"JR?" Jock beckoned his son over, noting his weary air. JR forced a smile as he greeted his daddy and made his way over to the patio table where he was standing. It had been a long week, not just of work but the usual partying that tended to accompany his trips away, and he was in no mood for serious conversation.
"How is it going?" Jock enquired, offering to pour his son a glass of his usual Bourbon. "Oh, the negotiations have been overly drawn out in my opinion, but we are getting there, sir. I will have to go back first thing on Monday morning although I reckon that the deal will be finalised by Wednesday at the latest." "Good" Jock replied, handing over the much-needed drink. As JR gulped the first mouthful the two men turned silently to face the ranch.
After a minute or so, Jock cleared his throat as if to speak again. JR didn't know whether it was down to his conscience, but he suddenly felt ill at ease. "There's something else I wanted to talk about, JR" Jock began. "Yes daddy?" JR enquired, noting a discernible change in atmosphere.
"Your mama and I are worried about you and Sue Ellen…" "I don't understand?" JR countered defensively, knowing what was about to follow. "Yes, you do" Jock answered gruffly. "You've been married over seven years but there's still no child, no heir to the empire that I started and you're carrying on." "Everything's just fine" JR tried to reassure him. "It will happen soon, I promise." Jock raised an eyebrow as he made direct eye contact with his son. "If there's something wrong, with Sue Ellen I mean, it's better that you just say. At least that way your mother and I will understand."
JR shook his head vigorously. "No, no, that's not the case. Sue Ellen is perfectly healthy" he protested, his conscience unprepared to let his wife take the blame for something that he knew lay truly and squarely at his door. "Well then, what is it?" Jock asked impatiently. "You're not fooling around, are you? Don't tell me that you and Julie have become close again?" "No sir, I promise" JR lied. "We will have a baby, daddy. Soon, I promise."
JR turned on his heels and excused himself on the pretext that he needed to make some calls back to Austin, signalling that the conversation would go no further. As he watched him walk away, Jock sighed. In some, perhaps many, ways he and his eldest son were similar but, on this topic, he simply could not understand him. JR had courted Sue Ellen persistently in the early days, determined to make her his and, from a purely objective standpoint, he was able to see why. The former Miss Texas was and still is a great beauty, he reflected, with a poise and manner that did justice to her acquired position in society. More than that, though, no man could fail to appreciate the deep sensuality that accompanied her every move- the way she walked, played with her hair, made eye -contact and gently flirted hadn't been learnt, it was just the way she was. In his son's shoes, he would have had her pregnant in no time flat.
JR swallowed the last of his Bourbon and poured himself another large measure before closing the door to the den behind him, relieved for the peace as well as the cool temperature of the oak panelled room. He knew that his father was right about his lack of an heir and he knew that the issue was hardly likely to go away in the future. If anything, he reflected remorsefully, it would only intensify in the future, unless the position changed.
It was almost impossible for anyone on the outside looking in to comprehend, he realised. He and Sue Ellen were the golden couple of Dallas society. They appeared to have it all. In some ways they did but, where it mattered, they just weren't compatible. Perhaps he was to blame, he asked himself? Had he placed her on such a lofty pedestal during their dating years that he couldn't bear to do the things to her that came so easily with other women? Not that she had helped much, though. Sex always seemed to come as a chore to her, a duty that had to be performed rather than something that should be spontaneous and natural between the two of them. He downed his drink morosely but paused before making another. His daddy was right, emboldened by the effect of the two large slugs of liquor that he had just taken, he decided to make his way upstairs. You only have to fuck her, he told himself, albeit unenthusiastically.
Sue Ellen stared out of the bedroom window. The now familiar sound of her husband's car engine, the slam of the door and the voices downstairs that followed heralded his arrival home for the weekend. She shuddered slightly to think of what he had undoubtedly been up to during his four nights away. Not that he even cared, she pondered sadly. The days of him at least paying lip service to her status as his wife by calling her each evening to exchange pleasantries, followed by lies about what he would be doing later, were long gone.
This time had, however, been different. This time she had played JR at his own game by having four afternoons straight of unashamed pleasure, holed up in Cliff Barnes' apartment.
A sly smile began to form at the corner of her lips at the memory of all they had done together. With Cliff it was unforced and fell into a rhythm that told her that this was how being with a man was meant to be. With him she could be herself, she could guide him as to what she enjoyed and he could do likewise with her. The only problem, though, was that Cliff wasn't the one she really wanted, it was JR that she truly loved. As the sad reality of her situation dawned, her smile dissipated to be replaced by a sombre expression.
She turned as she heard him approach the door. Forcing herself to appear cheerful she greeted him as he entered the room. "Hello, JR. I hope that you've had a productive week?" she asked solicitously. Responding as he knew he should he walked over to her and placed his arms around her waist. "I've missed you" he informed her before kissing the nape of her neck lightly. Confused, she attempted to pull away. "We'll be late for cocktails" she scolded him. "We can do this later."
"No darlin, I need you now" he murmured, intent on getting it over with. Submissive through guilt, she permitted his lips to meet hers and was surprised to find that their unexpected intimacy transported her back to happier days, times when they had longed for each other and could only look forward to what the future might hold for them as man and wife.
Responding to him passionately suddenly came easily to her and she was delighted to realise that her feelings were being reciprocated as he pressed his body against hers. Kissing her hungrily, buoyed by the disinhibiting effect of the alcohol as well as his sense of duty, JR guided her to the bed, both of them caught up in the moment in a way that hadn't happened for such a long time.
Afterwards, rather than getting up straight away, feeling sheepish and unrequited, as he had always done before, he held her tightly in his arms. This time it had been like being with a different woman, he mused. This time it had been the way it always ought to have been, although the reason for the change had, by reason of his complacency and arrogance, eluded him.
She looked up at him and gazed into his eyes. "I love you, JR" she told him. "I love you, darlin" he responded and, for the first time in ages, he meant it.
The End