Dallas, Texas

"How was work?" Sue Ellen looked through her jewellery box as JR selected a new shirt and tie for dinner, it had been a month since she returned to Dallas and things seemed to be better between them, she was less stressed and worried about things, because JR seemed to be less worried about things, and when JR was happy, she was happy. "Fine darlin', just fine. We signed some contracts and looked into a few new fields; things are going well", he smiled at her and gave her a basic overview of his day. As part of their new routine, he had taken to omitting anything negative from their conversations; he didn't want her to concern herself with his problems and not telling her the problems in the first place seemed like the easiest way to do that. It was working, Sue Ellen felt happier and freer than she had in months, she didn't know exactly what JR was doing, but she felt less worried when she thought about him now, she didn't feel like she needed to be concerned about every little thing that he was involved in because he didn't seem to be worried. She knew JR, if he wasn't worried about something then it meant that he had everything under control and that meant that she was free to spend less of her own time and energy thinking about his problems and more time focusing on herself and her own happiness. Things even seemed to be better in her relationship with Jock and Miss Ellie; she assumed that JR must have said something to them because they hadn't once mentioned the Ewing heir since she returned home and Miss Ellie had even steered a few of their private conversations toward Sue Ellen focusing on her own happiness. She finally felt good again; JR's job was secure, Ewing Oil was still successful and she didn't feel so much pressure on her to be the perfect wife or provide a Ewing heir immediately anymore, it was ok for her to do things just because she wanted to and she knew that now. "Good", she walked over to JR and finished tying his tie for him, something she enjoyed doing for no real reason other than being close to him. JR didn't really need her to do anything for him, he was a fully capable grown man, but he couldn't deny that he enjoyed the satisfaction she seemed to gain from serving him; if little things like that made her happy, then he wouldn't be the one to tell her to stop.

"JR", Jock gave him a look and nodded toward the downstairs office, they had a few things to discuss after dinner, but it was family time now and business could wait, at least for a few hours. Sue Ellen noted the way that Jock looked at JR, but she didn't think anything of it, they had work discussions after dinner regularly and JR had told her that everything at Ewing Oil was fine, so she believed him, she was really trying to not worry unnecessarily anymore. "…that sounds nice, when is it?" Miss Ellie spoke to her granddaughter and Sue Ellen turned her attention to their conversation, listening as she tried to gauge what they were speaking about, "…it's next Friday…" Sue Ellen listened as Lucy described what she assumed to be a school dance, though she wasn't completely sure since she had missed the beginning of the conversation. "It sounds lovely; have you decided what you'll wear?" Miss Ellie engaged her granddaughter in conversation, the men seemed to be discussing football again and she'd rather listen to Lucy talk about an elementary school dance than listen to Jock and JR discuss the Cowboys strengths and weaknesses. Sue Ellen continued to listen to their conversation, still not speaking though, she didn't want to disrupt or intrude on their private moment; she was content to just listen and speak only when spoken to, it was what she had been taught to do her whole life. "No, but I still have a week, I'm sure that I'll be able to find something this weekend, Cindy's sister even offered to take us shopping with her, she's home from college now", Sue Ellen continued to listen, surprised that Lucy hadn't come to her and asked her to take her shopping, she usually valued her fashion advice. Miss Ellie listened, "Cindy? Do we know her parents, or her grandparents?" she was surprised, she'd never heard of this girl and she thought she knew all of Lucy's friends; there was something about the situation that gave her a strange feeling. Lucy sensed the apprehension in Miss Ellie's voice, "I'm not sure, her father owns a film company", she replied nervously, hoping that she didn't push her for more information, she was fairly sure that Cindy's parents didn't socialise with the same crowd that Jock and Miss Ellie did. Cindy was the 'cool girl' in school, and it was a privilege for Lucy to even be invited to hang out with her, she'd look like a loser if she had to explain that her grandma said she couldn't go because she didn't know her parents. "Oh, I don't think we know anyone in that industry", she made a comment that didn't really relate to the question at hand and Lucy suppressed a sigh, all she needed was a simple yes, she didn't want to discuss it, "please grandma", they weren't negotiating a business deal, it didn't really matter where her friends parents made their money. "Well we really shouldn't discriminate just because someone doesn't work in the oil industry, so I suppose you can go", truthfully she would rather have just said no, but she didn't have the heart to tell Lucy that she couldn't go. She couldn't think of a really good reason to and she sensed that there was something more to the situation than a simple shopping trip. Lucy was at an age where she was beginning to really care about what her peers thought about her, and she didn't want to be the one to ruin that for her. Sue Ellen listened to the conversation and was about to ask Lucy about the dance when Teresa appeared in the doorway and informed Miss Ellie that dinner was ready; she would have to wait until later to approach the subject.

After dinner, JR and Jock moved to the downstairs office to talk business while Lucy made her way upstairs to her room; Sue Ellen spoke to Miss Ellie for a little while before excusing herself and going to find Lucy, she wanted to offer her friendship and make sure that Lucy wasn't upset with her. It had really surprised her when Lucy had pushed so hard to go shopping with her friend and her sister rather than ask her for her help, she used to always ask her for her opinion and approval and she didn't like that Lucy seemed to be moving on. She liked feeling special and she enjoyed that Lucy would constantly remind people that she was a former Miss Texas; she didn't want to think that that was ending and Lucy was over her; Lucy was one of the last people to really appreciate her achievements, everyone else had all but forgotten her reign as queen of the state now. "Come in", Lucy responded to Sue Ellen's knocking; entering the room, Sue Ellen suddenly felt awkward, she didn't know what to say to her, she wasn't going to just come out and ask Lucy whether she was upset with her. "I was just wondering whether you needed my help choosing your outfit for school tomorrow? You know I'm always here to help", she felt somewhat maternally attached to Lucy and she didn't like the idea that her 'daughter' was rejecting her for someone else. "Actually, I was just reading a magazine, but if you want to help me then we can do that", Lucy smiled and accepted her aunts help, she didn't have anything against Sue Ellen, she just didn't feel the same need for her help that she had in the past, she actually enjoyed being a little bit more independent now. Sue Ellen sensed that Lucy seemed to be less enthusiastic about it than she had been in the past, but she didn't say anything to her, it wasn't as if Lucy had turned down her offer. She didn't want to start inventing problems that didn't exist, she was probably just being silly and overthinking things, turning them into more than they actually were, she had a habit of doing that and this was probably just another one of those situations.

To be continued…