Dynasty - John F Kennedy

XI

July, 1952

"What about Florence? or Mirabelle?" Maddie pronounced the names in French as she turned a page in her magazine.

"Do it really have to be that uncommon? What's wrong with Nancy or Barbara?"

"Nothing's wrong with those names. I just don't think she's a Nancy or a Barbara. I want her name to be unique," she flashed a cheeky smile, "and you can't deny Mirabelle is a beautiful name."

A gentle chuckle escaped the politician's lips from across the table, "Mirabelle is a pretty name," he admitted.

Jack smacked the magazine his wife was so wholly concentrated on reading. Every excuse he found for her to look at him, he shamelessly took advantage of.

"You're worse than a baby!" she exclaimed and welcomed the feeling of having control over him and put down her magazine. For once, it was him begging for her attention and not the other way around.

He rested his hand on top of hers, finally content, "are we seriously not going to discuss what the name will be if it's a boy?"

"We can if you'd like, but I'm positive that we're having a girl."

"But you're not sure."

"Yes, I am."

"So sure that you'll let me pick the name if it's a boy?"

"I'll never be THAT sure," another laugh left Jack's mouth, and to Maddie, it sounded like nothing short of a symphony, "what names do you like then?"

"Well, I was thinking John Jr," Jack said, knowing Maddie wouldn't like the idea.

A thoughtful pout turned into a cautious smile as she intertwined both their hands, "I get the whole tradition behind naming him the same as you and your father. But he will already be a Kennedy and to be named the same as his father and grandfather... I simply think it would be too much pressure. I would want him to become his own individual and not a duplication of you and, and especially, not a duplication of your father," Maddie hoped he wouldn't be offended. However, she felt like it needed to be said. However much she loved Jack, she was done staying quiet to please him.

"Alright," Jack said with a sheepish smile on his face. She could have told him that two plus two was five, and he would still see the logic in it. Since they confessed their infidelity to one another weeks ago, his whole life had turned around. Physically, thanks to the successful surgery, he could now manage his pain with a daily dosage of pills. Emotionally, he had never felt better. It felt like something cathartically genuine had occurred between them for the very first time that day as he was glued to the hospital bed, unable to move an inch. He never thought he would find contentment in marriage, but lately, he felt like Maddie had changed his perception of everything. A couple of days ago, he even daydreamed about her during a meeting, and for a short second, he considered quitting.

Maddie, on the other hand, had been very wary since that day in the hospital. Besides being scared shit of her husband's health, a voice in the back of her head told her not to believe him when he told her he would stay true from now on. The fact that it was her confession that triggered him to confess had been nagging at her ever since. In ways, she felt it would have been better just to have been left in the dark. The feeling of guilt was much more surmountable than the feeling of inadequacy. However, Jack's latest actions had reassured her a bit. Most days, he came home early, and most evenings, they ended wrapped up in passion one way or the other.

"Where is Bobby? Wasn't he supposed to be here 20 minutes ago?" Maddie looked down at her watch, but as soon as she had asked, the doorbell answered her question.