Dallas, Texas

The grandfather clock in the Southfork living room struck 11.00am as a weary, hungover JR Ewing emerged from his bedroom. He could hear the sounds of the family outside by the swimming pool but made his way into the kitchen to make himself a Bloody Mary and take a pill for his headache before he walked outside.

The previous night had been one for the record books and he wondered how Jock and Bobby were faring today. Bobby had come home from college for the weekend and the three of them had spent the night at the Longhorn Bar in Braddock catching up with each other. They'd continued drinking into the night, a good idea at the time, but now the morning after, he wasn't so sure.

Taking his drink and making his way outside he was greeted by his mother, Miss Ellie, who sat by the pool supervising Lucy, his young niece.

"Good morning JR, how are you feeling?"

Chuckling, his mama's smile was warm.

"Oh, not too bad."

Nodding, he didn't let on he was as hungover as he was.

Glancing across the patio, he spotted his daddy sitting under an umbrella by the pool, looking about as good as he felt. Nowhere to be seen this morning, he could guess where his little brother was.

Approaching his daddy, sitting down beside him, they both expressed the same feelings; the previous night had been great, the morning was not.

Relaxed, he intended to spend the rest of the afternoon taking it easy, talking oil and football, two topics the Ewing's were well versed in.

Austin, Texas

Sitting on the edge of her bed at her mother's house, Sue Ellen slid her shoes on and stood up. She was ready for her dinner date, but she'd rather be anywhere else.

She hadn't heard from Clint and knew he was angry. She'd have to do some serious apologising and make promises she could keep if he was to take her seriously again.

Things couldn't continue as they were and her mother needed to understand that. She would still participate in all the activities that she was obligated to, but she would not compromise her relationship.

Knocking at the door, Kristin, her younger sister, entered the room and stood beside her as she looked herself up and down in the mirror. Kristin was still young however her training to one day become the wife of a wealthy man had already begun.

As far as she could tell, to Kristin, the idea of marrying well didn't seem like such a bad idea. She understood that her sister hated not being able to have all the extravagances that the other girls in school had and anything that guaranteed her never having to limit her desires was appealing.

Their family was not poor, but they were also not rich; they were firmly middle class. A great deal of their combined household income went towards her 'improvement and training', which left a tight budget for everything else. Her mother reasoned that it would all be worth it one day as long as she played her part right.

Glancing at the clock several times, she was very aware that 7.30pm came and went with no sign of Mr John Thurman. Clint was never late to pick her up and Mr Thurman's lateness only added to her displeasure with the plans.

Hearing another knock at the door, the clock now showing 7.50pm, Patricia answered it and invited the man in, saying nothing about his tardiness.

"Mr Thurman, how lovely to see you, this is my daughter, Sue Ellen and my younger daughter, Kristin."

Waving her hand in their direction, Patricia introduced them.

"It's very nice to meet you Sue Ellen, these are for you."

Handing her a bunch of flowers that weren't to her personal taste, Sue Ellen accepted the gift out of politeness.

"Thank you."

Smelling the flowers, she then handed them off to her mother.

"Well we'd better be going, we have an 8.00pm reservation and we'll be late if we don't leave now."

Unimpressed, firmly believing any lateness to reservations was his fault, not hers, Sue Ellen nodded and followed him anyway, allowing him to escort her out the door.

Getting cold shivers from his touch now that they were alone, she seriously regretted not being firmer with her mother. She didn't like him, she didn't feel comfortable with him and she didn't want to spend the evening with him.

At dinner, she made sure to follow her mother's rules. She laughed at his jokes, asked him about himself and complimented him whether he deserved it or not. She was friendly, but not too friendly, careful not to cross the line between casual, pleasant flirting and something more serious.

Agreeing when he asked her to dance she agreed, but she still regretted ever saying yes to the ridiculous idea. She had a boyfriend but instead of spending the evening with him, she was having dinner and dancing with a man she had no interest in and whose company she did not enjoy.

She found Mr Thurman to be loud, obnoxious and greasy. She didn't care how much money his family had, he possessed no class and was not someone she wished to have anything to do with.

As they danced, she felt his hand progressively moving lower and lower down her back, uncomfortably low.

"Erm, Mr Thurman..."

The uneasiness she was feeling apparent in her tone of voice, he took no notice of that.

"Please, call me John."

Leering at her, he didn't make any move to change the position of his hand, so she did it for him.

"I don't think that's appropriate, I have a boyfriend and…" starting firm, she was cut off before she got a chance to explain.

Ogling her, he ran his hand down her back again, this time going much lower than was appropriate for a first date or a public location and much lower than she was comfortable with.

"Oh I know all about that, I was led to believe that you two weren't serious and that you and I would be enjoying a pleasant evening together. So far it's been a most enjoyable night. What do you say we take off now and head back to my place to continue the fun? We still have a few more hours before you need to be home and no one else has to know about our little trip…"

Listening to him as he spoke, she couldn't believe he had the audacity to make such a crude insinuation toward her. In shock at his words, she was quiet, until his hand cupped her behind, then she found her voice again.

Pulling away quickly, she slapped him hard. "Mr Thurman, I don't know what kind of girl you think I am, but I do not like your assumptions about me or the intimations you are making and would like to go home now!"

Running from him, she headed back to their table, grabbed her purse and walked to the door.

Rubbing his face and muttering obscenities under his breath, he paid for their meal and silently led her to the car.

The drive back to her house was silent and she was thrilled when they pulled into her driveway. Walking her to the door, he didn't attempt anything further and she entered the house as quickly as possible. They both knew there would be no second date and the chilly atmosphere between the two of them made the goodbye short and unfriendly.

"You're home early."

Startled by the sound of her mother's voice, she jumped.

"Yes, I asked that awful man to take me home. I don't know why you ever thought he was worthy of me. You are always telling me how much of a lady I am and how I should act but it seems nobody ever gave that man the same lessons. He's crude, rude, has no boundaries, and apart from having a lot of money, he has no other redeeming qualities."

Wanting to shout at her mother, instead she kept her voice at an even volume with a serious tone.

Looking her up and down, her mother was quiet for a long while.

"I'm not sure that I should ask what exactly happened tonight, but from the look on your face and your words, I can tell that it was serious. I'm glad you respected yourself enough ask to come home instead of letting a man take advantage of you. That is I assume what you were implying?"

"Yes mama, he in not so many words asked me to go to bed with him. Of course, I said no, but I am angrier that he assumed that I would even go there. I don't believe that I looked or acted like I was giving off that vibe that at all."

Finished saying what she needed to, Sue Ellen turned and walked upstairs without waiting for a response. She hoped that her mother's silence meant she was re-evaluating the choices she made for her children, but she knew that potentially she was just speechless out of surprise.

Heading off to bed, she thought about her life. The next few months were going to be extra busy with college, cheerleading and her commitments to Miss Austin and she was going to need someone like Clint, someone she wanted to spend time with, someone she could relax with, be herself with, someone she could rely on.

Left alone, standing in the living room, Patricia thought about what Sue Ellen had just said, wondering how she could have been so wrong about the man. Was her daughter right about her? Was she blinded so much by money that she failed to see the person behind the money?