Austin, Texas

"JR?" she lay on the couch in his arms, both exhausted from fighting and then making up; it was finally calm and she was beginning to realise exactly what she'd agreed to. "Mhm", he continued to stroke her hair, he wasn't really in the mood to talk but he'd answer whatever she was about to ask, "JR, I will quit modelling because you're asking me to, but how am I supposed to do that? I have contracts and people who are relying on me. It's not that easy to just hand in my notice and say I'm done with it forever". JR smirked, he owned part of both companies, she would have no trouble 'resigning', "darlin', that is not something you need to be worrying about, you just do exactly what you would if you were leaving any job, hand in your notice. I promise, no one will be upset with you, and if they are, you just tell me. I will deal with any problems; business is my area of expertise", he would have preferred that she never even had to deal with business problems, that was an area that men were more suited for, but he'd tried to let her do as she pleased, a decision that hadn't turned out so well. Sue Ellen smiled, JR was up to something and right now she didn't really care what it was, he wasn't upset with her anymore and she was exactly where she wanted to be.

New Orleans, Louisiana

"…my manager, he didn't seem very surprised at all, it was strange. Then, after I spoke to him, I drove over to the magazine offices and they told me that there was some 'restructuring' going on in the company and my section had been cut; I was made redundant in a position that I intended to quit. They paid me for the rest of my contract, granted there were only two more months left before we were due to renegotiate, but they still paid me to leave a job that I was already planning to leave. I honestly don't know what to believe, it all seems so coincidental, JR asks me to quit, then I don't even have to quit, it's already done for me. When I tried to tell him about it, he looked surprised, but I really don't know whether he was or not. He made it pretty clear that he had the power to end my career, but I'd already agreed to do it on my own, so I'm not sure what he would get out of it by having me laid off instead of resigning myself. Besides, I was told that it was a companywide decision, JR doesn't deal in modelling and publications, he couldn't have manipulated that. Could he? He is the most confusing man I have ever met", Sue Ellen sighed, "I'm sorry, I came all the way to New Orleans to see you and little baby James and all I've done is complain about my relationship". Paula smiled, "it's ok. You're in love and love is not easy, especially with a man as complicated as JR Ewing", she laughed to herself as she finished speaking, complicated was an understatement; Sue Ellen's life was never boring. Sue Ellen smiled at Paula's observation, "you're right, and I do love him. I honestly think that's why I worry so much about what he thinks. I've dated many men before, only a few of them have been my boyfriends, and only a few were people that I really cared about. But JR, he's different. I really love him and I really care about how he thinks of me, I don't want to disappoint him. With most of the men my mother set me up with, it was all show, of course I wanted to make a good impression, but that was because I wanted a good public image, not because I really cared about what each individual man thought of me. Even Clint, I cared what he thought, but I didn't always listen to him", for a second her mind drifted back to when she and Clint were together; she'd thought they had problems, but they were nothing compared to the things she and JR faced together. "I'm sorry, I'm doing it again. I promise, no more talk about my problems. So, how's life as a wife and mother? This little boy is adorable, I can't imagine that there's ever a dull moment", she cradled the baby in her arms and for a brief moment she felt like a mother. She couldn't wait to have a child of her own; all she needed was a proposal from JR, she loved him so much and was looking forward to being his wife and the mother of his children one day, she hoped that that day would be soon. "You're right about that, there is never a dull moment", Paula jokingly replied, Sue Ellen would have a much easier time than she was having; she didn't imagine that the Ewings would expect the mother of John Ross Ewing III to do all the work.

Austin, Texas

Sue Ellen ran five miles and around the streets and parks in her neighbourhood and returned home, showering and changing into regular clothes. She then decided to go shopping, it was a nice day and she had no other commitments. Returning home from her shopping trip with four bags of new clothes, she looked at the clock and was shocked; it was only one thirty in the afternoon. She had never realised before how much time there was in a week, or even a day; she had been so occupied with college work, modelling and pageant work, she had never really had a lot of free time. She sat down, made herself a cup of tea and read a stack of magazines for the rest of the afternoon. Patricia returned home from whatever it was that she did all day and noticed her eldest daughter sitting in the living room reading magazines, "have you been doing that all day?" She wasn't upset that Sue Ellen was no longer a model, as long as JR Ewing was supporting her and kept his promise to marry her, she didn't care too much what her daughter did, as long as it didn't hurt her reputation. "No, I went running and then I did a bit of shopping this afternoon. I just made some tea and started reading these magazines a little while ago"; she'd actually lost track of time, she'd been sitting there for over an hour, but her mother didn't have to know that. Patricia could see from Sue Ellen's facial expression that she wasn't completely happy with her new life of leisure, though she would soon change that way of thinking, "oh, good. This life is actually good practice for you", she managed to always find some vaguely positive side, "how so?" Sue Ellen didn't quite know what her mother was getting at. "Well, when you're Mrs JR Ewing, you'll have a lot of free time. JR won't always be there to do things with you. I imagine that you'll join that nice organization that Miss Ellie is the head of, what's it called? Oh yes, the Daughters of the Alamo. You'll meet lots of new people through the Ewings, but I suspect that you'll still have some alone time. The way you're living now is good practice. I'm pleased that you're keeping up with your physical fitness; you make sure that you always keep yourself looking nice, you don't want to give your husband any excuse to find fault with you, especially with your appearance. As for your mental ability, perhaps fashion magazines aren't what you should be reading all the time. I'd recommend reading the classics during this time, a well-read lady is always able to make conversation. You want to appear educated and worldly, but never smarter than the man you are conversing with. Maybe you could restart those tennis lessons again too; I know you always enjoyed tennis, and wealthy men love tennis", Sue Ellen tried hard not to roll her eyes, especially at the final words in her mother's sentence; it had started as a somewhat well-meaning conversation, but had turned into the classic Patricia Shepard life lesson. "I'll keep those tips in mind, thank you mama", she tried to be sincere before excusing herself and going upstairs; although she'd been alone all day, she wanted to be alone again, it was preferable to listening to more of her mother's 'wise words'.

To be continued…