"Thank you, honey." J.R.'s stomach hungrily rumbled as he generously tipped the attractive waitress from the home-catering service. With a sneak-peak of her derriere, he escorted her from their new home and Sue Ellen automatically appeared from the second bedroom. "Is John Ross asleep?" His wife nodded her head and he poured her a healthy glass of non-alcoholic Champagne, "Well, what do you think, darlin'?"
"About what, J.R., the food or the fact that we're living in Alaska?" Her snappy response supplemented the icy chill in the air and J.R. pouted his lips, irritated. After seven hours of travel and the arrival to their new home, Sue Ellen's meagre reaction had disappointed him. She relented and surveyed the Alaskan chalet, built from a wooden structure - two floors, estimated at 1500 square foot with a garden for John Ross, not to mention the hot-tub on the patio which overlooked mountainous terrain. "Well, it's no Southfork but it's nice enough." Located north of Alaska's most thriving city, Anchorage, and situated on the edge of a peaceful lake, the chalet contained a certain amount of charm. "But don't think I haven't figured out why you picked Alaska, of all the places in the world. It's well known for its crude oil reserves," she rightly informed him, "The façade of a family vacation might work on your daddy but I'm fully aware John Ross and I are not your primary concern."
"Oh, darlin', ye have little faith. You and our children are all I'm concerned with." A sly look decorated his features and he innocently shrugged his shoulders, "If I happen to run into a good business deal which could reinforce my position in the oil industry and prove myself to my daddy, naturally I'm bound to look into it for the sake of our son and his future."
"Naturally," she coyly repeated, thoroughly unconvinced.
"Tomorrow, we'll call Southfork and let them know we've arrived safely. Then, how about you and I drive into the city?" It all sounded too good to be true and Sue Ellen's expression resonated with him. "A new start, Sue Ellen, it's what you said you wanted." He delved into his food and noticed her lack of appetite. "What's the matter, aren't you hungry?" She had barely eaten all day. "You need to keep your strength up, honey."
"I don't have much of an appetite." Sue Ellen nudged her plate further from her reach and placed her napkin beside it before she ventured onto the patio which overlooked the frozen lake. "It's beautiful here," she drank in the serenity of the view. "Maybe by spring, the lake will thaw out and all of this will be as green as Southfork. By summer, it'll be warm enough to swim in." Her mind connected the dots together, slowly but surely. "J.R., it's become more and more obvious to me that this trip is a more permanent fixture than you led me to believe. Do you really think you can wear your daddy down when you're thousands of miles away?" Her eyes drifted to the mountain scenery; it was a whole world away from the dusty plains of their hometown in Texas.
"Sue Ellen, after ten years of marriage, you should know me well enough to know that J.R. Ewing always has a plan B." One lesson his father drilled into him was the importance of contacts - J.R. had remained on a friendly basis with many former, fellow-students from college, who were destined to inherit their family oil business, too. Alan Campbell of Campbell Energies remained particularly close. "There are plenty of doors open to me here and I intend to venture into every one of them."
"So, we'll be here long enough that I should assign myself to a doctor," she noted.
"The chalet's on a six-month contract. That doesn't mean we're here for a definite six months but it does mean we're settled for the foreseeable future," J.R. hoped to soothe her qualms about their leap into the unknown. "Sue Ellen," his hand lifted her chin, "I know it'll be a while before you trust me but I have faith that you will. You've always found it in your heart to forgive me." He skirted around the issue of Kristin, who had somewhat lost her magnetism since Sue Ellen had fallen pregnant with their second child. "We're further apart than we've ever been." His hand caressed the curve of her head, intertwined with the abundance of thick, chestnut curls. Slowly, he inched closer until his lips softly grazed hers and Sue Ellen quivered with tension. "But we can finally get out marriage back on track. Don't you want that?"
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't. It's not as simple as all that." Sue Ellen had learnt from experience that rushing into a reconciliation only resulted in further heartbreak. There were deep flaws in their marriage that ran beyond his infidelities; after a decade, Sue Ellen still didn't feel like a real Ewing. Had it not been the anonymous bail payment, which baffled her, the Ewing's would have allowed her to rot behind bars for a crime she didn't commit. What pained her most was that had it been any other member of the family, guilty or not, the Ewing's wouldn't have left them to suffer such an indignity. It cemented her position as the black sheep of Southfork.
"Well, what can I do to make it that simple?" J.R.'s arms dropped to his waist.
A shudder of confusion vibrated from within and she softly shook her head, "I don't know." Before J.R. could express his frustration, a rhythmic knock at the front door and the cries of their son echoed from inside the chalet. Sue Ellen ran her fingers through her hair. "I'll answer the door. Would you check on John Ross? I can't seem to settle him."
Once J.R. scaled the stairs, Sue Ellen answered the door to a middle-aged woman, "Hello, I'm Haley Brennan!" A hand stretched forward and Sue Ellen cordially shook it, rather surprised to discover the blonde-haired woman on her doorstep at such a late hour. The chalet was notably relatively from other signs of life. "I was driving past when I noticed the lights were on. This old place has been abandoned for quite some time. You must be new to the area."
"Sue Ellen Ewing, it's a pleasure to meet you," she permitted to the door to open an inch more. "My husband, J.R., and I moved here from Texas with our son."
"Nice to meet you, Sue Ellen." With her arms hugged to her chest, the woman fought the winter chill with a brave smile. "I live in the chalet a hundred yards down the road with my father and daughter. She's practically a teenager now but, by the sound of things, you've got a little screamer on your hands." Haley noted the relentless cries from John Ross and Sue Ellen smiled in consensus. "It's late, I'll leave you in peace and we can properly acquaint ourselves another time." Sue Ellen eagerly nodded her head, as the woman back-stepped the entrance. "Welcome to Alaska!"
"Thank you!" Sue Ellen called out while Haley climbed into her vehicle, its engine still running. The introduction was about the first - and only - sign Sue Ellen received that their new start in Anchorage, Alaska of all places might not have been the worst idea J.R. had ever conceived.