Dallas, Texas
25 March 1972
Sue Ellen. Mrs JR Ewing.
She was married and he desperately wished she wasn't.
Arriving in town to meet his father's fiancée, Dusty had intended to say hello, spend some time with his father and then leave, but now he had other plans.
He was taken with the pretty brunette but unfortunately it seemed she was taken with her husband.
Her husband had noticed his attention and warned him against even thinking covetous thoughts, let alone attempting to act on his desires. His own father was no better, doing much the same thing the moment he noticed his gaze lingering for a second longer than appropriate.
Sue Ellen herself was a different story. Tall, beautiful and personable, she didn't do a single thing to distance herself from his attention, which he took as an invitation to continue to do as he had been. She didn't strike him as shy or unsure, she appeared to be aware of what she wanted and while unfortunately as walking down the hall once or twice at the wrong time of night had confirmed she very much wanted her husband, he took her smiles and affable nature to mean she wasn't locked into the idea of strict monogamy.
8 April 1972
"Who is that?"
Nodding his head in the direction of the swimming pool, Jock enquired after the man Sue Ellen appeared to be in deep discussion with.
He knew the look the man was giving but he didn't know the man giving it.
"Dusty, Clayton's son."
"He's hanging around Sue Ellen a lot. I know it's her daughter's birthday party but still."
A reasonable sized crowd gathered for his granddaughter's first birthday, there were a number of people the man could be speaking to but he had eyes for no one but Sue Ellen.
"He's always like that."
"Doesn't he know she's married?"
Physically attractive, Sue Ellen's flaws weren't visible on the surface, so he saw the initial draw, what he didn't see was how she kept men. Far too opinionated for his liking, and unable to offer a man what he wanted long-term, she was more a silver medal rather than a gold medal, a prize but not first prize.
Married or not, what he was observing could be good for him. This Dusty character was clearly interested in Sue Ellen and she didn't seem to mind his company either.
JR might find the idea of a second wife more palatable if his first wife were still around and accessible to him and their daughter. They could simply change rooms around, Dusty and Sue Ellen together in one, JR and his next wife together in another, and finally, he'd have John Ross Ewing III without any chance of other surprise offspring needing a place at Southfork, considering Sue Ellen couldn't give any man more children.
"You looked like that with Julie when you were married."
"Lucy."
Grumbling, he didn't like to be reminded of Julie, firstly because her loss and the loss of their son was upsetting and secondly because whenever anyone mentioned her it was always with a judgemental tone, which he very much didn't appreciate.
"I'm no liar."
Shrugging, Lucy didn't apologise. He couldn't much blame her either, other than for irritating him. If he had looked at Julie with even half the warmth Dusty was looking at Sue Ellen with then it was no wonder his family had been annoyed with him.
10 April 1972
His daddy was up to something but what it was Bobby didn't know. Never once had he suggested he take more of an interest in ranching but the moment he heard Dusty was good with horses he'd offered him a job on the ranch, one Dusty had accepted.
Goodwill was a concept that his daddy didn't practice very often so it came across as suspicious more than anything else. He wasn't the only one that thought so, his mama, Clayton, and JR had all joined him in looking at Dusty with suspicion when he'd announced not just that he was staying on in Dallas but that he would be close enough to continue having family dinners together.
There was no doubt that Dusty had eyes for Sue Ellen, but Sue Ellen wasn't his wife, so he could only think so much about that. If JR had a problem with the way things were and wanted to do something about it then he wouldn't say no to assisting him, but until JR asked him to help, he was going to stay out of it.
17 April 1972
"You have to take better care of your health. Your heart is in bad shape. I'm not surprised you're not feeling your best."
Telling him exactly what he didn't want to hear, Harlan's concerned expression wasn't much appreciate either.
"I'm fine. All I want is something to fix the issue."
His rate of success decreasing, whether alone or with a beautiful woman, he'd come looking for a solution, but his trusted doctor seemed determined not to let their consultation centre on that singular problem.
"The impotence is a symptom of a wider problem. You'll need to change your lifestyle, improve your diet, increase your physical activity, lose excess weight, drink less alcohol, quit smoking, and I'd recommend at least attempting to reconcile with your family, stress isn't good for you, nor is a lack of stability in your life."
"You can't give me some pills or something?"
Hearing Harlan, he simply wasn't in the mood for advice, no matter how well-intentioned it was.
"I'll give you a prescription but none of the medications will do what you want them to. They will however hopefully assist with improving your overall health which may reduce the percentage of time the impotence occurs."
"I didn't come here for a check-up."
"Regardless, you got one, and you needed one."
"Mm."
Frowning, his mind was already on other solutions to the problem.