Alliances

Part 11

John Ross asked his Mamma and daddy if he could be excused from the breakfast table. He wanted to take Ashley Devereaux to the waterslide park, NRH2O in North Richland Hills.

Sue Ellen asked, "John Ross, when do we get to meet Miss Devereaux?"

John Ross said, "Maybe I can bring here for supper, tonight? What do you think, Mamma?"

Sue Ellen turned her head, and looked at Miss Ellie.

She said, "Miss Ellie, would that be alright if John Ross brought his friend here for supper?"

Christopher interrupted, and teasingly said, "John Ross had a girlfriend. John Ross had a girlfriend."

John Ross raised his voice, and said, "Shut up, Christopher."

Christopher replied, "Why don't you make me?"

J.R. stopped them, and said, "Boys, that's enough. We don't fight at the breakfast table."

Sue Ellen corrected J.R., saying, "We don't fight. Period. Right, Darlin'?"

J.R. smiled at Sue Ellen, and said, "You're right, Sugar. Run along John Ross, but I want you to be on your best behavior around Miss Devereaux, is that understood?"

John Ross flashed his Daddy a broad smile, and said, "I will, Daddy. I love you guys. I'll see you later."

John Ross walked out of the dining room, as Sue Ellen called after him.

"Be careful, Sweetheart. Do you know how to get to Richland Hills?" she asked.

John Ross peeked his head around the doorframe to the dining room, and said, "Yep, I know how to get there. Ashley doesn't live very far from there. I'll see ya."

John Ross looked at Sue Ellen, and said, "Damn, he's growin' up fast, isn't he?"

Sue Ellen said, "Unfortunately, yes. I'm afraid our baby boy is becomin' a man, J.R."

Sue Ellen continued, "Miss Ellie, I'd like to help with dinner. I know John Ross will want to eat supper out on the veranda. Maybe we can barbeque burgers, or steaks. What do you think?"

Miss Ellie smiled, and said, "That's a wonderful idea, Sue Ellen. I'll have Teresa pick up the items we'll need from the grocery store this afternoon."

J.R. and Sue Ellen excused themselves from the breakfast table to go back to their bedroom. They were walking upstairs, as the telephone rang. Miss Ellie answered the telephone, and stopped J.R. and Sue Ellen.

Miss Ellie said, "Sue Ellen, you have a phone call from Harv Smithfield."

Sue Ellen turned around, and walked downstairs. She reached for the telephone in Miss Ellie's outstretched hand, and thanked Miss Ellie for the phone.

Sue Ellen said, "Hello, Harv. This is Sue Ellen. Yes, I can come into your office if you need me to? Well, yes it would be easier for me if you were to come here. Will you hold on for a moment?"

Sue Ellen placed her hand over the mouthpiece of the telephone, and asked, "J.R., would you mind accompanyin' me into Harv Smithfield's office in Dallas?"

J.R. said, "I'd be happy to, Honey. What does he need to see you about?"

Sue Ellen said, "Harv said that it's about Don's estate."

J.R. bristled at the mention of Don Lockwood's name. It was bad enough that Sue Ellen had to be associated with Don's estate, now Harv Smithfield knew about it. If Harv's dimwitted secretary opened her big mouth about it, the entire city of Dallas would know that Sue Ellen had inherited Lockwood's estate. Big city rumor mills had a knack for making mountains out of molehills, and Dallas was no exception.

Sue Ellen finished her phone conversation with Harv, and hung up the phone. She walked back upstairs to change to drive into Dallas. J.R. changed into a business suit. Sue Ellen dressed in a crisp linen skirt, and a floral print blouse.

Sue Ellen slipped on a pair of high heels that matched her skirt, and said, "I'm ready to go, J.R."

J.R. checked out Sue Ellen's appearance, and grinned at her. She looked radiant, even dressed as casually as she was dressed. They walked arm in arm, downstairs for their drive into Dallas.

J.R. asked, "Would you mind takin' your car, Sue Ellen? I'm gonna have Rauol take mine into the shop for an oil change."

Sue Ellen said, "No, I wouldn't mind at all. It'll be like old time with you drivin' a Mercedes Benz."

J.R. had been a die-hard Mercedes Benz aficionado for years, but he had a newfound appreciation for all things American, including automobile manufacturers. He was a Cadillac man, through and through. Sue Ellen had more European tastes. She preferred the close-fitted luxury of the Mercedes Benz line of automobiles.

J.R. had to admit, the car he bought for Sue Ellen suited her very well, indeed. J.R. lowered the convertible top, and started the engine. The finely tuned, German-engineered motor purred like a kitten, as J.R. backed the car out of the driveway.

Sue Ellen opened her purse, and pulled out a compact mirror, and a tube of lipstick. She opened her mouth, and pressed the lipstick to her lips. She moved the lipstick around the shape of her mouth, and closed her lips together, to spread the lipstick into the grooves of skin on her lips. She blotted the lipstick with a tissue.

J.R. studied her as she applied the color to her lips. He was so distracted by her actions, as he watched her lips press together over the tissue, that he overcorrected the car, almost swerving off the side of the road.

J.R. quickly recovered from his driving error, and said, "You fascinate me, Sugar. I never noticed how sensually you apply lipstick."

Sue Ellen felt a flush of embarrassment color her face, and she lowered her eyes.

Lately, J.R. managed to embarrass her without trying, she mused. He seemed to know precisely what to say, and when to say it, to catch her completely off guard. He may as well have pulled a rug out from underneath her feet, she thought.

J.R. enthusiastically grinned when he saw her reaction to his comment. Sue Ellen's child-like humility, despite her incredible beauty, was one of the traits J.R. admired most about her. It was one of the first things he noticed about Sue Ellen when he met her during his stint as a judge for the Miss Texas Pageant of 1967. J.R. vividly recalled how Sue Ellen blushed profusely when she was first introduced to the dashing, young judge.

He remembered how Sue Ellen had tried to avert her eyes from the piercing gaze of the newest addition to the Texas oil empire, Ewing Oil. He remembered how stunning she looked in her evening gown. Sue Ellen's thick, brunette hair was piled on her head in the requisite 'beehive' style of the times.

J.R. couldn't take his eyes away from the devastatingly beautiful, yet painfully shy brunette. J.R. had committed to memory how the five-foot seven and a half –inch tall beauty towered over the other, more diminutive contestants.

Sue Ellen touched J.R.'s arm, and said, "Darlin'? I asked you a question, J.R."

J.R. said, "What? I'm sorry, Sugar. My mind was a million miles away. What was your question?"

Sue Ellen said, "I was wonderin' if you thought that Harv might be able to finalize this whole estate mess today."

J.R. turned the silver Mercedes into the parking lot outside of the Smithfield & Bennett Law office building. He placed the transmission into 'Park,' and removed the key from the ignition. J.R. walked around the front of the car to open the passenger door for Sue Ellen.

Sue Ellen took J.R.'s hand, as he helped her out of the low-profile car.

J.R. kissed Sue Ellen's cheek, as she brushed against his shoulder with her arm. He placed his hand at the small of her back while he escorted her into the office building.

Sue Ellen pressed the elevator call button on the wall panel, next to the elevator doors on the main floor of the building. She was apprehensive about her meeting with Harv, and nervously tapped her toes on the tiled floor. J.R. reached for her hand, to show his support.

Sue Ellen exhaled as she felt J.R.'s hand cover her trembling hand.

J.R. said, "Sue Ellen, there's absolutely nothin' for you to worry about. Estate matters are simple, much simpler than the last time we had to come here."

Sue Ellen smiled at J.R., and asked, "How could I forget the last time?"

The last time she and J.R. were in this building was for Sue Ellen to give a videotaped deposition regarding her knowledge of Miranda Barrington's involvement in Don Lockwood's "suicide" attempt. So much had changed since then, she thought, as the elevator doors opened to the car that would take them to the Harv Smithfield's office on the sixth floor.

Sue Ellen apprehensively approached the receptionist's desk outside Harv Smithfield's law office. The receptionist recognized Sue Ellen from her previous visit, and pressed the intercom button on her CBX telephone to let Harv know that Mr. and Mrs. Ewing were in his outer office.

The receptionist said, "Mr. Smithfield will be with you in a moment. Please have a seat. Would either of you lie some coffee?"

Sue Ellen smiled at the receptionist, and said, "No, I wouldn't care for coffee, thank you. J.R.?"

J.R. held Sue Ellen's hand, and gazed at her, saying, "I've had plenty of coffee, already. Thanks."

The six-paneled, Mahogany door to Harv Smithfield's office opened, and Harv invited Sue Ellen and J.R. inside.

J.R. held a chair for Sue Ellen, and sat next to her in front of Harv's antique cherry wood desk.

Harv picked up a stack of legal paperwork, and lowered hi pince-nez glasses to the bridge of his nose, to better read the documents.

J.R. wanted to put an end to Sue Ellen's anxiety, and said, "Harv, will you cut to the chase, and spare us the legal jargon? Just tell my wife what she needs to know."

The habitual slip of the reference ro Sue Ellen as J.R.'s wife brought a radiant, loving smile to Sue Ellen's face. She tightly squeezed J.R.'s hand in her fingers.

Harv said, "Very well, then. When Don Lockwood's estate was turned over to the British courts, they went over some of the court documents from Miranda Barrington's trial. The only other mention of family, other than his sister, Miranda, was you, Sue Ellen."

Sue Ellen asked, "What exactly am I entitled to, Harv?"

Harv scanned the documents in front of him, and said, "Evidently, your ex-husband amassed a small fortune from gambling, mostly. He dappled in horse-racing, and apparently, money laundering."

Sue Ellen lifted her hand to her mouth, and said, "I had no idea that he was involved in any of that. Is there anything else I should be made aware of?"

Harv said, Yes, it appears that Don Lockwood owed a fair amount to a London based booking agent named Avery Lumley, does that name mean anything to you, Sue Ellen?"

Sue Ellen nodded her head in disbelief, and softly said, "Yes, Avery was Don's 'production assistant.' I can't believe that I was so damn naive."

J.R. intently watched Sue Ellen, as her beautiful face became saddened upon learning about Don's seedy gambling involvement. J.R. placed his arm around Sue Ellen's shoulder. Sue Ellen turned her head to look at J.R. Her eyes were gradually filling with tears of shame.

J.R. handed Sue Ellen a tissue from the box on Harv's desk. Sue Ellen gently dabbed at her eyes with the tissue. She politely thanked J.R.

Sue Ellen regained her composure, as her hurt feelings turned to anger.

She said, "Fine, what remains of Don's estate, after the gambling debts are taken care of?"

Harv lifted his head, and looked directly at Sue Ellen, saying, "One-hundred thirty-four million dollars."

J.R. did a double take. He never would have figured that Don had the innate, or learned ability to actually 'earn' that much money.

Sue Ellen said, "Very well, then I'd like whatever needs to be set aside for Miranda's welfare to be taken care of immediately. I want half of the remaining portion of the estate to be donated to the children's wing at Dallas Memorial Hospital, and I want the wing renamed the 'John Ross Ewing, Sr. Children's Ward.'
I'd like the other half of the remaining amount put into a private account in my, and J.R.'s names."

Sue Ellen handed Harv a business card with the account information written on the bottom corner of the card.

J.R. touched Sue Ellen's arm, and asked, "Are you sure that' what you want to do, Honey?"

Sue Ellen looked at J.R., and said, "Yes, I don't give a damn how Don acquired that money, but I'd be remiss if I didn't do something philanthropic with it."

J.R. said," Harv, would you mind givin' me and my wife a minute alone, please?"

Harv stood up from his desk, and said, "Open this door, when you're ready for me to come back in."

Harv stepped out of his office, and closed the door.

J.R. reached out, and held Sue Ellen's shoulders. Sue Ellen shifted in her chair, and stared at J.R. with teary eyes.

J.R. said, "Your offer to name the Children's Ward at Dallas Memorial on Daddy's behalf, is the most philanthropic gesture I've ever heard anyone make, Sue Ellen. I am touched, truly touched by your selfless gesture."

Sue Ellen smiled at J.R., and said, "Jock didn't get a chance to know his grandson, J.R., maybe this will give John Ross somethin' to remember Jock Ewing for."

J.R.' eyes filled with tears of pride at Sue Ellen's overwhelming generosity towards Jock.

Sue Ellen handed J.R. her crumpled tissue, and said, "Looks like you need this more than I do, Darlin'."

J.R. chuckled at her offer, and said, "Thank you, Sue Ellen. Daddy would be so proud, and honored by this. I can't tell you what it means to me, Honey."

Sue Ellen leaned over, and kissed J.R. She cupped his chin in her hand, and kissed at the tears that rested on his cheeks.

J.R. pulled Sue Ellen into his arms, and kissed her neck, saying, "I love you more than words, Sue Ellen."

Sue Ellen whispered, "I needed to hear you say that, Darlin'. I love you so much. I'm sorry that you had to be a part of this, J.R."

J.R. pulled away from her, and said, "Nonsense, Sugar. We're partners, don't you remember? If somethin' affects you, then it affects me. Good, bad, or indifferent."

Sue Ellen smiled, and said, "You can open the door for Harv, if you'd like."

J.R. arose from his chair, and opened the door.

Harv walked back inside the office, and closed the door behind him.

Harv sat at the chair behind his desk, and said, "I can have the necessary documents to finalize settling Don's estate drawn up this afternoon, Sue Ellen. You can change your mind, you know?"

Sue Ellen said, "I'm well aware of my rights, Harv. This is somethin' I want to do, honestly."

Harv stood up from his desk, and extended his hand to Sue Ellen.

Harv said, "Thank you for coming in to take care of this, Sue Ellen, J.R. I'll have my secretary notify you when the final papers are ready fro signatures."

J.R. thanked Harv for meeting with them. Sue Ellen shook Harv's hand, and smiled at him.

Sue Ellen said, "Thank you for all you've done for me, and for us, Harv. I can't tell you how much you've done to ease this burden for me."

Sue Ellen held her head high, as she and J.R. walked out of Harv Smithfield' office to take the elevator downstairs to the building lobby.

J.R. opened the passenger door for Sue Ellen, and touched her shoulder, as she started to sit down.

J.R. said, "Sue Ellen, I grow to love you more with each passin' day. I just want you to know that, Sugar."

Sue Ellen exhaled, as she sat on the passenger seat. J.R. had professed his love for her, and for the first time in ages, Sue Ellen genuinely felt loved…