Dallas, Texas

Dialling the third set of numbers in as many minutes, Pam wound the coiled phone cord around her finger anxiously as she listened to the ringback tone hoping this time somebody would answer her call. It was past dinnertime, she'd expected her daddy or Cliff to be home but neither had answered their phones so she was running out of options; if her aunt Maggie wasn't home then her announcement would have to wait another day.

"Hello?" answering, a familiar voice sounded on the other end of the line.

"Aunt Maggie, it's Pamela", greeting her aunt, she announced herself, surprisingly more nervous than when she'd met with Cliff to tell him the news.

"Pamela, you sound terrible. What's wrong?" sounding concerned, it didn't surprise her that her aunt was able to pick up on her unease just from the sound of her voice, she'd known her her whole life and seen her through good times and bad.

"Nothing, nothing", still nervous to speak to her daddy, she made a weak attempt to brush over her true feelings, postponing the delivery of her news for a little longer.

"Pamela", saying her name in a warning tone, her aunt's maternal intuition was evident; she couldn't just pretend everything was ok, she wasn't that good at lying.

"Do you know where Cliff or daddy are? I've called and called and no one answers at home or Cliff's place", explaining a little bit of what was on her mind, she skipped over the real reason she was trying to get in contact with her family.

"You know your brother, he's in and out, and your daddy's in California", giving her the answers she'd asked for, the information her aunt provided didn't really settle her mind, instead, it raised new questions.

"California?" having had no idea that her daddy had left the state, she didn't even know where to begin when asking for details.

"Yes, he got a job there a few weeks ago, didn't you know?" giving her a few more details, her aunt Maggie sounded a little surprised that she was so uninformed, but knowing the situation with her and her daddy it was probably more surprise that Cliff hadn't told her rather than that Digger hadn't told her.

"No", answering matter-of-factly, she didn't know what else to say.

"Well, you haven't been around much lately", stating a fact, her tone was what gave her feelings away; she wasn't a judgemental person, but she had an opinion, and in this case her opinion of her wasn't entirely favourable.

"I've been busy", quick to answer, she avoided the real explanation, which was that she'd been scared to contact her daddy for fear of another bad reaction to her life changes.

"Too busy with your new family to pay attention to your old family?" sounding thoroughly unconvinced by her excuse, her aunt Maggie offered her own thoughts on what had been happening recently, thoughts that couldn't be further from the truth.

"No, of course not", upset that anyone would think she cared more about the Ewing family than her own family, she was quick to deny that that was the case. She loved Bobby, and his family weren't completely awful, but as far as which family she'd rather occupy her time with, her own would always win, the Ewings were just traditional and that ended up translating to possessive of Bobby's time, meaning her time by association too.

"That said, the last time I spoke to daddy I didn't get the feeling he considered me family anymore", thinking more about her family, she couldn't deny that her relationship with them was as strong now as it had been previously, and that wasn't just because the Ewings monopolised so much of her time.

"Pamela, that's nonsense. You know your daddy, you'll always be his little girl, it's just hard for him to comprehend that you're a Ewing now too", scoffing, her aunt set her straight on how her daddy felt, bringing her back to reality.

"He'd better get used to it soon, because his grandchild is going to be a Ewing", frustrated, she let her news slip without really meaning to. Her daddy could have whatever attitude about Jock that he wanted to, but it would help a great deal if he let go of his anger towards anyone bearing the Ewing name, especially now.

"Grandchild? Are you pregnant?" gasping, her aunt was silent for a moment before cautiously asking her to clarify what she'd meant.

"Yes", breathing her answer into the phone, she was suddenly nervous about what her aunt would think as well as her daddy.

"That's wonderful news", cheerful in tone, her aunt's words came as an instant relief to her.

"Thank you, I'm glad you think so", appreciative of the support, she still wasn't completely convinced she was that happy herself, but to have another family member on her side was one less thing to worry about.

"Digger will get used to the idea", sounding like the maternal figure she knew and loved, her aunt reassured her that everything would be ok.

"If I can ever contact him to tell him", hoping her aunt was right, she brought their conversation back to the reason why she'd called in the first place.

"Bear with me for a moment", murmuring a few words, she then heard the sound of the phone being set down, a drawer opening and papers being shuffled through, before eventually her aunt picked the phone up again, saying, "I don't have a phone number but I do have an address. Why don't you write him a letter?"

"That might be easier", taking little time to consider it, she immediately had a better feeling about the idea of writing her feelings down than saying them aloud, that way she could draft, edit and finalise what she wanted to say before she sent it, and she wouldn't have to see or hear her daddy's first reaction to the news.

"I'd love to see you. Why don't you come over to the house some time, today, tomorrow, whenever you're free, and I'll give you the address then", surprisingly sly, her aunt neatly wrapped the promise of the information she wanted into an invitation.

"That sounds good to me. Tomorrow evening?" missing her family, she accepted the invitation without hesitation.

"I'll see you then", accepting her suggested time, her aunt sounded pleased, which pleased her too.

"I'll see you then", confirming their plans, she said her goodbyes and hung up. Things hadn't gone quite as she'd hoped, but they weren't bad either and that was something.

To be continued…