𝗜𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀 | 𝐁𝗼𝐛𝐛𝐲 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝𝐲/𝗥𝗙𝗞

XXIV: "Prima Donna"

[Christmas Eve, 1949]

"And there I was, sitting alone on a swing at the playground. I waited and waited in cold for Robert to come but he didn't, so I went home. Then out of the blue, I heard a voice singing happy birthday, and that's when I know he was surprising me with my family." Connie took another swig of her beer. Her white sweater hanging on her shoulder; the diner was warm even in winter. "That sounds so romantic." Milana sipped on her piping hot drink before turning to look at Evelyn. "Evelyn, you're okay? You're so quiet today." Her concern for Evelyn's well-being peaked when the girl only shook her head.

"I just don't want to go home." Evelyn gulped down the remaining hot cocoa in her mug before pushing it away. A lot of things had changed since she went to the big barbecue that Ted held a year ago. "You don't have to. You can stay at my apartment if you'd like." Milana suggested but instantly got rejected by Evelyn. "No, I'd be a burden." She poked the leftover fried egg on her plate with a fork, her mind was somewhere else.

"I don't know what I was thinking— coming back here and having to look him in the eyes tomorrow," Evelyn confessed, she still couldn't believe the things she had done to Bobby on that night. "Ooh, and Ethel's eyes..." Connie's comment was uncalled for, but she was oblivious — she suggestively raised her eyebrows with a reckless smile on her face. "Connie." Milana sternly called her out. "Sorry." The younger girl winced, she kept her eyes on her beer — it could've been the alcohol that turned her that way. "Yes, Ethel's eyes. I have to look into it and wish her a 'merry Christmas' all because my parents care for the Kennedys over me." Evelyn harbored a grudge over her father, Maurice, for coercing her into celebrating Christmas — which they rarely do unless the Kennedys ask them to join their dinner.

"Evelyn, I'm sorry if this sounds insensitive, but why did you do what you did on that night?" Milana inquired of Evelyn. The French girl took no offense to what her friend had asked, she understood it thoroughly since what she did was indeed very odd. "Firstly, I was very drunk." Evelyn straightened her body, leaning slightly forward on the table. "Then in that drunkenness, you kissed Michael in front of everyone—" As Connie was about to finish her sentence, Milana once again used her death stare to warn her not to go too far. "Oops." Connie turned to the window on her side to mind her own business. "You need to hear the full story." Leaning back to the booth seat, Evelyn prepared herself to tell the story from her side.

[November 26, 1948]

"Welcome, Your Honor." Jack shook the hand of a man he had only met twice before. "Well, Jack, you were right— this is nothing like a formal event." The white-haired Mr. Vinson said as he looked around the place — he was the Chief Justice at the time, and Jack had invited him for one reason: to rub shoulders with. "I truly hope you can find relaxation in this small gathering that my brother's hosting." The young congressman gestured for the old man to follow him as he was taking him to Ted.

"Jack's bringing some guy over." Mike quickly threw the cigarette he was smoking, he used both his hands to push his blonde hair back into place. "What are you nervous about? Relax." Ted put away the plate of burger he was eating from. "Ted, this is an..." Jack glanced at the smiling man beside him, "Acquaintance of mine, Chief Justice Fred Vinson." Right after he finished the sentence, Fred Vinson was in stitches; he laughed heartily. "I'm your friend, Jack. Your father's too." The man explained while patting the Congressman in the back. The boys around Ted were in utter shock to hear the Chief Justice himself saying so. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Vinson," Ted casually said before lending a hand. "You too, Ted. What a grand party you're throwing here." The judge shook the lent hand and excused himself to refill his drink.

"You got a lighter?" Jack inquired of Mike — he had caught the man throwing his tobacco stick into the swimming pool. "Yeah, here." Mike took his lighter out and lit Jack's cigar up. "Ted, you need to socialize with people other than your friends." The older man slapped Ted in the back, causing him to choked slightly on the hamburger he was chewing. "Fuck off." The boy muttered while his brother made his way to another prominent guest he'd invited.