Good Evening, Mr President

Chapter 38

A single tear ran down my cheek, because I knew he would die, but I hadn't prepared myself for it. Jackie approached Jack, almost oblivious to his state, and she kissed him. His foot first, then up to his head. It was the most moving thing I'd ever seen in my life, you could now see clearly how much she loved him. I stood up, also walking towards Jack, by now I was a wreck, shaking and crying. And with all of the energy I could fathom I simply whispered "Thankyou, Mr President." Through my tears, and then kissing his hand. I took one last look at his still beautiful face, before it was covered up and laid to rest for eternity.

Jackie and I walked out of trauma room 1 together, both in shock. A secret service agent approached us, and looked straight at Jackie.
"I can bring you a change of clothes if you'd like Mrs Kennedy." He said.
"No, Let them see what they've done." She replied, defiantly.
"And you?" He turned to look at me, I just shook my head. Jack Kennedy's blood was on this suit and it wasn't something I could just throw away. The hospital staff were so helpful in finding a coffin and making sure he was respectfully sent off. They called a hearse, and were as sympathetic as they could be to Jackie and I.

When we walked into the room, they were just about to shut the coffin, but Jackie walked towards it, and pulled the sheet back. With a tear in her eye, she then placed her wedding ring on his finger. She walked towards me, as tears silently fell down my face. The secret service then took over, closing the coffin, and proceeding to bolt it shut. Just then, a burly looking man walked in.
"By Texas state law you can't take that coffin away without an autopsy." he yelled.
"This is the president! We're taking him back to Washington." Kenny argued back.
"I don't care who it is, he stays here."
"Can you not see how much these people have been through today!" He exclaimed, pointing at Jackie and I "Come on boys!" They then hoisted the coffin off the ground, and carried it to the hearse that was parked outside the hospital.

Without doubt, when we walked outside that day, the whole crowd that was stood waiting for news gasped in horror. They stared at the blood and tears that stained our clothes. Without a word, Jackie climbed in the car, and sat next to the coffin. I did the same on the other side of the car. On that day, everyone shed tears, even the men that drove in the front of our car, cried as they did so. When we left Parkland, Jackie put a single hand on the window, and burst into tears.

The atmosphere was heavy when we arrived at Air Force one, and we could see people unloading the plane, throwing chairs out of the door. I looked at Kenny, wiping the tears from my eyes.
"I'll go see what they're doing, you get the coffin to the plane." I said, my voice barely audible from crying. The drone of the engines almost deafened me, so I cleared my throat.
"What are you doing!" I shouted at the secret service agents.
"We're making space on the plane!" They yelled back "he can't ride below like luggage!" I nodded, and motioned for the coffin to be lifted up the stairs to the aeroplane. The effort that they put into getting him on board was indescribable, I was blown away by how much people loved their president. When Jackie was about to walk into the plane, she turned to me, her eyes red and her face blotched like a watercolour painting.
"You're a brave woman Marianne." she said, her voice trembling.
"He wouldn't have wanted me to back down." I replied, beginning to cry again.
"I can't believe he's gone, just like that."
"I don't think anyone can."
When we boarded, Lyndon and Ladybird have us their condolences, and we watched him be sworn in as president. It was hard to see just two hours after jack had died, the world had Lost a great man...