Dallas, Texas

Walking around their Southfork bedroom one more time to check that nothing they intended to bring with them had been left behind, Sue Ellen then paused and sighed to herself happily, much like she had the first time she had entered the bedroom as Mrs JR Ewing. Her feelings now were slightly different to her feelings back then, but at the heart of it, she was happy and excited for much the same reason; it was finally moving day, the first day of her and JR's next chapter in life.

Packing their things hadn't taken nearly as long as she had imagined it would, because the reality of their life at Southfork was that other than the things in their bedroom, everything else belonged to the Ewing family as a whole, not her and JR as a couple. Of course, they had known that and had purchased the necessary furnishings for their new home, but even with that in mind, she hadn't quite realised just how little they had to bring with them. With Teresa and Miss Ellie's help, packing her, JR and John Ross' clothes and various personal items had been an easy task, especially since they were leaving the large furniture items at Southfork for convenience to them and other potential guests or future children, and because the dark furniture didn't really match the interior style of their new home. As well as physically easy, it had been surprisingly emotionally easy; while she was somewhat sentimentally reflective now that it was actually time to say goodbye to their first marital home, happiness and excitement were still her main feelings and were the feelings she had had for the majority of their journey toward becoming homeowners. She knew JR had been a little bit hesitant at first, mainly because he was concerned about his father's potential reaction to the news of them leaving, however, now that it was all happening and everything with Jock had been settled, she had no doubt he was as excited as she was.

"Are we ready?" jumping slightly as she heard JR's voice and then felt his hand on her shoulder, Sue Ellen's thoughts returned to the present moment. There was nothing more to check, there hadn't really been since Friday when the majority of the packing had been done, but now, it was all actually happening, it was officially time to vacate their old life. "I am if you are", turning to look at him as she responded, she smiled brightly before leaning up and kissing him softly. She was more than ready to start the next chapter in their life together, and as sentimental as Southfork was, it wasn't going anywhere, so she felt no sadness, only happiness and excitement.

Hours later, after unpacking the majority of what they had brought with them and adjusting the placement of some of their new furnishings, Sue Ellen couldn't help but laugh at how empty the house still looked. It was abundantly clear now that it would take more than a few meetings with an interior decorator and unpacking their few personal belongings before their new house looked like a home. She had no desire to clutter the many clean, clear surfaces in the house with various knickknacks, and she knew JR simply didn't notice or care enough to request anything similar to that, but she was now a firm believer in the idea that a house wasn't a true family home without some kind of personal touch. Even without many things that indicated exactly who lived in the house though, she still absolutely loved their new home; it was everything she had always dreamt about, it was everything she and JR had asked for and it was everything she had imagined it to be when it was just in the early stages of renovation. Their contractor had done an excellent job directing his team of workers to do the restoration and renovation work, and the interior designer and decorators had done a lovely job with their suggestions for how to incorporate the look Sue Ellen desired with the existing skeleton of the home. Overall, it was a beautifully restored, classic, but still individually designed and decorated home, and she absolutely loved it.

After unpacking and then retiring to their new living room for a well-deserved drink, JR's thoughts somewhat mirrored, but also differed from his wife's thoughts. He had never really had a strong opinion on décor, so looking at the pictures, he'd mostly just agreed to whatever Sue Ellen and their interior designer thought was best and what didn't scream 'ugly' at him. Now that they were in their new home though, he absolutely understood why Sue Ellen had pushed for a bright, airy design and decoration rather than the other version of classic décor, dark wood and heavy furniture. Sue Ellen loved the lake house and she had never been shy about making that opinion known, and now that he could compare the two, he definitely saw which parts she really loved about it and which parts she didn't mind veering away from. The pale walls, neutral, but still classic furnishings and layout of objects to take advantage of the most natural light to enter each room made for both a pleasant and comfortable space. He had never really analysed it before, but from all of the conversations he and Sue Ellen had had, and from seeing it all pulled together now, he absolutely understood and liked what she had been aiming to achieve and what they had actually achieved. This was their family home, he already loved it and knew he and Sue Ellen had made the right decision by purchasing the old Wade ranch, renovating it and making it their own. It would look perfect as soon as they put up a few more family photographs and filled in some of the bookshelves and other spaces, because as his mother and Sue Ellen had both pointed out, a family home needed some indication of who the family that lived there were. That was a minor thing though, and as far as he was concerned, their new home was wonderful and he had no regrets.

To be continued…