One Brief Shining Moment

003. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮, 𝐌𝐫. 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭

The right dress for reference

July 12th, 1963

The next two days passing with disarray within our home. Evangeline had waged a personal war against the house and its occupants, her and the army the staff of maids and workers we employed leaving no room unchecked. Every nook and cranny was cleaned, every drape pressed, every chair arranged perfectly so. When Sasha went to move a cushion ever so slightly to listen to her favorite radio host, I thought for a moment that Evangeline might finally explode. Father had shut himself away in his study when he was not at the Truman Building, smartly quarantining himself from the chaos. The youngsters and I were not so lucky of course, each one of our bedrooms undergoing intense inspection. Nicholas's room took a whole day to clean out, and Sasha had been reduced to tears from her mother's admonishments. By the time Evangeline had made it to my room, and made a snarky comment about the state of my bed, I had made the poor decision of asking her whether or not she was hoping one the Kennedy's would be sleeping there. The triad it causes lasted half an hour and was only stopped by Father's booming shout to 'quiet down for God's sake Evangeline!' 

She resigned back downstairs to the drawing room, fuming. 

So when Friday had finally arrived, everyone in the house was ready for the whole ordeal to be over. Evangeline had told Robert, Frederick and Edward on when to arrive ("not a second late!") and instructed us on what to say and what to wear, right down to the cuff links and jewelry. There would be a large group of reporters from the Washington Post and other papers to take photos of the arrival of the President and the rest of the Kennedy family, and everything had to be just so. 

"Nothing flashy, Elizabeth," Evangeline told me coolly as she passed my room the night of the affair "Try not to draw any attention to yourself."

I rolled my eyes, knowing full well that she had no doubt decked out Sasha to her best ability with a fine dress and all her best jewelry. Any chance to show off the young girl was always afforded, after all, Evangeline's main goal in life was to see her daughter married, but more importantly, married rich. 

And the Kennedy's certainly knew a few rich families. 

I stood in my closet for ages, dully rustling over dress bags and expensive fabrics with Loretta, lost in a sea of clothing. But after a moment, I came across something that caught my eye. It was an ankle length dress made of satin, with a square neck and straight skirt, and thin sash tied at the waist. The color was a bright emerald one with a brilliant shine to it in the light, and a long slit ran up the side just skimming the knee. I had never been a fashion forward young woman, anyone who knew me in college could confirm that easily. But this particular number had been purchased on fifth avenue and certainly was not conservative. A wicked thought passed through my mind. 

"I'll give her flashy," I said under my breath, grabbing the dress out of the closet.

"Don't you think it's a bit... risqué?" Loretta said, taking the garment from me gently and looking nervously at the slit. 

"Precisely," I replied, and I knew Loretta held in a retort before slowly slipping the dress off its padded hanger and handing it to me. 

 I slipped it on, the green setting off my dark auburn hair and deep brown eyes well as it conformed to the shape of my body. Next came a brooch of emerald and diamonds siting just above my chest, and small emerald earrings to match. My hair had been sprayed and shaped into an elegant hairdo, my front bangs swept backwards into the sleek bouffant. The image of my young self staring at my reflection in the mirror still comes to mind; I had even surprised myself, and I could have passed for a real socialite.