Oneshots

|| Arrangements ||

July, 1953

"I can't believe it," Janet huffed, cutting her asparagus before taking a bite.

"Can't believe what?" Uncle Hugdie asked, cutting his steak.

The whole Auchincloss family had come to stay for the weekend to celebrate Jackie's birthday.

The long weekend was filled with various activities that Jackie enjoyed, such as horseback riding, painting, and going out to see various performances done by various artists, such as ballet, or see an orchestra.  

They all gathered at Hammersmith Farm in Newport, Rhode Island.

Newport was known for its' large and glamorous mansions that lined the seacoast with long, extensive properties. Hammersmith Farm was seen to be on the smaller side.

Hammersmith Farm was considerably smaller than many other other mansions that neighbored their own, but it still was pushing towards upper-class status with all of the amenities that it had. It was quaint, with plenty of room for the whole family to have their own space without having to interact with each other. It had a windmill on the extensive lawn property, which was good for lounging and playing on the seaside. Jackie often liked to take walks on the beach while watching the sun set.

"Well, it's this one," Janet responded, pointing her knife in Jacqueline's direction. "More or less, it's more of what her fiance is doing," Janet added, spitting the word out like it was poison.

When the couple had come forward to their families with the engagement, Janet was upset with her daughter upon going through with it. She believed that she didn't convince her daughter hard enough that the arrangement was a bad idea, causing for a slight rift to grow between Jacqueline and her mother. However, as more time passed and when the couple had announced the engagement to the public, Janet had become more amendable to the upcoming marriage.

"Well, what did Jack do now?" Uncle Hugdie asked, taking a sip of his wine. "He's a fine young man."

"The wedding is becoming way too far out of hand. Have you seen the invitation list? It's like a summit meeting, not a maternal union. Everything is growing to a national scale. What- the audacity of him!" Janet snapped, aggressively stabbing her steak.

Jackie put down her cutlery gently, and began to slide down her seat towards the floor.

The impending wedding was the talk of the town, and it was the only thing that her mother could talk about.

Her eldest daughter was getting married. It was her latest obsession.

Both of the matriarchs of the bride and groom were at a constant battle to create the perfect wedding, leaving the pleading couple left in the crossfire.

"Well, he is a United States Senator," Uncle Hudgie shot back.

"Well, I don't care if he's a Senator. I don't care if he was the King of England! I want a small wedding, and the whole Kennedy clan feel as though they can disregard my wishes," Janet snapped.

"Jack didn't plan the guest list. Joe did," Jackie whispered. However, the comment went unnoticed.

"I just don't think you're being reasonable about this," Uncle Hugdie replied cautiously. He knew that his wife could have a temper when she really wanted to, and he was afraid to press forward into an argument.

"I'm not being reasonable? " Janet shot back. "I'm not being REASONABLE!" Janet practically screamed.

"Uh.." Uncle Hugdie fumbled for words. Both the Auchincloss siblings looked at Jackie, causing for her to turn a shade of red.