Caiti Takes The White House

Chapter No. 2 "Father & Daughter Traditions"

A week & six days had passed since we learned if daddy's new position. Things had began to settle down & the plans were beginning to take place. We were just two months & twenty-nine days away from the big day. Today was an important day for me & my father. It was time for us, & now ten other Secret Servicemen, to visit Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
     If any history lover knows that November 22nd is the day my favorite President, John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas in 1963. This was a sad day in American History.
     My father & I were surrounded by the agents as we walked out the door. We climbed into the armored limousine as the men split up to drive their respective government vehicles. There were photographers chasing after us but gave up at the half-mile mark. This was something that I would have to get used to. It was a rather short drive. It was a beautiful cold day; the sky was cloudy & the breeze was perfect. We entered through the gates of the place full of history. Immediately after entering, I felt something come over me. It was a feeling of peace and tranquility. After the walk, we made it to their graves. It was such an emotional moment. There before us, the graves of John F. Kennedy,  his wife (who is my inspiration for almost everything) Jacqueline "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis. The moment was so special that I could almost hear the faint playing of Taps in the air.
     Of course there were photographers taking snapshots of us at the cemetery which where on the cover of newspapers the following day. This was always an important day for me and my father. Daddy had always admired JFK. This was a tradition that my father started & today marks the seventeenth year of it.

Thanksgiving Day 2016

November 23, 2016. It was officially two weeks since daddy was elected. Today was also Thanksgiving. I helped daddy cook a marvelous dinner of Turkey, stuffing (for daddy's northern routes), dressing (for my southern routes), green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, and pumpkin pie. Daddy started cooking at 5:30 am. I joined him at 6:00 am. A couple of hours later, I went & turned on the television for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. I have been watching the parade on television for years. I even saw the parade in person from a penthouse view when I went to New York in 2014. This was yet another tradition that we started. After I moved in with daddy, we started getting up early on Thanksgiving. This was the second to last time dad would be able to cook at all. That is a privilege you get when one lives in the White House, but daddy loved cooking and so did I.     
     We invited all of the relatives on dad's side because when your parents are divorced, it becomes quite strange when you start mixing both sides of the family.
     Speaking on parents being divorced, yes my parents have split up and there will not be a first lady. This means that the first lady duties will go to me which will be quite interesting.
     It came around 5:30 pm; all of our guests had arrived. There was around fifteen people dining with us. We had a wonderful time together. We won't have another holiday as normal as this for the next four to eight years. After supper, we all hung out for a while and helped put up our Christmas tree. It was a 12ft tree that glistened with gold and red ornaments. Then everyone left at about 10:30 that night. Before bed, I had brought daddy a book of plans for the date in January. Plans were made up of the following: the outfits I want with reference pictures, my measurements, what I wanted daddy to where, and what we would do before we left the house. Daddy was quite impressed with my planning skills.
     "We will start working on it tomorrow!"
     "Thanks daddy! I love you! Goodnight!"
     "Goodnight dear!"
     He gave me a kiss on the forehead as I left his office. I went upstairs to get some rest. The next day, daddy called in my measurements to the dress shoppe downtown. It was owned by a friend of his that daddy met in college at Harvard. His name was Samuel DeMarco; he previously worked as a costume designer in Hollywood before moving back to Virginia. Daddy knew exactly what I wanted/needed for the 20th. So he phones up Mr. DeMarco to start making the outfits I needed.

December 25, 2016

Christmas Day was here. Only fifteen more days until the big move. I got up at 6:00 am as always. I didn't bother putting on makeup of even getting out of my robe. We were not going anywhere. I refused to leave the house. Daddy had always gotten up early to put the presents under our tree. He also cooked us breakfast just for Christmas morning; yet another tradition in the Kimberly household.
     "Just to think, the last normal Christmas I was going to have for the next four to eight years," I laughed while sorting out the piles of shiny Christmas paper that needed to be thrown into the waste basket.
     "Well you do have to admit, we will have a very large celebration for the holidays next year!" Daddy said with a laugh.
     Christmas was absolutely amazing. Daddy got me so many wonderful things including the beautiful Chanel purse I always wanted. It was a classic style purse that would match any outfit I wore with it. He also bought me these adorable Gucci loafers; they're super cute. He got me several other vintage shift dresses and a diamond broach. I could not be more thankful for all that you did for me this year. I mean for my 17th birthday, he bought me my dream car being a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, hard top, white wall tires, sport coupe, in tropical turquoise and ivory. Yes, I learned to drive a straight shift just to have that car. He has blessed me with so many wonderful things. For Christmas I bought daddy a beautiful blue neck tie that would match the outfit I was going to wear for that date in January.
     It was around 12:30 pm when my mother arrived. Ever since the divorce, she would fly up to Virginia to see me & we would exchange presents. My father always welcomed my mom when we visited. They didn't dislike each other at all; their marriage just didn't work. The divorced happened because mom was sick of being away from her family & daddy never had time to do anything with her. It's not that he didn't care about her, daddy had no time to do anything. They never went out on dates or went out in general. Dad's job was another reason for the split. Before dad made the House of Representatives, his job suffered. He ran for the position three times before he was elected. It really stressed out my father. Mom was also busy with her job. She worked as an accountant & was at work a lot. This busy schedules & raising a child didn't work. As I got older, it became more apparent that their personalities were not a good match. Nothing bad ever happened between them, it was just another marriage that didn't work.
     Daddy being single made him the most eligible bachelor in the United States. Yes my father was hansom, & no that's not a weird thing to say because if you saw him, you would agree. But daddy wasn't really the dating type, at least I think he isn't.
     Mom sat down in the chair across from daddy who was sitting on the couch. I opened each present one by one. Mom bought me a few more dresses, some Chanel makeup, & the cell phone case I had wanted. The phone case was for my Iphone 7, & it had a drawing of Jackie Kennedy on the back. I absolutely love it! I ripped off the case I had on my phone & snapped the new one on.
     We spent the rest of the day together. We all ended upstairs together. Daddy was in his study while mom & I organized my room so that I could display my new items. This was the first chance to see mom face to face since the election ended. She was so proud of me! She was slightly sad that she couldn't be with me in the White House all the time, but I told her that she was always welcome.
     I always feel a great deal of sadness once Christmas ends, but what was waiting for me the next year was enough to remove my slight sorrows.