Dallas, Texas

"Remind me again why we had to have the party here rather than at Southfork?" JR sat on the bench and reluctantly laced his roller skates, "because, Lucy's your niece and you love her, and this is what she wanted …and your daddy already bought her a horse". Sue Ellen couldn't help but laugh at how competitive JR got when it came to giving gifts, he didn't like to lose, even when it was something small and fairly insignificant; so when Jock bought Lucy a horse, and Bobby practically bought out the toy store, JR felt like he had to do something better to compete. Lucy was one spoiled little girl, she always got what she wanted and no one ever told her that she couldn't have something; it was as if the family were trying to compensate for the bad start she'd had in life by giving her everything she asked for now. It was something Lucy knew how to manipulate; she was given everything and anything she wanted in day-to-day life, but her birthday was the time to ask for bigger and better things. Sue Ellen hadn't realised that what a big part she played in the whole thing until it came to the week before Lucy's birthday and she had no idea what to buy her; clothes, toys and jewellery were things she already bought for Lucy on a whim, to buy the same things for her birthday didn't seem enough. "Hm, that's true, but why do we have to skate? I'm already paying for the whole thing, whether I participate or not is irrelevant", he didn't mind ice-skating, but roller rinks were a little different, he didn't feel completely comfortable about his ability and didn't like people to see him in a weak position. His doubt about his own capabilities paired with the rink filled with thirty children from Lucy's class that were attending, meant that he didn't feel much like participating. He would have preferred to just sit with his parents and the other adults in the café, but his wife had other ideas, she was a child at heart and she enjoyed things like this. He couldn't deny her the chance to have a little fun, he hadn't been in a very good mood lately with his preoccupation with business and she deserved to enjoy herself. "Because, skating is fun, and you promised you'd skate with me. Now, come on", she pulled him up and onto the rink and they started to skate, taking it slowly at first but speeding up as the small children started to whiz past them. JR's competitive side got the better of him and he quickly shed his inhibitions, he didn't like the idea that some nine or ten year old kid was faster and better than him, and when Bobby and his date skated past them, it was the last straw; he was here now, and he may as well enjoy himself. Sue Ellen was a little surprised when JR skated for more than five minutes without grumbling about the throngs of children crowding the rink, and she was even more surprised when he voluntarily increased their speed. She looked over at him and saw him smiling; she said nothing, but she knew that he had been wrong; it really wasn't as bad as he'd thought it would be and he was actually enjoying himself.

"Admit it, you're having fun", Sue Ellen grinned as she watched JR eat a piece of birthday cake, he had stopped whining and she felt the need to jokingly remind him how sceptical he had been earlier, he would definitely deny it later on, so she wanted confirmation now. "Never", he grinned back at her; she was right, once he dropped his attitude, skating was actually quite enjoyable. He almost felt like he did back when they were first dating, they used to do a lot more little date activities like this; they had to find something to fill their time, especially since his favourite pastime was off-limits back then. They hadn't really 'dated' for quite some time now and he hadn't realised how much he missed just interacting with her as a person. Lately he'd been treating her as his wife more out of duty than anything else, she was someone who would listen to him complain, accompany him to dinners and parties, and fulfil his needs when he asked. He hadn't really realised it, but he had been neglecting the personal side of their relationship, the things that had made him fall in love with her in the first place. He wasn't really surprised that Sue Ellen hadn't said anything, her mother had probably drilled into her that she should never mention her unhappiness, it wasn't unusual for a wife to come second to everything else and that a good wife would do whatever her husband asked, or didn't ask. He didn't want her to have to feel like that though and he made a mental note to try to be a better husband from now on. "Liar", she smirked, his behaviour and expression said everything, he may not have originally wanted to come, but now that he was here, it hadn't been such a terrible decision after all. He finished his cake and took her hand, leading her back out onto the rink; she noticed a small change in his behaviour and wondered what had happened, she didn't question it though, she was enjoying the change.

"Isn't that your uncle and his wife?" Lisa questioned Lucy and drew attention to the couple as the group skated toward the back corner of the rink, JR had Sue Ellen pushed against the wall and neither of them seemed to care that they were being watched. "Gosh, they are so embarrassing", Lucy cringed as they skated past them, she had thought that they were over that part of their relationship, but apparently they weren't; it was bad enough at Southfork after they got married, but this was in public, in front of all of her friends. "I think it's sweet", Muriel chimed into the conversation, she always saw the best in people; Lucy rolled her eyes and the other girls in the group giggled as they skated past the couple. "…so embarrassing", Sue Ellen vaguely heard the words but she didn't register what was going on around them until JR pulled out of their kiss. He heard the group of girls giggling as they skated past and he snapped back into reality, "I'm sorry darlin', I suppose I just got carried away", he wasn't usually so forward in public and he didn't feel comfortable continuing when he knew that they had been spotted. "Don't apologise", she whispered, as she looked him in the eye, it had been so spontaneous and it reminded her of the feelings she'd had for him when they were first dating, she didn't want him to act as if he regretted doing it. JR grinned as she spoke, he liked knowing that she enjoyed their time together just as much as he did; "we'll continue this when we get home", he kissed her lightly and then took her hand and started to skate again. He had other things going on in his life, but for the rest of the day they were irrelevant, his wife needed his attention and he intended on giving it to her.

To be continued…