Dallas, Texas
"Ladies", JR walked onto the patio, but soon wished that he hadn't; the outdoor table was full of bridal magazines and his beautiful wife-to-be had the serious look on her face, the one that meant that she was in the middle of a decision. "Oh JR, great, you can help us", his mother motioned for him to sit down; he had assumed that once they got engaged, the actual planning of the wedding was up to the women in the family, and so far, it had been. "JR, we've decided on a number of smaller details, but we've just realised that before we can go any further, we need confirmation of the date. Sue Ellen said you two hadn't discussed it yet", JR smiled, that was easy, the sooner the better in his mind, he'd already waited almost two years to get Sue Ellen into his bed, he didn't want to unnecessarily prolong that wait, especially now that he was committed to being a one-woman man. "That's right, but we can discuss it now if you'd like", he took hold of Sue Ellen's hand, "how about July", Sue Ellen and Miss Ellie looked at each other, "July, it'll be a little hot, but it could work, that gives us…sixteen months to plan everything. We'll definitely be able to get that band that Mavis recommended now", Miss Ellie looked at her calendar as she spoke and Sue Ellen nodded, she was still slightly shy about being too forward with her choices, she always liked when Miss Ellie approved something first. "Whoa, hold on, sixteen months? I meant this July", Sue Ellen let out a slight laugh and Miss Ellie followed, "oh JR, no, how could we possibly organize a wedding in just four months, the dress alone will take at least four months. Any good wedding takes at least ten months planning, preferably longer if you want the best caterer and florist".
JR looked from his mother to his fiancée, neither were joking; no wonder weddings were left to the women to plan, he didn't know exactly how much planning went into an event like a wedding, "I don't understand, the Ewing barbecue doesn't take ten months to plan. Does it?" truthfully, he really just expected the barbecue to happen every year, and it did, he had no idea how far in advance his mama started planning. "Well no, but a barbecue is a lot different to a wedding. We use the same companies for the barbecue every year, the caterer knows our preferences and we just hire a few more wait staff to serve our guests. There is a lot of planning, but nowhere near the detail that goes into a wedding". JR sighed, there was a reason women did what they did, he was already tired of this conversation, "ok, so ten months, preferably more. That makes it December at the earliest"; Sue Ellen listened to the whole back and forth between JR and his mother, now she knew why she had been so nervous about bringing the wedding date up in conversation. Miss Ellie nodded, "yes, but December is a hectic month, it's right in the middle of holiday season, and the weather is unpredictable, I'm not sure that it's the best time"; JR thought about it for a minute, his mother was right, December wasn't a good time businesswise either, especially if they were going to have any decent honeymoon afterwards. "January is busy for Ewing Oil too"; Sue Ellen decided to make a suggestion, "how about the one year anniversary of the date we got engaged?" Miss Ellie and JR both thought about it before Miss Ellie spoke, "it could work, but it's Valentine's Day. Do you think people would skip their own celebrations to come to a wedding?" JR thought about it for a second, if people didn't care about his wedding enough to skip their own celebrations, then they weren't the kind of people he wanted at his wedding. However, that being said, he didn't really have too many close friends, and he didn't want Sue Ellen to be upset at the small turnout on their wedding day. "Actually, if I remember correctly, by the time we got to the cabin, made a fire and got dried off, it was past midnight. Technically, we didn't get engaged until the fifteenth", JR smiled at Sue Ellen's reasoning, perhaps she was smarter than he'd originally given her credit for, "I like the way you think darlin'. Mama? How does February 15th 1970 sound? Will that be enough time?" Miss Ellie looked at the calendar, it was a Sunday, it would definitely work, "it's perfect".
New Orleans, Louisiana
"You look happy", Paula handed Sue Ellen another martini, "I am happy", Sue Ellen took a sip of her drink and smiled, "you remembered"; Paula laughed, "yes, always vodka, never gin". Sue Ellen was happy to finally have a real friend to talk to again; the ladies at her book club were nice, but she wasn't actually friends with them. Jack was a good listener and always gave good advice, but that was what she mainly used him for, they weren't really friends in the way she and Paula were friends. "So, Roger is out of town on business, and Mrs Smith next door is looking after baby James until morning; my night is all free. I want to know everything", Paula had missed having a close friend that was just her friend because she wanted to be, not because their husbands worked at the same company, or because their babies were in the same playgroup.
"…and my mother has already started looking for new houses, ones that are 'closer to Kristin's school'. I think she's hoping that I'll mention it to JR and he'll buy one for her, I'm smarter than that though. JR doesn't owe my mama anything, especially not after the amount of money he's already spent trying to win her over. Kristin's private school education is paid for by JR, I highly doubt that he'll want to pay for a home next to the school too, just so my mama can feel important. I don't know why she's so greedy, but she always wants more", Paula giggled as Sue Ellen recounted the story, she'd missed this kind of girl-talk, especially gossiping about Patricia Shepard, Sue Ellen always had new, unbelievable stories about her mother. Paula thought about it for a second and then responded, "you know, your mama should just focus her matchmaking energy on herself, then she could marry the wealthy man herself instead of pushing you and Kristin so hard"; Sue Ellen laughed cynically, "actually, I think she's secretly doing that. However, you see, wealthy men aren't too interested in women like my mama unless they're young, beautiful and open to anything. My mama is a gold-digger, but she doesn't have age and beauty on her side; Kristin and I do, and she'll use that to her full advantage at any opportunity". Sue Ellen finished her drink and prepared another, losing count of how many she'd had, but not caring, she wasn't going anywhere tonight and she was enjoying herself, she deserved to have a good time with her old friend.
"…JR is so sweet, he's even told me to clear my calendar the second weekend of May because he's taking me away for the whole weekend. I can't believe how romantic and loving he is; it's not like he has to impress me to get me to date him anymore", both women were drunk and Sue Ellen was still talking about how sweet JR was. Paula was beginning to wonder whether they'd ever been anything more than sweetly romantic; that just wasn't the complete picture she had of JR Ewing before she met him. She'd heard stories about what a womanizer and playboy he was, but the JR Ewing that Sue Ellen knew was anything but that man. "Let me get this straight, JR is taking you away for the weekend and you're excited about maybe going to the beach?" Paula giggled; Sue Ellen was so naïve, if anything, JR was planning to try to seduce her in a romantic location, something that gave her the illusion of a honeymoon without the actual marriage. "Yes, I remember hearing him asking me about Corpus Christi a while ago", she replied innocently; Paula looked at her sceptically, "ok, honest question; how do you do it? How do you have so much willpower? I know it wasn't JR's idea, so tell me your secret, because with a man like JR, you have to be going crazy". Sue Ellen giggled, "only about half of it is willpower, the other half…" The two women spent the rest of the night drinking and giggling, feeling like college girls again, Sue Ellen the naïve good girl with the hidden side, and Paula, the naughty, rebellious one that took great joy in hearing the not-so-innocent admissions of her supposedly-innocent friend. She wasn't so worried about Sue Ellen anymore, she may still hold her virtue, but she wasn't totally frigid.
To be continued…