Dallas, Texas

"Bacon, eggs, toast, fruit salad, coffee and juice? Are you sure you want to eat that much? You'll already be eating so much at the barbecue, and you know you won't have time to do a lot of exercise today", Patricia looked at the food Teresa placed in front of Sue Ellen and Sue Ellen blushed, hating that her mother could make her feel embarrassed about something that wasn't even her doing. Miss Ellie cringed as she listened to Patricia judge and criticise Sue Ellen's eating habits, she was much too harsh on her daughter and it was completely unnecessary, Sue Ellen was tall and slender and was physically active enough that a few pieces of bacon and some eggs at breakfast weren't going to hurt her. The rest of the family watched uncomfortably as Sue Ellen's mother criticised her and Sue Ellen said nothing in her own defence, instead just looking down at her plate uneasily before passing it to JR for him to eat. Signalling to Teresa that she didn't need to prepare a plate for JR anymore, she picking up her fork and began to eat her fruit salad instead. JR looked from his wife to his mother and then to his mother-in-law before sighing to himself and passing Sue Ellen's plate back to her, "don't be ridiculous" he spoke mainly to Patricia, but he also thought the other two women at the table were acting stupidly, "the barbecue lunch isn't served until after one, that's hours away. I won't have my wife fainting from hunger", he glared at Patricia and looked at Sue Ellen to make sure she was eating before changing the topic of conversation, "now, what time are our guests arriving?"

Miss Ellie stopped walking as she passed JR and Sue Ellen's bedroom door on her way to her own bedroom; she knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't help but stop to listen as she heard Sue Ellen's sobs inside the room. "…what did I tell you, just ignore her, she's not worth getting upset about…" she smiled to herself as she listened to her eldest son's words of encouragement and comfort toward his wife. She had been worried about their communication and she still wasn't convinced that they had sorted out the issues in their marriage, but she was proud and glad that they seemed to be communicating on some level. If she had time to sit and analyse the situation, she assumed that her investigation would probably conclude that the way Patricia treated her daughter explained a good amount of why Sue Ellen was the way she was. "I…I know, it's just so hard. She was partially right, I won't have much time to exercise today, and I don't want to get fat…" she continued to cry and Miss Ellie felt a little guilty standing outside the door, however, she didn't want to leave until she heard what JR had to say, she needed to make sure Sue Ellen was properly taken care of. JR paused before he responded, looking at his wife as if she were crazy; he didn't understand women sometimes, she was making something small into something huge, despite the fact that he was telling her everything she needed to hear. "Women…" he muttered to himself before wiping away her tears, "look, you're not going to get fat… I'll make sure of it", he grinned at her mischievously before moving toward her quickly, taking hold of her shoulders and then kissing her, slowly guiding her back toward the bed. "JR!" she pulled back for a second in surprise before resuming their physical contact; she was stunned by his behaviour, though not upset by it, his touch and especially his kisses had a particular way of distracting her, and by the time he had her lying on the bed, all thoughts of her mother were ancient history.

Miss Ellie stood outside the door, listening and waiting for the rest of JR's explanation, his response hadn't sounded particularly supportive and she was worried about Sue Ellen's emotional state, especially when Sue Ellen said his name with such a confused inflection. "Sue Ellen?" she lightly knocked on the door and grew more concerned when she received no response, however, opening the door, she blushed as she realised why neither JR nor Sue Ellen had responded to her, they were occupied with something much more interesting than talking about Patricia Shepard. JR pulled away from Sue Ellen as he heard the door closing and was a little annoyed that someone had just walked into the room without properly announcing themselves, and even more annoyed that he didn't know who that person was. However, with his wife pinned underneath him and the effects of their kiss beginning to appear in other places, the idea of walking out into the hallway to investigate was wholly unappealing. "JR?" Sue Ellen blushed as she watched him looking at the door, she hadn't heard anything, but from his expression, it seemed obvious what had happened; "you know, I never really considered it before, but we probably shouldn't just rely on common courtesy to keep people out", he joked, hoping that whatever had just happened hadn't killed the mood. "Mm, you're probably right", Sue Ellen responded, less embarrassed now, it could have been a lot worse than it was, and if she was honest, talking was the last thing she wanted to be doing right now. "I'm always right; now darlin', where were we?" JR turned his attention back to his wife and resumed their kisses; they had at least forty five minutes before they had to be downstairs, plenty of time for them to get that exercise Patricia was so insistent Sue Ellen have, and still be ready in time to welcome the first guests.

"Dance with me darlin'", Sue Ellen jumped as JR appeared behind her, whispering in her ear before taking her hand and excusing them from the group of people she had been chatting to. The barbecue was now in full swing and although she had accompanied him for the first hour of socialising with their guests, she had been making her own rounds for the past two hours. Although unexpected, his presence now wasn't a bad thing; she'd always rather spend time with JR than with people she only vaguely knew and was only talking to out of social obligation, and she was pleased that he'd come to find her. Technically the annual barbecue was supposed to be a fun event, a time to just relax and enjoy some good food and good company, however, being a Ewing meant that she had a responsibility not only to enjoy herself, but to make sure that everyone else did too. As she danced with JR, she began to relax, realising that it was the first time all day that she had really spent any time thinking about her own happiness, allowing herself to just enjoy the party for what it was, without the added pressure of playing the part of the perfect hostess. Across the patio, Miss Ellie stood talking to a few people, casually observing the happenings around her; it pleased her to see Lucy including Kristin in her group of friends, and Bobby dancing with a girl she recognized as the daughter of one of the state senators. However, what pleased her most was the image of JR and Sue Ellen dancing with each other, looking more in love than they had in months. Before she had a chance to think about or try to further analyse the change in their relationship, her attention was drawn away from the happy couple, over to the swimming pool where the inevitable and expected fight of the day was happening. Although she disliked violence and thought it was childish to throw someone into a swimming pool, she had to laugh to herself; it just wouldn't have been a Ewing Barbecue without someone ending up in the pool, it was an unintentional tradition now.

To be continued…

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