Washington D.C., January 1952
Jack watched from one of the many rows of seats in the Senate hearing room as Bobby aggressively took notes as Senator Joe McCarthy questioned a suspected communist.
He enjoyed his brother's passion for the job.
Bobby looked up from his notes and saw Jack staring at him. He winked and Jack suppressed a laugh. That was one of the best things about Bobby, that constant playfulness amidst the seriousness of it all.
Jack hadn't caught the urge to catch communists as much as Bobby had. He was enjoying the senate, but Bobby liked action, not stuffy offices and papers.
Eventually, the hearing ended and Bobby was able to leave for lunch. Jack patted his brother on the back when he reached him. "Great job taking notes, I don't know how they could survive without you."
Bobby smirked, he enjoyed Jack's teasing attitude, "I happen to do some very important work for these hearings. I came up with half of those questions."
This was a pleasant surprise for Jack. He knew that Bobby was clever, but not that clever. "Really?"
Bobby nodded, "Yeah, I enjoy it. This is essential to keep the country safe."
Jack took that in, pretty dubious himself. Bobby had always tended to see the world in a black and white view, but his opinions were ever changing.
Everything except loyalty to his family came and went within a few moments, because that was Bobby, always developing his ideals.
"So how do you feel?" inquired Bobby, "About getting married in a few months?"
Jack smiled, "Strangely calm."
"You'll just love marriage, Jack. It's so much easier than the chase."
Jack smirked, as this was the one core difference between himself and Bobby. Bobby liked certainty, to be with one woman and raise a family. He liked the predictability of a life he could mold for himself.
But Jack? He loved the chase, the idea that no girl was too certain. He hated that idea of the perfect suburban life complimented by two children and a nine 'o' clock bedtime. It all seemed so... suffocating.
St. Mary's Church, Newport, Rhode Island
September 12th, 1953
Jack stood in front of the mirror, trying to adjust his tie but never getting it quite right. His hands were shaking and he was breathing heavily. He knew that he shouldn't be feeling this nervous, he knew it.
Bobby walked into the room, and, seeing Jack fidgeting with his tie, adjusted it for him. "It's okay to feel nervous, Jack. I did, too."
"I think you felt a different kind of nervous." Jack replied, moving to sit down on the sofa. He put his face in his hands and groaned. "Oh Bobby, what if I can't do it?"
Bobby looked over at his brother, "What?"
Jack looked up, rubbing his temples, "What if I can't be a good husband? What if I end up cheating like Dad?"
Bobby went and sat by his brother, "Jack, I want you to listen to me. You are not our father. He made his own choices, choices I know that you could never make, ever. This is your life, not a repetition of his."
Jack nodded, suddenly Joe entered the room, cigars in hand. "Well boys, let's celebrate, huh?"
Jack smiled, got up, and went over to light the cigar. Bobby got up with him, and when Joe offered a cigar Bobby said, "Dad you know I don't smoke."
Joe rolled his eyes, more like a friend who couldn't convince him to drink then a doting father, "That's right. I forgot that you were half-woman."
"Dad!" said Jack, lightly hitting him on the arm, "Bobby has made his choices. Smarter choices than we ever did."
Bobby smiled at his brother's support, but he couldn't help thinking that that support from his father he thought he had felt all those months ago was a beautiful dream destroyed by the great surgery debate.
Jack and Joe puffed their cigars for a little while, until Joe took a break and turned to his eldest son, "The best advice I can give you on this day, my boy, is to keep things quiet. She'll always know if you have someone on the side, but it's the press who can never know."
Bobby was repulsed, "That's a horrible thing to say. Dad, why would you say something like that?"
Bobby looked to his brother for a strong rebuke, but Jack remained silent, as if digesting the information. Joe sighed and patted Bobby on the back, "You wouldn't understand."
Joe left the room and Bobby looked at Jack, "Why didn't you say anything? We just talked about how you're not going to be that kind of man."
"I don't know what kind of man I can be!" Jack snapped, and Bobby, repulsed, left the room frowning.
Downstairs, Jackie had just put on her wedding dress. She didn't like it her much, as the original had been destroyed and this one wasn't twice as pretty as the first.
"You look beautiful." said Ethel, Jackie's future sister-in-law, and Bobby's wife.
Jackie liked Bobby best of Jack's siblings. He was always kind and considerate, just like his mother, and the opposite of what Jackie had expected him to be.
"Thank you." said Jackie in that whispy tone she used to mask a voice that was almost husky from her smoking.
Bobby walked in, a confident but determined look on his face, "Alright everyone, it's time!" He looked over at Jackie and smiled, "You look amazing, Jackie."
Jackie smiled, "Thank you, Bobby." She came closer to him and asked in a hushed tone, "How is Jack?"
Bobby smiled, "Excited."
A sense of relief flooded Jackie, who had been afraid Jack wouldn't be able to go through with it. "Good."
Bobby turned away from her and escorted Ethel out of the room on his arm, leaving Jackie all alone. She turned to face the window and looked out at the branches swaying back and forth from the breeze.
"You look lovely." Jackie turned around to see Rose, Jack's mother, standing in the doorway. Suddenly, she was even more nervous.
As the family matriarch, Rose was the most intimidating of all the Kennedys. She examined her future daughter-in-law with great care, a shrewd expression on her face.
After a few minutes, the expression softened and she walked toward Jackie, putting her hands in Jackie's. "Jack told me that you and your mother aren't close. I want to be that mother figure you're missing. That is, if you'll let me."
In that moment, Jackie began to cry tears of joy and love. Her mother had just barely agreed to attend the wedding and they rarely spoke anymore. This kind and affectionate offer was more than Jackie's mother had ever given her before.
Jackie nodded, "I would love that, Mrs. Kennedy."
Rose smiled and wiped the tears from Jackie's face, "My dear, it's your wedding day, don't cry."
Jackie nodded and recollected herself. Rose touched her on the cheek before leaving the room smiling. Jackie suddenly felt a calm sense of relief overflow her as she imagined a beautiful future with Jack in a little house in the suburbs with children and a sense of protection.
For Jackie, marriage was not a daunting task, it was simply something on her to-do list for the day.
Everyone gathered in the chapel as Jack stood in the front of the room, having barely calmed down. Bobby stood beside him, which was somewhat reassuring to Jack, knowing that Bobby was there to help.
Then, the organ began to play the wedding march, and Jack heard the sound of people standing in the pews.
He turned around, and there she was. In her dress, Jackie was more beautiful than Jack could have ever imagined. She was like an angel, gliding toward him to take him to Heaven.
Suddenly, all of Jack's doubts faded into the background, and all he saw was her. His past, his present, his future. The source of his greatest amount of happiness and peace. His own forever, in one woman.
Jackie reached him gracefully, the entire walk down the aisle having felt like she was walking on air. She told beside him as everyone in the pews sat.
"You look gorgeous." whispered Jack, a large smile on his face.
"Really?" Jackie whispered back playfully, "I don't even like the dress."
They suppressed their laughter as the priest began to speak, and their future began to unravel in front of them.
Thank you for 1K views. To the bride and groom, and to the Kennedys... 🥂