the love and affection she deserved, even if he also actively encouraged it when JR stepped too far out of line. On the other hand, as nice as it was that he was being positive, as a woman, his wife especially, she didn't appreciate the way he was admiring their daughter-in-law. Sue Ellen was an attractive woman, especially dressed in the striking dark red, draped, chiffon and silk dress she had selected, however, something about the way Jock had made his comments rubbed her the wrong way.

"Thank you Jock, that's exactly what I was going for, not seriously, but there's no harm in making JR appreciate exactly what he has, is there now?", smiling flirtatiously as she responded, Sue Ellen's comments and Jock's subsequent laugh further added to her unease. It didn't seem right to be playing games with JR's emotions when he was trying to do something nice and as far as she could tell, he had done nothing but be a good, faithful husband to her recently. What she was afraid to admit to herself more though was that she didn't like the way Sue Ellen accepted and even seemed to enjoy the attention Jock was giving to her; was it not enough to have her own husband's attention?

"Now Sue Ellen, how would you feel if JR said something like that?" expressing her disappointment in her daughter-in-law's comments, she was surprised when Sue Ellen didn't immediately look guilty and retract her sentiments, instead choosing to answer her question in an honest, but different way. "I wouldn't like it, but if it drove home a point and changed things for the better, I wouldn't hate it either. I don't intend to do anything to endanger my relationship with JR, I never have, he knows that, sometimes that knowledge becomes a little too comfortable though. We've discussed it and understand each other, I think he just needs to see it himself every so often, I'm only 25 years old, I still have plenty of energy left to live life. In this case, I need JR to see that although I haven't been a college girl for a few years and I spend my days mothering John Ross and my nights performing all my wifely duties, the outside world isn't dead to me and if he's entering the social scene again, I'd like to be by his side. I'd like to feel my age again more regularly and if it takes a couple of appreciative glances from other men to drive the point home that I am young and can be sociable and fun, then so be it; I can deal with his jealousy, pouting and possessiveness if it means he understands everything we have discussed".

Listening to Sue Ellen's comments, Miss Ellie nodded; she still didn't agree with the idea that she should dress or act in any way that would encourage JR to act jealously, she knew JR and such manipulation was not appreciated by him, however, she did understand a little better now why Sue Ellen would think the way she did. They had had many conversations over tea regarding Sue Ellen's need and want for a more active social life because of how lonely she could get when she allowed her mind to wander too much. Lately such things hadn't seemed like so much of a problem, especially with JR being so much more attentive to her, but she could see how with Jack now a permanent fixture in Dallas and a nice friendship forming between him and his two cousins, Sue Ellen might feel left out.

"Women", smirking as he muttered his comment, Jock appeared to continue be amused by Sue Ellen's attitude, which surprised her, because he was hardly the type of man to encourage women to take control of their own lives, in fact, he was quite the opposite. Raising an eyebrow at his comment, Sue Ellen appeared to question what he meant, and by some miracle, he didn't snap at her, he just explained himself. "You're using your femininity to manipulate a situation in your favour and think nothing of it, because it suits your agenda. Business works much the same way; to win you have to go to extremes, otherwise you're left behind with the losers, playing fair and negotiating on an uneven playing field".

Frowning at her husband's comments, Miss Ellie couldn't exactly disagree with him, even if she didn't approve of what he was saying. Jock had identified Sue Ellen's actions for what they were, though he didn't seem to mind, and if Sue Ellen's silent nod and smile said anything it was that she wasn't going to argue with him on his opinion, likely because she knew he was right too. "Perhaps. No harm, no foul though. Like I said, I only have eyes for JR, this isn't a matter of winning, I've already won, as has he". Responding, Sue Ellen's continued attitude bothered her; if it was a simple matter of making herself look nice to please JR and improve her self-esteem then she could get behind that, the game Sue Ellen appeared to be playing didn't sit well with her though. It wasn't right to deliberately manipulate a situation she knew would rile her husband before he saw the point of her actions.

"That he has", seeing Jock once again eyeing Sue Ellen, she continued to frown, she couldn't deal with much more of whatever common ground her husband and daughter-in-law had found with each other she was just about ready for the short trip to collect her grandson for the evening to be over. "I think you're both wrong, there are other ways to make a point than by manipulating situations, talking straight being one of them. I'm not here to argue though, so I'll leave it at that", re-entering the conversation, she made eye contact with both Jock and Sue Ellen and was pleasantly surprised when they both smiled weakly at her, as if they hadn't realised how annoyed she was, but now did.

"Now Ellie, neither did I, nobody did. We came to collect that grandson of ours, is he upstairs?" Responding gruffly at first, his tone calmed as he mentioned John Ross; he wasn't nearly as hands-on with him now as he probably would be later on, when he was an older boy, but he did try and he had been just as eager as her to watch John Ross overnight when JR had phoned to ask. He was excited, she knew that, and that's what she'd like to focus on now, because she could absolutely support him and understand his excitement. "He's upstairs, asleep. I know it's early but he's had a long day. We went to the aquarium, then we had an early lunch and he fell asleep in the car on the way home because he'd missed his first nap. We went to the park this afternoon too, and missed his second nap, so he was just about falling asleep when I tried to give him his dinner a little while ago. He's probably out for the night now". Responding to Jock's question, Sue Ellen looked apologetic about the fact that they wouldn't get to spend any play time with their grandson tonight, as they were all adults and parents though, they all understood that his sleep was what really mattered and he'd still be there to play tomorrow, so it really wasn't a big deal. "Shall we go upstairs then?" hearing Jock's question and seeing Sue Ellen nodding and motioning toward the staircase, she needed no further encouragement and took the lead, heading upstairs to see their lovely little, sleeping grandson.

To be continued…