The Kennedys

Chapter Twenty-Two: Wednesday Morning

Spring, 1945 - Hyannis Port

The rain trickled down outside, and Joe watched as a drop would hit his window, then slide down, it's size fluctuating as it went. Sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller.

For some reason, Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Sr., had always been fascinated by rain trickling down a window. He didn't know if it was just something he liked and he couldn't really explain why he liked it, or if he liked it because it made him remember that, amidst the bribery and the failures (both political and personal) he was still...human.

Life had been difficult since Joe Jr. died. Rose had been despondent, and Jack seemed resistant to any notion of entering the bustling world of politics. And Joe?

He was at a crossroads. He had devoted his life to two things: his children and his career. Well, he had devoted his life to one child in particular: Joe Jr.

And now he was gone. It was funny how death worked. One moment a person's alive, with dreams and hopes, and the next they're dead. Well, not even dead, really. They're just...nothing.

"Joe? Are you alright?"

Joe turned to see Rose standing in the doorway of his study. They hadn't talked much, not since, well, since Joe. Because that's what life had become, it was defined by two times, life with Joe, and life after Joe.

It was a constant spiral into ever depressing thoughts. About loss. About grief. About being a parent to a child that you will never see again.

"Do you want me to answer the way you want me to, or the way I actually feel?"

"I want to know what you're feeling, what you're thinking about."

Joe considered this, "I'm thinking about my name."

Rose laughed, but, realizing it wasn't a joke, stopped. "What's wrong with your name?", she asked.

"My full name, well at least, ever since Joe was born, has been Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Sr."

"Yes? It's a lovely name, very...professional."

"Yes, but I have a dilemma."

"And what is that?"

"A person becomes a 'Sr.' when he names his son after himself, and I no longer have a son named after me."

Halfway through the sentence Joe's voice broke, and he felt tears gathering in his eyes.

"Oh, Joe." said Rose, walking over to her husband's side, "Please, don't do this to yourself."

Joe wiped away his tears, quickly, as if attempting to make it look like he hadn't cried at all.

"You're right, of course. I have to look toward the future."

Joe picked up one of the nine frames on his desk, showing Jack in his navy uniform.

"Jack is the future, Rose.", he looked up at his wife, that all familiar glint in his eyes, as if he could already taste the power, "And he's going to be the president."