The end of Camelot

Chapter 7

I feel all of the air leave my lungs as I stare at Daddy. I want to hug him, say something to him or even move, but it feels like my feet are stuck in the ground. "Daddy." I look to my side as Kathleen walks past us and up to Daddy, wrapping her arms around him. I then look to Momma. It appears she is still stunned at the news, one hand resting on Daddy's shoulder.

Joe, Bobby, David, Courtney and Michael all walk up to Daddy, surrounding him in a hug. I long to, but I still can't move. I couldn't believe it. Uncle Jack, my favorite uncle, my greatest friend aside from my Daddy, the man with the contagious smile that I loved so much was hanging in the balance. The man that I had seen not two days ago at dinner was wounded, possibly not alive anymore and I didn't understand.

Momma looks at me, locking her eyes with mine. She opens one arm up to me and I finally feel my feet again as I walk up to her side and hug her, looking up at Daddy. I watch as his face slowly turns from disbelief and sadness to anger as he shakes his head. "I have to go. I-I need to go."

Momma lets me go as Daddy begins to peel kids off of him and he walks inside. "Bob!" Momma calls as she follows him inside. "Bob, wait!" I instantly start to walk inside. "Kerry," Courtney calls as I go inside. "Wait!" I shake my head as I quickly get on Momma's heels and follow them into the kitchen.

"Bob," Momma says as Daddy grabs his car keys from the nearby door hook. "Bob, listen to me!" Daddy shakes his head. "I can't! My brother was shot and I need to go, I need to go now! I need to see him and I have to check on Jackie, I don't know what's happened to her or if she's okay, I need to go!" Momma quickly puts Chris in his high chair and goes over to Daddy as I lay my arms on the table, resting my chin on my arms.

"Bob," Momma says as she takes Daddy's cheeks into her hands and lifts his head as she looks into his eyes. "Listen to me, okay? If they took Jack down there, things will only be worse if you go. Now, take a deep breath for me, okay? Ready, lets take a deep breath together." Momma takes a deep breath and Daddy follows as they exhale slowly together.

Momma weakly smiles. "Good. Now, what exactly did Hoover say?" Daddy shakes his head as he slips his head out of her hands and looks at the table. "Nothing! He just said The President has been shot, they took him to Parkland. Then, he hung up. He didn't say anything about Jackie or Jack's condition or anything and Ethel, I need to know! He's my brother!"

Momma nods as she takes Daddy's hand. "I know, honey. Look, why don't you call one of the Secret Service Agents you're close to, maybe Clint Hill. Get some information on Jack, okay? He could've been hit in the hand and it's very minor. I just think that before you get too worked up, you should get some more information." Daddy nods as he takes another deep breath and kisses Momma's forehead. "Okay. I'll be right back."

Daddy starts to walk towards the phone and looks down at me and I look back at him. He puts his hand on my head, gently shakes it and then walks off to the phone. I then look over to Momma as she sits down beside Chris. "Momma." I say softly. Momma looks over to me and sighs sadly. "Come here, sweet girl." I hurry over to Momma as she pulls me into her lap and I snuggle close to her, laying my head on her chest. She gently rocks back and forth while running her fingers through my hair. For a minute, I feel a little better.

"Clint?" I hear Daddy say. "What's going on down there?!" There is silence for a while as Momma keeps rocking. "What do you mean seriously injured?" Daddy asks again. "How bad is it?" I whimper and hug Momma tighter. "Shh," she says softly as I feel her hand move to my head. "Breathe baby girl." I listen closely, expecting Daddy to say something else. Instead, I hear the phone being hung up. I look away from Momma as Daddy walks back into the kitchen and sits down at his spot, the head of the table. No reaction was on his face.

Momma swallows. "What did he say?" she asks softly. Daddy shakes his head, resting his elbows on the table, putting his forehead in his hands. "Shots were fired during the motorcade. Jack is very seriously injured and they're working on him now. Governor Conally was hit too. He said it's as bad as it can get."

I sit in Momma's lap, nuzzled close to her as everything falls silent. The only noise is the ticking of the clock. It feels like we're silent forever when the phone rings again. Daddy quickly gets up and goes to it as Momma holds me close again, kissing my head. "This is Attorney General." Silence falls again and Daddy sighs shakily. "Thank you. Thank you for letting me know." The phone hits the receiver a little harder and I hear a soft whine.

I sit up a little more in Momma's lap, laying my head on her shoulder as I watch Daddy walk into the kitchen, slowly sitting back down in his chair. His blue eyes have no light in them. Instead, I find tears welling in them. His cheeks are stained red. This was not going to be good.

"That was Jerry Behn," Daddy chokes out. "Jack is dead."