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"You want me to read it now?" I asked and I watched him nod his head motioning me to continue.

I broke the seal and with slightly trembling fingers, pulled out the contents of the envelope. It contained a folded sheet of paper and a flight ticket. Confused, I looked up at Kenny and he nodded, urging me to continue. I flipped open the letter and started reading through it,

Miss Joanna Thompson,

Mrs. Kennedy's funeral wouldn't be complete without the presence of the woman who saved her husband's life. If it is not much to ask, I request your presence tomorrow at St. Matthew's Roman Catholic Cathedral for Mrs. Kennedy's funeral mass. If you do choose to be a part of the funeral, your safety would be taken care of.

Sincerely,
John F. Kennedy

I looked up at the Presidential aide, a look of confusion on my face and then mumbled, barely audible, "I do not fear for my own safety, it's the President's safety that worries me the most. " I then looked down at the flight ticket in my hand. It was a business class ticket from Dallas Forth Worth to Dulles International Airport for 8 am in the morning.

"What time is the funeral mass ?" I asked.

"12 noon tomorrow." He informed.

"There would be a car to pick you up from the airport and drive you to the cathedral. You do not have to worry about that." He continued.

"Why does he want me there?" I whispered, staring at my palms that had now started to sweat.

"Miss Thompson, Mr. President wants to speak to you face to face. What happened yesterday – "

"He wishes to know." I cut him off abruptly but realized that when I saw him scowl at me. "I apologize , Mr. O'Donnell." He curtly nodded. I watched as he grabbed the letter that now lay abandoned on the coffee table. I wish I could keep the letter, I really wanted to keep it as a fond remembrance that the President of the United States wrote me a letter, and I was no one of importance. Maybe they didn't want this letter to leak to the media. I watched as he pulled out his lighter and took a quick scan of the living room until his eyes fixed on the fireplace. He got up and casually walked up to the fireplace, lit the letter on fire and dropped it in the fireplace, watching it burn.

"So, Ms. Thompson? What did you decide?" He asked.

"When the President specially summons you, you don't have any choice, do you?"

"You're right." His lips curved into a smile and he tipped his hat slightly, reminding me that it was time to go. He stood up and looked at me before he slid his hands through the pocket of trousers and started walking towards the door.

"Mr. O'Donnell?"

"Yes?" He stopped walking and turned around.

"How will I know which car will receive me at the airport?" I bit my lip.

"There will be a man, an unimportant man, holding a placard with your name on it." He said. "He will drive you to the Cathedral."

"Goodnight, Mr. O'Donnell." I nodded.

"Goodnight, Miss Thompson."

(November 24, 1963 – 2 pm)

The funeral mass had ended and now I was standing at the back in the Arlington National Cemetery, watching the private burial. There was no one from the media, there were the immediate families, the White House executives, the staff and the secret service agents. I was standing at the very end in a corner, from where I was watching the burial take place.

Caroline and John Jr. had left from the Cathedral itself. John would turn three tomorrow. These kids were innocent lights, especially John Jr. who was unaffected by the concept of death.

I could see the silhouette of the back of President Kennedy's head from where I was standing under the shade of the tree. The atmosphere was solemn and our heads were down. I don't know if they were down out of respect for Mrs. Kennedy or simply because of the fact that they couldn't watch her coffin being lowered into her grave.

I saw a bench nearby. Continuously standing at the same spot, wearing uncomfortable heels, my feet had grown sore. I walked up to the bench and sat down, burying my face into my hands. I couldn't watch it any longer. It was painful watching Janet Auchincloss, Mrs. Kennedy's mother, break down more than twice right in front of my eyes, wiping her tears off her sleeve as she rested her head against her Mrs. Kennedy's sister. I could see Robert Kennedy's glum face, his face white and waxy, his eyes puffy and red. And there was Ethel too.

I don't know how long I stayed there by the bench, sometimes shedding light tears and sometimes, just feeling out of place. I had no idea why I was here. I wasn't family, I wasn't a family friend, I wasn't even an employee of the Kennedy administration. What I actually was, a person who was wallowing from within, burning slowly and bitterly as my own conscience killed me, I was slow, I was late, if only I had stopped Lee before he fired that last shot, if only..

Suddenly, someone cleared his throat. I looked up immediately and saw  the man who had visited me last night.

"You came. We thought you didn't turn up." He said, his hands in his trousers pockets.

"I was here this whole time. I just couldn't bring myself to watch it." I said in a low voice and he sympathetically smiled. "Is Mr. President still here?" I asked, blinking nervously as I flicked my eyes all over the area but did not spot anyone who looked near about John F. Kennedy. I watched him shake his head.

"President Kennedy has already left for the White House,which is why you shall be riding with me and a few other Presidential aides if you find that comfortable." He informed.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To the White House."

---

𝓐𝓾𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓻'𝓼 𝓝𝓸𝓽𝓮 - 𝓗𝓲 𝓰𝓾𝔂𝓼, 𝓱𝓸𝓹𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓼𝓪𝓯𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓺𝓾𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰. 𝓘𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾'𝓻𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓶𝔂 𝓫𝓸𝓸𝓴, 𝓹𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓮 𝓯𝓮𝓮𝓵 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓲𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝔂 𝓼𝓾𝓰𝓰𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼. 𝓒𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓲𝓬𝓲𝓼𝓶𝓼 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝔀𝓮𝓵𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓸𝓸 . 𝓟𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓮 𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓫𝓾𝓽𝓽𝓸𝓷 𝓲𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓴 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝔀𝓪𝓼 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓽𝓱 𝓲𝓽. 𝓗𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓪 𝓷𝓲𝓬𝓮 𝓭𝓪𝔂!