She stood, dumbfounded, heart pounding so hard it felt as though he could hear it. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" he asked. She shook her head. "Why are you here, JR?" "Why do you think?" he countered, smiling widely at the sight of her. "I haven't got the faintest idea. Anyway, you need to leave. Don mustn't find you here and he's due home any time." He raised his eyebrow. "Working late again? Or some other excuse?" "Stop it" she warned. "You know nothing about us. Go home, JR."
"I'll go home after you and I have had a talk, but not until then, darlin. I've come a long way and I'm not leaving yet. I take it that John Ross is asleep?" She nodded, perplexed as to how she might get rid of him. Realising that resistance was futile she sighed before speaking. "I'll meet you in the morning, after John Ross has gone to school, but not here. Do you understand?" He nodded, partially but not completely satisfied because all he wanted right at that moment was to prolong their time together. "Where?" he asked. She held her hand up to him, signalling him to wait whilst she retreated quickly back into the hall before returning to the door seconds later with a piece of paper. "There. Now you must leave." As she passed the note to him their fingers touched momentarily causing a shock of electricity to pass through her. He smiled as her cheeks flushed, giving the game away. "Tomorrow then, Sue Ellen." He waved and walked briskly away from the house before disappearing into the night.
She closed the door before it dawned on her that she needed to get rid of the roses that had been delivered. Sighing sadly at the waste, she went back out, round the side of the house and pushed the flowers, still boxed, into the waste bin. As she neared the front door once again, she spotted Don parking his car on the street outside. "Good evening" he greeted her. "You're up late?" She nodded. "I'm about to go up. I was just taking the rubbish out." He smiled briefly at her use of the English word which seemed incongruous given her still discernible Texan accent." "Your dinner is in its usual place" she told him. "Goodnight Don."
He didn't acknowledge her, knowing that there wasn't much point. He'd eaten a burger delivered to the office earlier as he tried, but failed, to work. The plate of food in the oven held no attraction for him at that time of night. He tipped the contents in the bin and sighed sadly. Their marriage was terminal and there was nothing he could or would do to save it. It was pointless, that much he had concluded months ago. It was now just a question of one of them deciding to call it. He had been tempted to prompt a conversation that night but the timing, Valentine's Day, seemed wrong, no matter how bad things were between them.
After pouring a large glass of Scotch he retreated to his study, not to work but to stare at the TV. He would go up only after he was sure that she was settled for the night, ensconced in the spare room, away from him. He couldn't face the pain of the conversation that he now knew had become inevitable.
As she got into bed her stomach lurched at the thought of what had just happened. It had been six years since she had last seen him, but he was just the same, she reflected. Those steely blue eyes and that confident smile hadn't changed one bit. She shivered slightly at the effect that he still had on her, something that she had never experienced with Don. Then she felt somewhat guilty. Her husband wasn't a bad person and he had really tried to make their relationship work, at least in the first few years. Now the indifference was on both sides and the inevitable loomed. As she tried, unsuccessfully to get to sleep her thoughts turned to her son. John Ross was settled now and his relationship with his stepfather was amicable and respectful. Don had provided them both with a sense of stability that they had both lacked previously and it had been good for the boy. Now, that was destined to end and it was all her fault.
JR paced the length and breadth of his hotel suite anxiously. He moved to the window and took a slug of his drink. What if she simply rejected him, he worried? Her marriage to the English fella might well be over but that didn't mean that he would prevail. Shaking his head as if to dismiss his thoughts he took another gulp of Bourbon and watched the city outside winding down for the night. He would succeed, he told himself. They were meant to be together, that was why he had come all this way and he wouldn't be going home without the two of them.
Alternating between looking at his watch and staring at the door, he waited. After a restless night he had showered, dressed and left for their meeting. Arriving early, he was seated at her usual table, the one that he discovered she had reserved every Friday for breakfast, a treat that she savoured all by herself, followed by a gentle walk in the park. The luxe, Art Deco surroundings were very much "her" he thought as he sipped his coffee and waited.
Suddenly, right on time, he saw her. After a friendly greeting with the Maitre D' she made her way through the tables, filled with business and media people entertaining prospective clients and discussing new transactions, the London equivalent of the Oil Barons' Club, he thought to himself. He stared intently as she approached, taking every part of her appearance in. She smiled politely at some of the patrons, people whom she had grown accustomed to seeing at The Wolseley each Friday morning, as she walked, slowing down only to make way for the busy waiters carrying elegant plates of food on silver trays through the restaurant.
Struck as usual by her beauty, he also noted that she looked tired. Perhaps she hadn't slept either, he wondered? "Good morning" he greeted her, standing courteously as she arrived at the table. "Good morning, JR" she replied as she took her seat. "Coffee to start, Mrs Lockwood?" the Maitre D' asked. "Perfect, thank you James" she answered, although she never took her eyes off her ex-husband.
She waited for him to speak first. "This place is very nice" he began, suddenly unsure of himself. "Let's cut the small talk, JR. What do you think you're doing coming to my home?" she responded quietly but tersely. "I came for you, darlin. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner." "You must be mad, JR. Why would I go anywhere with you, especially back to Dallas?"
"Because you're not happy, sugar, just like me. Sue Ellen, not a day goes by that I don't think about you and that's the truth." "How do you know anything about my feelings?" she asked, annoyed but intrigued at the same time. "John Ross said something when he was with me over Christmas. He didn't appreciate the significance of what he was telling me, but I did." They paused as her coffee was delivered. "The usual for me, please?" she asked the waiter. "Of course, Mrs Lockwood. And for you, sir?" JR shook his head, irritated by the use of her married name. "Aren't you hungry?" she asked him pointedly. "Alright then, I'll take the English breakfast, thank you." They watched as the young man retreated out of earshot before resuming their conversation.
"Anyway, I have a confession to make. I have been having you watched." He held his hand up defensively. "Out of concern, that's all." She shook her head and sighed. "I should have known. There have been a couple of occasions when my suspicions have been aroused… Anyway, what have your detectives reported?" "That you're living separate lives." "Oh really? Well your people are wrong." "No, they're not, darlin. You're on the brink of a divorce. I don't only know it but I feel it too. Remember, Sue Ellen, I know you better than anyone. It's time to cut your losses and come home."
"You're insane" she replied, shaken by the directness of his approach and how accurate his words were. "You don't really think that, do you? You have missed me just as much as I have missed you. Admit it?" "I have made a life for myself here and John Ross is settled and happy. He has lots of friends and he loves his school. He's doing well. It was a mistake coming here. You need to leave England and go home, JR. My marriage is my business, not yours. Don't you worry about me. I'll be just fine and so will our son. I will make sure of that. Goodbye."
She rose quickly and made to leave. Throwing what he estimated they owed, plus a generous tip, onto the table, JR followed. "Family emergency" he explained to a passing waitress without stopping to hear her reply.
As he stepped out into the street, she was already hailing a cab, her overcoat slung over her arm, desperate to get away. "Sue Ellen!" he called out, but she ignored him. As the black taxi slowed down at the side of the pavement, he knew he had to act fast. Grasping her strongly by the arm, he spun her to face him. "I love you" he told her breathlessly before pulling her towards him. "I hate you!" she responded, trying to pull away. "No, you don't, darlin." As they made eye contact, the kiss that followed told them both all they needed to know. "Oi, do you want this cab or not, mate?" the taxi driver shouted. "Yes, we do" JR replied confidently. "Take us to Claridge's please?"