Dallas, Texas
"Say thank you to Diane for the paper and crayons", setting John Ross up at the desk in Bobby's former office, Sue Ellen prompted him to use his manners, something they'd been working hard on recently after a marked regression following the chaotic and probably very confusing for him past two and a half months.
"Tankyou", giving Diane a little wave and a smile, John Ross did as she asked.
"You're very welcome", returning his smile, Diane then turned to her, "JR's call should be over soon".
"That's fine, we're a little early", nodding politely, she thanked Diane and let her go.
Watching JR's secretary leave the office, she took a seat opposite John Ross, observing him as he quietly scribbled on the pages. He looked content, and he was behaving well, which gave her hope that he'd be ok. She wasn't one to think there was no coming back from the grief he must be feeling following the loss of his grandmother, but she knew too that an overwhelming sense of sadness could return suddenly and in instances like that he needed to feel secure. She saw it in JR too, he was dealing with his mother's loss in his own way, he'd acknowledged he was upset and he'd acknowledged he was angry, but beyond that he was quite adamant he didn't have the time or energy to dive deep into his feelings and explore every facet of them. Unlike Bobby, he had a company to run, as did his father, and bereavement or not, things in the oil industry were developing quickly.
She was doing her best to offer an equal amount of support to Lucy, but she didn't make it easy. Luckily, Lucy had an avenue to express her feelings through her own therapist, Doctor Lacey, and since Bobby had returned to Southfork she'd seemed a little brighter. What she thought had had the biggest effect on Lucy though was Gary's very brief return, he'd shown up for Miss Ellie's funeral and disappeared almost as quickly as he'd appeared, which she'd worried might hurt Lucy but appeared to have had the opposite effect. Gary was nothing like she'd expected from the way JR had described him, he'd been quiet and reserved, barely saying two words the entire time he'd been in Dallas, except to Lucy and surprisingly, Jack. Whatever he'd told or asked of Lucy following his departure had been effective, because instead of consistently falling apart like she'd expected her to, she'd been better at taking things in stride recently; she was maturing and that was a lovely development to see.
"Dada, draw", looking up at the doorway behind her, John Ross's face lit up as he spotted his father.
"Very good", walking into the office, he smiled at her but approached their son first, crouching down to his level and making conversation with him about the picture for a little while before ruffling his hair and letting him return to his scribbling.
Turning his attention to her, he kissed her softly and apologised, "I'm sorry I'm late darlin'".
Making a comment about him being on time, she stopped speaking to listen when the intercom buzzed.
Reaching over the desk, JR pushed the intercom button and Diane's voice came through the speaker, surprising John Ross, "JR, I'm sorry to bother you but there's a call from a Mr Walters, he says he has the information you asked for".
Mouthing an apology towards her, he answered Diane, "I'll take it", and waited for the call to transfer.
"JR Ewing… Mmm, interesting… Industries? Plural?... Burke, Blake, I can see where the smudge might've worked in her favour…" only half listening to the conversation, her ears pricked up at the second half of what he had to say as he continued, "declared dead? Fascinating… Ok, ok, keep me informed, and send everything over in a report… Ok, bye".
Incredibly curious about what sort of business involved anyone being declared dead, she asked, "what was that about?"
"Just a follow-up to that game of twenty questions I told you I started a few days ago", vague, he referenced back to a conversation they'd had last week regarding an interaction that had apparently put him in a good mood and from his present facial expression was continuing to improve his mood.
"It didn't sound like it had much to do with oil", having no reason to believe what he was involved in wasn't to do with oil, she had to assume it was, but the brief one-sided conversation she'd just listened to didn't entirely make sense to her. Of course, she didn't know even half of what went on day-to-day at Ewing Oil, so it was entirely possible whatever it was was only exciting to JR and would be of no interest to her, but still, she'd like to know.
"In the end everything comes back to oil", smirking knowingly, he grabbed his hat and continued, "now, shall we go to lunch?"
"You're in high spirits", pointing out his obvious delight at whatever it was he'd just been told, her curiosity continued to grow.
"A good game is just what I need right now", chuckling, he let her in on a little more about what he was involved in, although it still didn't really make much sense to her.
Considering his words, her conscience nagged at her; he had a tendency to push people, which she'd enjoyed and at times continued to enjoy, she liked seeing him happy, but they were in a strange time of life and although his happiness was important to her, so was everyone else's.
"As long as no one gets hurt", giving him her blessing to continue, she put a condition on his behaviour; she didn't really expect him to consider her wishes if it was purely business, but if it was like she expected and something more, she'd prefer if he didn't throw their family into another period of chaos right now.
"We won't", grinning, he helped John Ross down from his elevated chair, pulling her attention away from their discussion, but not before it occurred to her that he'd answered specific to them, which wasn't what she'd asked.
"Mama", holding his other hand out for her to hold, John Ross commanded her attention. She'd have to stay aware of what JR was involved in, perhaps by asking him to explain it, even if it was something completely uninteresting, but that discussion would have to wait until they were alone together.
To be continued…