Dallas, Texas

"…Cliff, I am not making chow mein again, we've already eaten it three times this week, and I don't even really like Chinese food…" staring at her brother in frustration, Pamela Barnes silently willed him to shut up and eat. She was anxious and jumpy due to not having heard anything from Sue Ellen yet, as well as not having seen her father awake and sober yet today, and having Cliff complaining about her cooking was not helping her mood. She loved her family, she really did, but for there just being the three of them, there sure was a lot of drama in their lives and dysfunction in their home. Sometimes she wished the calm normalcy that occurred when she was at work or out on a date would carry over to her home life, but so far, that hadn't been the case. "But I don't like pork chops and green beans", listening to her brother's whining, her stare turned into a glare, and when the phone began to ring, instead of the happy relief she had been hoping to feel when she finally spoke to Sue Ellen, all she felt was irritation and agitation. "Cliff, you're an adult, grow up and eat the food in front of you or make something yourself, but don't complain to me, I'm your sister, not your maid", continuing to glare at him as he threw his hands in the air as if he didn't understand why she was annoyed, she stood, excused herself, and walked into the kitchen. Her brother was a serious lawyer at the office, but at home it sometimes seemed like he hadn't grown up at all since they were kids.

A few miles away, Bobby Ewing was equally as anxious as he listened to the ringback tone as he waited for Pamela to answer his call. He wasn't fifteen, he was well beyond the time in his life where merely speaking to a girl was something to get nervous about, but for the first time in years, that's how he felt, and he couldn't say he liked it. It didn't help his nervousness either that living at Southfork he risked having his family member eavesdropping on his conversation, either purposely or accidentally, because although they were wealthy, for one reason or another they only had one phone line, and unless he wanted to go down to the small office in the stables, that was just how it was. Realistically though, there wasn't a whole lot he actually had to be embarrassed about, as he kept reminding himself he wasn't a teenager, he was a grown man, it wasn't a big deal that he was interested in a woman and he really had nothing to lose by just phoning her. The thing about the specific situation with Pamela that was making him the most nervous was really the depth of his feelings despite not really knowing anything about her at all. He liked to think he was less shallow than JR, because his brother had a special way of picking women based on one trait he was craving and then disassociating himself with them once he was satisfied, however, in his heart he knew that he had done the same with Pamela, though he didn't plan on treating her as disposable. He supposed Sue Ellen was the exception to JR's rule, she had found a way to keep him coming back to her and after years of getting used to monogamy he seemed to actually understand the concept now, but still, he didn't want to be like JR, he liked to think he was more noble than that. Of course, there were times where he envied JR and Sue Ellen's happy, stable relationship, and John Ross was a joy to be around, but he wasn't actively trying to replicate what they had with each other and he liked to think there was more emotional motivation behind his actions than his brother's actions. He wanted Pamela for reasons other than because she was pretty, or he wanted to think he did, the truth was though, other than knowing that she was an empathetic person and that she worked in an office, he didn't know much about her at all; he really did want to change that though.

"Hello?" hearing a female voice on the other end of the line, his thoughts were brought back into the present, and attempting to swallowing his nervousness, he responded, "hi, is that Pamela?" before internally cringing as he wondered whether she thought he sounded as boring and stupid as he felt. At the sound of her, "yes", response, he felt less silly though and even began to relax a bit when she continued, "is this Bobby?" He couldn't see her, but the overactive imagination he'd had as a child was back in use and he could just imagine her smiling, twirling the telephone cord around her finger like Lucy, Sue Ellen, and his mother seemed to do when they were talking on the phone. "Yes, it is. I take it you remember me?" continuing the conversation with a bland question spoken in a casual, flirty tone, he relaxed back onto his bed and listened to her response, an equally mundane statement that he felt meant more than the words themselves because of the tone she was using. They were clearly holding something back from each other, probably out of fear of saying something more personal and emotional and not having the other respond with equal emotion; however, despite playing it safe with their topics of conversation, it felt right.

"…I'm glad to hear you're ok, I know it wasn't my fault but I felt so guilty last night…" stopping mid-sentences as Cliff walked into the kitchen muttering something about the food needing soy sauce or sesame oil to 'improve' the flavour, Pam glared at him and pointed at the phone. As he nodded and grabbed the handset off her though, she knew her point had been completely lost on him. "Frank, we're in the middle of dinner, call her later", listening to him speaking to Bobby, she couldn't help but laugh at his mistake, though when he actually hung up, her amusement turned to slight panic and annoyance. "Are you sure that man's all there? This isn't the first time he's called during dinner… speaking of dinner, soy sauce…" listening to her brother speaking mostly to himself, her mood swung around again; Cliff was difficult to live with at times, but he wasn't a bad person, and despite not knowing much about Bobby, she didn't think he was either. With that in mind, she was sure Bobby would take the direction given to him as Frank over the phone and call back later, for now though, Cliff was right, it was dinnertime and although it was only the two of them tonight, it was still family time.

To be continued…