Dallas, Texas

"It's just two nights darlin', I'll be back on Friday", JR sighed as he opened and closed his drawers and gathered a few things from his closet for his business trip to Houston, he somewhat understood why she was upset, but he didn't enjoy being made to feel guilty about having an important job. "I thought travelling out of town was Bobby's job? Why do you have to go?" Sue Ellen's rational mind knew that two days really wasn't very long and she'd survived longer without him before, but her selfish, emotional mind wasn't ready to give him up and let him go just yet. They'd had a blissfully happy past few weeks, ever since the accident at the end of August, he'd been attentive and loving, and now, in mid-October, she was back to feeling like one of the top priorities on his list again. She enjoyed having a husband who was present in her life and she didn't particularly like the idea of him leaving town, even if it was just for a few days, because in her previous experience, when JR started to work above and beyond normal business hours, their relationship as a married couple was the thing that suffered the most. "Sue Ellen", he sighed frustratedly, "we've had this conversation before; I need you to just take my word and not argue with me. I have to go, it's important business and it's not something I want Bobby negotiating. Daddy is relying on me to go there and fix the problems, so I have enough on my mind without you nagging me too. Now, I'm going to leave Dallas, go to my meetings and then come home, it's not a big deal, it's just something that I personally need to handle. So please, just relax, don't worry about me and before you know it I'll be home again. Ok?" he looked at her expressionlessly, not in the mood to have a long discussion right now. "Ok", Sue Ellen whispered, the look on JR's face told her everything she needed to know, his business trip was not up for discussion and she was better off just accepting it and doing as he said, two days really wasn't that long anyway. "Good girl", he kissed her on the cheek before turning his attention back to his packing, dismissing any further discussion on that topic.

Sue Ellen felt awkward as she stood next to her husband, unsure of what to do now; he was so self-sufficient and independent, he never seemed to really need her for anything; in contrast, she was clingy and dependent and she always looked to him for approval or guidance on her decisions. Zipping his suitcase, he turned to look at her and his mood softened, she looked young and lost, almost like a child, "two days darlin', you'll be fine. I'll tell you what though, to make up for the time I'm gone, we'll do something special together on Saturday. Maybe dinner and the theatre, or the symphony. Or we can do something during the day if you'd like. You decide. That can be your little task for the next couple of days, it'll occupy your thoughts so much that you won't even have time to miss me", he chuckled lightly and kissed her once more before carrying his bag to the door and going to find Raoul. Sue Ellen stood quietly in their bedroom as he temporarily left the room, unsure of how to feel right now. Part of her hated the way he patronized her and treated her like a child, as if she needed a special task to make her feel important, but what was worse in her mind was the fact that he had been right, the little task he assigned to her did make her happy, and she hated herself for that. Leaving the room, she followed him downstairs to say goodbye before he left. Watching his car drive down the driveway, she felt a tear falling down her cheek and felt silly for crying, JR had done everything to convince her that it wasn't a big deal and she had come around to his way of thinking, yet for some odd reason she was still upset and had the uncontrollable urge to cry.

Sitting down at the breakfast table on Thursday morning, Sue Ellen began to read the society pages in the newspaper as she waited for Teresa to get her breakfast. "Oh, Miss Ellie, look at this… Nancy and Victor got engaged… it says here that it happened last Friday, she certainly kept that quiet didn't she", she handed Miss Ellie the newspaper as she finished speaking, just as Teresa placed the plate of bacon and eggs down in front of her. "I'm sorry, excuse me", Sue Ellen didn't know what came over her, but she suddenly felt nauseated and had a strong feeling that if she stayed by the table any longer, it would not be a pleasant experience for anyone. "What was that all about?" Jock looked up from his newspaper as Sue Ellen ran out of the dining room and back upstairs; "maybe she's secretly in love with Victor, whoever he is, and the thought of him getting engaged was enough to make her sick", Lucy cracked a joke and laughed, though no one else joined her. "She did look a little pale when she came downstairs", Miss Ellie looked toward the stairs with a concerned look, "perhaps I should go check on her", she stood, intending on going upstairs, though she paused when Bobby spoke, "mama, perhaps we should just leave her for a moment. If she's sick then she's not going to want anyone seeing her like that, and if she's not, then she'll come downstairs in a minute", although he was concerned for his sister-in-law, Bobby saw things a little more rationally and less emotionally than his mother did and his words convinced her to wait a moment before doing anything else.

A few minutes later, Bobby and Jock stood, gathered their things and headed to work, walking out of the foyer just as Sue Ellen walked back downstairs; re-entering the dining room, she breathed entirely through her mouth, just knowing that if she didn't she would be back in the bathroom again. "I'm sorry about that Miss Ellie, I don't know what came over me", she looked at Miss Ellie and smiled before turning toward Teresa, thankful that her former plate had been cleared, "I think I'll just have coffee this morning; thank you Teresa". Miss Ellie watched Sue Ellen as she re-entered the room, pleased that she appeared to have a little more colour in her cheeks now and didn't appear to have suffered too much from whatever it was that she was doing upstairs. As Sue Ellen apologised and gave a quick explanation for her sudden absence, she began to run through possible diagnoses in her mind, her hopeful conclusion only further supported by Sue Ellen's request only for coffee and not for food. "You don't need to apologise, I'm just pleased that you're feeling better now", she smiled knowingly, though she said nothing that hinted toward her assumptions; she had learnt the hard way that saying something too soon always came back to bite her, and this time she really didn't want anything to go wrong.

To be continued…