𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕪 ℂ𝕒𝕟'𝕥 𝕋𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝔸𝕨𝕒𝕪 •𝕁𝔽𝕂•

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 8 - ꜱᴏᴜᴘ

After that one strange moment that I had with President John F. Kennedy in the Rose Garden, I found myself going to the Rose Garden more and more. I would have a quick lunch and then find my way out to the Garden, sometimes merely reading or sometimes painting. It had been three more times that I had come face to face with Mr. President, which I found out that usually, he came out for a stroll in the garden daily after 4 pm from one of the household helps. Out of the three encounters I had with Kennedy, there were two when he was alone and I would add that he seemed happy to see me.

We sat down by our spot in the gazebo and talked about politics, his family, his health, my hobbies and all the topics either of us could think of. The third time, he was not alone, he was accompanied by his brother, attorney general Robert Kennedy. This time John Kennedy did not engage in a conversation with me but greeted me with a smile and we exchanged a few polite words.

Soon, my stay at the White House had crossed a two month mark and with the blink of an eye, we were nearing the end of February. I was sitting on the carpeted floor of the Kennedy children's stateroom, helping John Jr. fix his blocks into what looked like an aircraft, which he playfully called Air Force One by the time we were done with it while Caroline Kennedy lay on her stomach with her drawing pad sprawled in front of her as she struggled to draw funny looking birds, the sun and some stars.

In the two months of my prolonged stay at the White House, two things that I had grown extremely fond of was spending time with Caroline and John and finding the rare moments when the President had a philosophical discussion with me.

By the time John was done with the blocks, he grew bored and he yawned wide before curling up in a foetal position on the floor and slowly letting his eyes shut. Their nanny, Maud, was sat by the window on a small ottoman, sewing. I reached for Caroline's drawing which she gladly gave to me and I smiled, holding the drawing book in my hand grip and glanced at it.

"You know what, Miss Caroline? Why don't we get this framed up for you right here in your stateroom?" I asked to which she excitedly agreed.

"Miss Thompson?" I looked up from the drawing to Maud who had just called me by my name. "Yes, Missus Shaw?" I asked back. "I see that Mr. President has grown a fond liking towards you." She curved her lips into a lopsided grin as though she was teasing me and I blushed, looking away from her. "You must be mistaken,Missus Shaw, we just spoke three times." I informed her to which she raised her eyebrows wide at me. "Three times in two months already? I may be right after all."

"Where is Mr. President today?" I asked, trying to mask my embarrassment by changing the topic subtlely.

"He must be in his stateroom today, Miss Thompson. He isn't in the best of spirits today." She said, while her eyes were now fixed on her sewing needles.

Concern flooded on my face and I stood up from the place I was sitting at, handing Caroline her drawing pad and made my way to the ottoman next to Maud and lowered myself on it.

"What's wrong, Missus Shaw?" I asked, alarmed.

"Do not fret, my dear. It is just his bad back giving him problems again today which is worse than what he usually feels." She informed. I had told Maud how President Kennedy had opened up to me about his dwindling health and she had been awestruck and told me that he never liked to openly disclose about all of this with anyone who didn't belong to his circle of trusted advisors and his aides. I couldn't help but think again and again, pondering over the same thought, that could the President seem to have placed me in his circle of trusted friends now?

Was President John F. Kennedy my friend now?

"Please excuse me, Missus Shaw, I must go back to my stateroom and sort through my clothes. My closet is a mess." I said, biting my lip, hoping that she didn't see through my lie for I was a very organized person and it would be a freak of nature if someone would find one piece of my clothing out of my closet.