The end of Camelot

Chapter 8

The house is practically silent for the rest of the evening. Nobody says much, especially not Daddy. Everybody comes inside and we all stay in the living room. However, nobody turns on the TV. We sit in silence until Mr. Behn calls Daddy, notifying him that they are on their way home and Daddy leaves without another word.

Momma tries to maintain a regular evening, but it doesn't feel normal at all. We all know something terrible: Daddy's best friend, our closest uncle, wasn't alive anymore. We had a new giant gap in our lives that could never be filled. Plus, we had so many unanswered questions. At least, I did that I assumed my siblings shared with me, but none of them said a word. Was Aunt Jackie okay? What were Caroline and John going to do? Did the rest of the family know yet? And the hardest of all to think about- what was going to happen now?

The day came and went quickly and soon, it was time to get ready for bed. Daddy still wasn't home yet. Momma took me last for my bath and our usually chatty time in the bathroom was silent. As soon as Momma got me ready for bed, she put all of us to bed early, even for me.

I toss and turn in my bed, unable to even get comfortable enough to think about sleeping. My bed feels twice as big, my room feels twice as long and Momma's room seems further away. Not to mention, Daddy is gone. And after what happened to Uncle Jack, I didn't want him out alone. What if something terrible happened to him too? What if someone was after all of us? I quickly slip out of my bed, grab my teddy bear and hurry out of my room.

I start to go to Momma and Daddy's room to lay with Momma when I notice the kitchen light glowing through the living room and up the stairs. I watch as Momma walks over to the refrigerator, grabs a glass of water and sits back down in her spot at the table. She twists the wedding ring around her finger with a sigh. I had seen my Momma upset about things several times, but she never cried, not once. I was the only sister who had never seen her cry before and I respected her for it. Momma was strong and I wanted to be strong too.

I slide down to my bottom and stick my feet between two of the guard rail poles, protecting the upstairs hallway from the living room floor and lean forward, holding my teddy bear closer to me. I watch as Momma clasp her hands together in praying position and she bows her head. I softly smile. That was exactly something Momma would do.

I hear the front door open and I see Daddy's pants as the door closes again. I sigh softly. At least Daddy made it home. I don't know what time it is, but I know it isn't early. Momma looks over to him, but doesn't say anything as he sits down in his spot. From the stairs, I can see his cheeks are tear stained and more tears forming in his eyes. Momma reaches over and puts her hand over his as Daddy shakes his head and let's tears roll down his cheeks.

"Oh Ethel," Daddy says softly. "It's absolutely horrible! I-I don't know what to do, but at the same time, so much has to be done!" Momma nods, taking his hand into both of hers. "I know. I know exactly how you feel." Daddy looks to Momma as he holds her gaze. Neither one says a thing, but I can tell Daddy was thinking about when Momma's parents died.

Daddy shakes his head and looks down at the table as his face scrunches and more tears roll down his cheeks. "Everything was mad chaos! I got there when the plane landed and I went on through the front. As soon as I got on, the whole plane seemed to get more quiet than it already was. I shoved through a ton of Secret Service Agents, but I didn't see Lyndon. Maybe he was there, maybe he wasn't, but I didn't care and I still don't." Momma is silent as Daddy sniffles, trying to get himself together.

"Kerry?" I gasp, trying to stay quiet as I hear my name. I watch Momma and Daddy as Daddy lays his head on the table. I then turn around after being sure they hadn't seen me. Joe and David walk towards my spot. "What are you doing?" Joe asks as David sits down beside me. "I'm listening," I whisper. "Daddy just got home from Air Force One." David leans against the rail, looking down as Joe sits down beside David. I look back down to the table, listening close to Daddy.