Dallas, Texas

"JR?" Miss Ellie took advantage of the small break in the breakfast conversation, "what time is Sue Ellen's flight landing?" she asked the question innocently and casually but she noticed that JR appeared tense at the mention of his wife's name, though she didn't really know why. "Oh mama, I'm sorry, I must've forgotten to tell you. I spoke to Sue Ellen last night and she's decided to stay in Austin for a few more days. She'll be back sometime in the middle of the week", he wasn't exactly lying, but he hoped that his mother didn't start questioning him, he was doing the best he could to get her back at Southfork and he couldn't deal with any more Sue Ellen related questions right now. "Oh, ok", she didn't entirely believe when JR said that Sue Ellen had chosen to stay in Austin, there was something else going on, but she didn't question it, not with the way JR had been acting lately, she wanted to enjoy her Sunday, not have to deal with JR's sour mood. Finishing breakfast, the family split and went their separate ways for the morning, Bobby, Lucy and Jock walking down to the stables, JR into the downstairs office to read his newspaper and Miss Ellie upstairs to finish hanging a few decorations on the walls in the nursery. Sue Ellen's schedule change was slightly inconvenient, she'd hoped to have the nursery almost entirely furnished and decorated this week so that she and Sue Ellen could move onto buying the rest of the necessary items, however, a few days delay didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, it was really just a tentative plan. The baby wasn't due until the end of May, so they still had over four months to finish preparing for the new little Ewing; Sue Ellen's week and a half trip to Austin wasn't really a big deal to work around, it wasn't as if either of them were employed, they could shop anytime they wanted to.

Austin, Texas

Closing the hotel room door behind her, Sue Ellen allowed her pent-up tears to finally flow. Monday had been her worst day in Austin since she'd arrived a little over a week ago; she felt helpless, angry, stupid and her self-confidence was rapidly dropping. The first blow of the day had come when she was told by the cashier at the bank that all of her credit and charge cards had been temporarily frozen and the primary account holder, Mr John Ross Ewing Jr, had limited her cash withdrawal allowance to a meagre $1000, barely enough to cover her expenses for the next week. It had come as a complete shock to her, though as she thought about it, she felt stupid for not considering the possibility before, it was a very JR Ewing thing to do. She was entirely financially dependent on him and he knew it and he wasn't stupid, he wanted her back at Southfork and if she wasn't going to come willingly, then he was smart enough to know he could eventually force her back out of necessity. She hadn't intended on leaving the bank with so much cash, only enough to last her for a few days, but in a moment of panic and fear that JR would change his mind and cut her allowance to an even smaller sum, she'd withdrawn the entire amount. Feeling like a walking target, she'd made her way back to her hotel and carefully locked the majority of the cash in the in-room safe; she'd then left the hotel and taken a leisurely walk through a nearby park, hoping to clear her head and decide her next move. The thought of forgetting JR's indiscretions and just moving back to Southfork without any consequences sickened her, she'd ignored so much already and it had led her straight into a dependent, unhappy life, so to put herself back in that situation again was wholly unappealing. As she thought about it, she realised that although she hated him at this moment, she still loved him and if he had come to her with a real apology, acknowledgement of his wrongdoings and a promise that he'd change his behaviour, she may have considered giving him a second chance. However, he hadn't done that; he'd approached her with an attitude and a plan, as if he'd already decided how their conversation would go. It had been clear from the few words that she'd allowed him to speak that he thought she was upset for one reason and he was reluctantly prepared to take responsibility for that one incident, but anything else was fair game for his excuses, justifications and then anger and aggression. JR really did not see the bigger picture; she was furious with him for cheating on her with some trashy, diseased woman and involving her in his disgusting habits, but that was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to reasons why she hated him and couldn't stand to be around him right now.

Walking through the park and thinking about her options, she'd thought she'd had a brilliant idea; JR was banking on her running out of money and returning to him because she had to, but he didn't consider on the fact that she was in Austin, a place where she had an established work history and industry connections. Making her way through downtown Austin, she'd walked straight into her old modelling agency's office and made polite conversation with some of the staff and models there before requesting to see her former manager. However, the second blow of the day had come when the cold reality of the modelling industry had been laid out for her; at almost twenty-five years of age, with a significant gap in her work history and being almost five months pregnant, she wasn't exactly suitable for the casting the agency was doing. The worst part was that her former manager had pretty much squashed any thought she'd had of working for a different agency either. The updated headshots alone would cost her more than the amount she currently had access to and without an established history at a new agency, she would have to prove herself all over again and start from the bottom, something she didn't really have the time nor the money to do right now. Her modelling glory days were long gone and without modelling, pageants or her husband, she really was nothing and no one, a realisation that hit her hard. Politely thanking her former manager for his time, she'd made her way back to her hotel feeling deflated and disheartened and as she closed the door, she finally allowed herself to cry and feel sorry for herself and the situation she was in. In just a matter of weeks, her life had gone from the height of happiness to the overwhelming sadness and helplessness that she felt now and she saw no indication that the future looked any brighter.

To be continued…