Dallas, Texas

JR sat in his office and finished reading over the paperwork his father wanted him to be familiar with before their meeting later in the day; it was a group meeting, but he didn't mind, it wasn't really anything too important and Bobby's presence didn't present any real complications. In fact, he was rather pleased with the way the business was running at the moment; everything was finally falling into place and soon enough, Bobby would be out of the office, doing whatever he could to benefit Ewing Oil, just not within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. If all went to plan, it would leave JR free to operate independently again, and that's all he wanted, things to go back to the way they used to be. The way he had arranged things was really what was best for everyone; Bobby actually was very good at the jobs JR gave him, he was personable and friendly, and he was quickly learning how to take advantage of the three B's. He would be an asset for Ewing Oil in his new role and JR was confident that he would actually enjoy it more than sitting in the office; he just had to find the right time to push his brother into his new job and most importantly, he had to be delicate about it. He couldn't risk his father finding out about his actions and overreacting to the way he had plotted, it was a positive thing for Ewing Oil, but Jock wouldn't see it that way if he found out about it before JR was ready for him to know.

"JR?", Bobby knocked on his door and entered his office; "yeah, Bob?" JR looked up at his brother and wondered exactly why he was there, they were supposed to be doing separate things this afternoon and he was too busy to just sit and chat. "I was just looking at the schedule for next week and noticed what I assume is a mistake on Monday. I just wanted to clarify it with you before I changed it"; JR was confused, "scheduling? Did you ask my secretary? She organizes all of my meetings", he didn't have a clue what Bobby was talking about and he didn't have time to sit around waiting for Bobby to try and find the words to explain, he was much too busy to be bothered with simple administration work. "I did, and she told me that as far as she knew, everything was correct"; JR gave Bobby a puzzled look, he couldn't understand what the problem was, it didn't appear to him that there actually was a problem. Bobby noticed the look on his brother's face and realised that he really had no idea what Monday was, "maybe it would be easier if I specified the problem". If he were a stranger, he would have been offended by the way JR was looking at him, as if he were speaking too slowly and pointlessly and had no business wasting his time with this senseless conversation. "Monday is the 15th; Monday is also the meeting with Carleton Fuller from Fuller Machinery…" he didn't want to embarrass JR by directly asking him, but it was obvious that he had forgotten the significance of Monday's date. "Yes Bob, on Monday I am planning to attend that meeting. Is that what you wanted to know? If it is, I don't understand the problem, and if it isn't, then please enlighten me, because you're taking up my time by prolonging this conversation", he was annoyed now, Bobby wasn't making sense and was wasting his time; he had better things than this that he could have been doing with his time.

Bobby would have laughed if he weren't so disgusted, he couldn't believe that JR had forgotten and even with the date to remind him, he still didn't remember; his brother didn't know how lucky he was to have a wife like Sue Ellen, and a brother like him to remind him of his husbandly obligations. Bobby knew just from observing the interactions between JR and Sue Ellen that Sue Ellen was a lady who tried very hard to hide her true feelings about things, she was almost too polite and too supportive sometimes, to the point where she had no personality of her own. If his observations were correct, Sue Ellen was a people pleaser, and she wouldn't dare say anything to JR about his inattentive behaviour, even in a situation where she was completely justified. She was always projecting a happy image, even when Bobby sensed that she wasn't actually feeling very happy; it was easier and more acceptable for her to pretend everything was fine than confront the issue head-on. "It's your wedding anniversary JR, and I can almost guarantee that your wife will be heartbroken if you choose business over her on a special day like that", he calmed his speech, "look, I know you've been busy and I know Sue Ellen understands that too. I think she deserves to know that Ewing Oil isn't your entire life though, at least not on your anniversary".

JR's expression changed as Bobby spoke; he had genuinely forgotten, and he was annoyed that Bobby had had to remind him of something he should have remembered himself. He didn't ever mean to hurt Sue Ellen with his actions, sometimes it just happened and it was out of his control; he got so busy with everything else in his life that his marriage came last on his list of priorities. He had actually intended to organize something months ago, in true JR Ewing style, but it had slipped his mind as business picked up, and now they were just days away from their anniversary and he had nothing planned. "Damn", he spoke more to himself than to Bobby, he wasn't sure what to do now, and he was still annoyed that he had needed Bobby to remind him of his duties as a husband, it wasn't really right. "Hm, thanks Bob. Do you want me to reschedule that meeting, or do you want to go?" in all honesty, he knew should have allocated that meeting to Bobby in the first place, it wasn't anything he couldn't handle, even JR had to admit that. "No, I'll take it. You just focus on your wife", he smiled and took his cue to leave the room, he didn't really have anything else to discuss. Pausing as he reached the door, he turned, "hey, don't feel too bad about not remembering; we're all busy with work and it's only natural to forget things sometimes. I only remembered because it's my birthday next week, and as I recall, last year you weren't there to celebrate with us because you were on your honeymoon". JR smiled, sometimes he actually enjoyed having a brother, he did give good pep talks, it was probably from all of his years playing football and being a team player, something that didn't come as naturally to JR. As Bobby left his office, JR jumped into action, picking up the phone and giving instructions to his secretary to mark down his wedding anniversary as an important date to remember in future, and making plans to have flowers delivered to Sue Ellen. Next, he made another phone call, it was too close to the date to do anything more elaborate, but a nice weekend away with his wife sounded perfect. He could always pretend that it was a surprise getaway, and it would look like a nice, well-thought-out, romantic gesture on his part, instead of what it really was. Sue Ellen would love it, she always made a point to emphasise how much she enjoyed their time alone together, and his plan was to give her everything she wanted, three days of his time and attention.

To be continued…

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