Dallas, Texas

"But Sue Ellen…" Lucy whined and pouted as Sue Ellen tried to persuade her to include Kristin in her plans with her friends; she didn't much care for the younger Shepard and she didn't particularly want to have to spend any more time with her than was completely necessary. For reasons unknown to Lucy, Kristin was snobby and conceited, she held a very high opinion of herself and looked down on others even though she really had no place to, she wasn't rich or powerful, she was just a middle class suburban girl who thought she was more than she actually was. Kristin just wasn't a fun person for her to hang out with and she didn't want to be forced into socialising with her any more than she had to. Lucy was just about at her limit playing the obligatory role as same-age companion and Sue Ellen's request seemed unreasonable; why should she and her friends have to include Kristin in their plans? Kristin was barely even related to her, it just seemed unnecessary and annoying. "How about we make a deal?" Sue Ellen swallowed her frustration and decided to negotiate; it was her best shot at getting what she wanted. She had spent past few days doing every activity that she thought Kristin would like, but now she was almost out of ideas, and tomorrow she had a DOA meeting, something that she knew Kristin wouldn't enjoy and she didn't particularly want to bring her to. With JR, Bobby and Jock at work, she and Miss Ellie at the DOA meeting and Lucy going to her friend's house, she didn't want to leave Kristin alone at Southfork, so as a last resort, she'd asked Lucy to include her in her plans and entertain her for the day. She had to feel for Lucy with what she was requesting of her, it really wasn't her responsibility to host Kristin, but she was at her wit's end with playing gracious and loving sister, especially after hosting her mother for a weekend too. She'd known it when her mother first suggested the idea that a week was definitely too long for her sister to be at Southfork and she regretted not protesting a little more, because dealing with Kristin was exhausting and she was more than ready for her to go back to Austin.

Lucy listened as Sue Ellen mentioned a deal, although she usually got pretty much everything she wanted, she still lived under the somewhat maternal rules and guidelines Sue Ellen set, and a deal sounded like a good opportunity for negotiation. "If you agree to include Kristin in your plans tomorrow, I'll agree to take you shopping and buy you whatever you want. I'll even hold back my honest opinions on the items you choose", she knew it sounded like a good offer to Lucy, it had been over a year since they'd completely agreed on everything fashion-wise, and Lucy was always pushing the boundaries with her. They'd started to disagree on what was appropriate for a young lady and what was not, something Sue Ellen had very traditional ideas about; her mother really had indoctrinated her into a certain way of thinking and she just couldn't get away from it, no matter how hard she tried. Lucy's face changed as she comprehended what Sue Ellen was saying; Sue Ellen would buy her whatever she wanted and she wouldn't have any say in whether it was 'appropriate' or not; she could actually buy stuff that matched what all her friends were wearing without argument. It wasn't often that she got such an opportunity, Miss Ellie had always bought her clothes when she was younger, but her taste was boring and old fashioned, and then Sue Ellen had married JR and had brought a whole new dimension to her wardrobe, she was cool and Lucy actually enjoyed having Sue Ellen choose her clothes. That had begun to change as she got older though, the things Sue Ellen chose for her just didn't match the current fashion or allow her to really fit in with the popular girls at school, something that didn't make a whole lot of sense to Lucy. For a young woman, Sue Ellen had very conservative taste, something that had become more apparent after she married JR for some reason; it was frustrating for Lucy to live with, because it wasn't as if they couldn't afford nice clothes, she just wasn't allowed to buy them. However, Sue Ellen's negotiation sounded like she was willing to calm down and allow Lucy to assert a little bit of independence; all of a sudden, including Kristin in her plans didn't seem like such a terrible idea after all. "Deal. Lisa's having a pool party tomorrow, so make sure that Kristin brings her bathing suit", Lucy held out her hand to Sue Ellen, she wanted to make sure that it wasn't an empty promise; from watching Jock and JR do business, she'd come to learn that a handshake meant trust and agreement, and a handshake deal was not easily broken. "Thank you Lucy", Sue Ellen smiled and shook her hand, smirking to herself as she exited Lucy's bedroom, the handshake had been unexpected, she really was a little Ewing.

"Mrs Ewing, Mr Ewing is on the telephone", Teresa walked out to the pool area as Sue Ellen and Kristin lay sunbathing, "thank you Teresa", Sue Ellen stood and excused herself, walking over to the patio to take the call. Kristin watched her sister with interest from behind her sunglasses, she always took great notice of people's body language and expressions, they gave away so much more than words did, and from the way Sue Ellen's face was changing, she wasn't receiving good news. "Everything all right sis?" she smiled sweetly as Sue Ellen returned to the pool area, it was obvious to her that Sue Ellen was using her pageant smile, not her real smile; she wasn't happy, but she was trying her hardest to pretend she was. "Everything's fine", Sue Ellen didn't even flinch as she answered, she was used to JR's absence by now and she was used to hiding the sadness and loneliness that came from being a Ewing wife at Southfork without her husband. Kristin raised her eyebrow as if to question what the purpose of the phone call was and Sue Ellen held back a sigh, her sister was so nosy sometimes. She changed her expression to something more serious, but still supportive, before she spoke, "that was JR, he was calling to let me know that they've got a lot going on at the office today, so he may not make it home in time for dinner. Being the vice president of an oil company is a demanding job, so sometimes he has to do things that seem extreme; but he always makes sure to call and let me know if his plans have changed and he always tries to be here when he's really needed". She didn't know where the lies came from, but she felt the need to impress her sister and make it known that their marriage was a happy one, even if that wasn't the whole truth; "how considerate of him", Kristin smiled at her sister, though her eyes said something more sinister. Although Sue Ellen appeared to have the perfect life, she had everything Patricia had emphasised was important, there was just something not right about the way she was acting; it was almost as if she was trying to convince herself of her happiness more than she was trying to convince her sister. "Yes, JR's very considerate", Sue Ellen nodded in agreement, her pageant smile firmly plastered on her face now, "more iced tea?", she was desperate to get away from their present topic of conversation now, it was beginning to depress her that JR wasn't actually as considerate as she had made him out to be. "Please", Kristin smiled and held out her glass, happily playing along with Sue Ellen's charade; her sister really was an fascinating person to observe, there was so much more going on behind her eyes than she was letting on and she was interested in finding out more about what her sister was hiding.

To be continued…