Tyler, Texas

Standing as he spotted the familiar young woman walking into the diner as he had arranged for her to, JR was quick to catch her attention, grinning as he did, "Jenna Wade, always a sight for sore eyes". Pulling a chair out for her as she reached his table, he took a few seconds to observe her, he'd seen pictures of her over the years, most recently in the report he'd had done for Sue Ellen, however, nothing beat seeing someone in person, especially not a lady like Jenna. "JR Ewing, I see you still know how to flatter a girl", smiling back as she nodded and took a seat, JR could feel her confidence and remembered her manner well; she wasn't a shy woman and she knew how to play the game, accepting compliments and tossing a few of her own back for good measure.

Thanking the waitress for the two coffees she brought to their table, exactly as he had instructed her to earlier, JR wasted no time in getting the conversation started, "so, it's been a few years. How have you been?" he cared about her answer, somewhat, however mostly he was just interested in getting the polite, less interesting stuff out of the way before getting to the real reason he'd made the trip out of town to see her.

"It has. I've been good, but did I really need to answer that? I'm sure you already knew that, didn't you?" no stranger to the way JR operated, because although they'd never been particularly close, years of familial socialisation had taught her an awful lot, Jenna was quick to answer his question, skipping the details he was unlikely to truly care about, letting him know exactly why. "Now, that smile might fool all the other pretty ladies in your life, not me though. I appreciate that you probably have somewhere to be, and I'll tell you now, I have several things I could be doing instead of this, so let's stop pretending this is a random meeting and start talking about why you're really here". Not meaning to sound rude, she wasn't quite sure she'd succeeded in that, because when she reviewed her comments, she was well aware that she'd now said more in the conversation than he had.

"Straight talking, I like that, always have", responding with a smirk, it became clear that she had nothing to worry about where JR was concerned, he was clearly in a good mood today, why though she still wasn't particularly clear about. "Well, thank you, but that didn't answer my question", taking a sip of her coffee, she couldn't help but find their conversation interesting, mostly because of the way JR appeared to be studying her. His facial expression was very different to the way most men looked at her these days, and rightly so, it would be so wrong for him to look at her in any way other than as a friend and former almost sister-in-law considering her previous relationship with Bobby.

"Now now, let's not be too hasty", answering her, JR appeared to be in a playful mood, one she could see herself enjoying if she wasn't so frustrated with his lack of answers. "JR, I don't know about you, but I don't have all day", responding, she attempted to make herself sound busy, though she, and probably he, knew she wasn't particularly busy; Charlie required her to stay grounded and responsible, but she was hardly the nine to five working girl type and she hadn't succumbed to that lifestyle yet either.

"You know, my wife, Sue Ellen, she'd just love to meet you", ignoring her comment, JR changed the subject, surprising her properly for the first time since they'd started talking. "You're married?" placing her coffee cup down, her eyes quickly dropped to his left hand, landing on the ring that confirmed his claim. "I am", moving her eyes back to his face, it was her turn to smirk as she voiced her honest thoughts, "now that's interesting, if I'd noticed earlier I would have assumed the wedding band was part of some kind of game, an attempt to entice the crowd who like the married type. I never thought you of all people would actually settle down. I imagine your daddy had something to do with that?" Unsure of where he wanted their conversation to go, she asked him a question he could either answer or ignore, but if he ignored it, he'd have to get back to whatever it was he had asked her to meet him to discuss.

"You'd know all about that type, wouldn't you?" laughing at Jenna's facial expression as he made a brief mention of bits of her life after Bobby, JR knew not to annoy her too much and soon changed the subject again, answering her question. "As for daddy, he thinks very highly of Sue Ellen, we all do, she's a beguiling lady", thinking about Sue Ellen, the smile that followed was genuine, his wife was a very special woman, she was a woman who deserved everything and that's exactly what he was attempting to get her.

Sitting quietly for a second, Jenna tossed up whether to address his ribbing comment or not; it was hardly a lie, since Bobby she'd been through her fair share of men, some married, others available, she wasn't picky. It wasn't very nice for JR to point out one of her flaws, however, to make a fuss about it would probably only increase the time it took for her to finally be let in on the reason why they were sitting having coffee together, so she chose to ignore it for now. "I'd believe that, she must be very special, because the JR I knew was in no hurry to choose a wife; marriage is so… permanent", answering the second half of his comments, she continued to focus on him and his life, though her past with his family, particularly Bobby, did weigh on her mind as she spoke.

"That it is, but permanent isn't so bad with the right person", appearing genuine as he answered, she couldn't help but smile; she'd really never thought much about JR settling down, but now that he had, it suited him; what she was really curious about though was his younger brother. "How is Bobby?" asking the question that they both knew was going to come up eventually, she was shocked at how nervous she was to hear his answer. She had left Bobby in a heartless, selfish moment and after the resulting sadness he deserved every happiness now, but shockingly, she felt that it would hurt to hear that he was exactly that, happy, especially with another woman.

To be continued…