Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot (55 page)

Niko walked into the living room just in time to hear Joan muse, “Gee, I wonder how many windows face the park.”

“Fourteen of twenty-three,” came a voice from behind Niko. It was Jackie, entering the room, smiling and looking radiant in beige harem pants and a matching top. Her long feet were bare and her toenails meticulously manicured and painted. The three women embraced and then walked about the apartment admiring Jackie’s collection of animal paint- ings and Indian miniatures on the walls. They then went into the library where they would chat privately for about thirty minutes before gaily going into the dining room for lunch.

All three seemed to be in good cheer as they sat in Jackie’s spacious and elegant dining room with its view of the George Washington Bridge. The room boasted of over- stuffed couches, a baby grand piano, and a marble fireplace. On one wall was a large map with small pins all over it de- noting places President Kennedy had visited, which was used as an educational tool for Jackie’s children, Caroline and John Jr.

After they were seated in the warm room, the walls of which were covered in crimson damask wallpaper with matching drapes, Niko served a Greek salad with tomatoes, peeled onions, cucumber, and
bunch roka
(Greek water- cress). “I am completely fascinated by Greek culture now,” Jackie said as the salad was being served. “I thought it would be fun if I treated you both to some Greek food. Isn’t this special?”

Following the salad, Niko displayed a Greek vegetable casserole with eggplant, zucchini, potatoes, and green pep- pers, which the women seemed to enjoy. For dessert, he of- fered
kouradiedes
(Greek cookies) and Greek cheesecake with feta, ricotta, and Swiss cheeses.

“Oh my God, this cheesecake is so rich,” Ethel com- plained. “How can anyone eat this stuff?”

“I know,” Jackie said with a nod, not realizing that Niko was standing directly behind her. “Isn’t it absolutely awful? The ghastly, rich foods those Greeks eat! Niko!” she called out. When the servant showed up instantly over her shoul- der, she looked startled for a moment before she sweetly asked, “I wonder, do we have any of those lovely madeleines?” He then ran to fetch the cookies, bringing them to the table a few minutes later.

Finally, over the madeleines and tea, Ethel got to the point. “Please tell me that you’re not serious about this Onassis character,” she said to Jackie.

“Oh, Telis?” Jackie answered, using her pet name for him, short for Aristotelis (the Greek form of Aristotle). “Why, he’s completely charming. Yes, I do like him very much.” When Ethel expressed surprise that she already had a nick- name for Onassis Jackie smiled coyly.

At this point, Niko left the women to their conversation about Onassis’s life, his family, and his wealth. Joan sat silently sipping her tea, not really participating and at one point getting up to admire the baby grand piano in the room. As Ethel and Jackie spoke, the servant overheard bits and pieces of their conversation.

Ethel said, “Please tell me you will not marry him, Jackie.

At least not until after the election, and even then . . .”

Because the women noticed Niko, who had entered the room, they stopped talking. He leaned over to pour tea for Joan, then walked to a serving cart a few feet away, but still within earshot of the conversation.

Niko recalls, “Ethel said something about not wanting to court controversy at this time. She also said that she wouldn’t allow Jackie to ‘ruin this for me,’ probably referring either to Bobby’s campaign or, perhaps, her chances to get into the

White House. I don’t know which. I was too nervous to pay attention.”

Tense about what he was overhearing, Niko accidentally dropped two pieces of silverwear onto the glass top of the serving cart. Jackie, startled by the racket, turned to face him. “Will you please leave us?” she snapped. “Where in the world did Ari find you, anyway?”

After she scolded him, Niko sequestered himself in the kitchen. Shortly thereafter, he heard Ethel and Joan leave. “From what I could glean, no one was very happy with the way the luncheon went,” he recalls. “I actually think Mrs. Kennedy asked them to leave, but I can’t be sure since I was hiding in the kitchen.

“As soon as they left, Mrs. Kennedy came bursting into the kitchen, seeming upset, and told me to go clean the table. Then she disappeared into her bedroom and didn’t come out again until the next morning. I knocked on her door at about seven
P
.
M
. to ask if she wanted something to eat. She opened it, wearing a robe, and with a completely different attitude. She smiled at me, said, ‘No, thank you. I can wait for break- fast,’ and then closed the door.”

Ethel’s Thoughtless Remark

I
n May, around a month after Jackie’s luncheon with Ethel and Joan about Aristotle Onassis, Jackie joined him on the
Christina
for a four-day cruise. While sailing under the stars, they discussed marriage. According to what they

would later tell friends, Ari promised that should they wed, Jackie would still be a free woman, able to do whatever she pleased and see whomever she liked. As his wife, not only would she be one of the richest women in the world, but she and her children would also be protected by an arsenal of se- curity: an army of seventy-five trained, machine-gun-toting men and their vicious attack dogs. What would Onassis get out of the deal? He would get Jackie, of course, someone to worship, the most famous woman of all, and a prize to any collector of famous women. He would also be able to stake his claim of legitimacy in the business world, for surely she would not be with him if he weren’t someone special, a man of integrity.

Did they love each other? “Jackie was never in love with another man after Jack,” said her friend Joan Braden. “It wasn’t a matter of love with Ari. It was about security, pro- tection . . . and money. Onassis was worth $500 million, right up there with J. Paul Getty and Howard Hughes in terms of wealth. She was not mercenary, but rather a practi- cal woman in the way she handled her marriage to Jack, and in her relationship to Ari. She had children to consider, and a lifestyle in the public eye that she could not escape. She had to make certain decisions with an eye toward what made sense.”

Stavlos Pappadia, who at the time was a reporter for the government-controlled Greek newspaper
Acropolis,
and also a friend of Onassis, recalled, “Ari told me that Jackie said she was under pressure from Bobby and her sisters-in- law to delay the marriage. He said he agreed to it because, really, he was in no hurry.

“Ari told me, ‘She’s a lovely woman, very self-centered, very egotistical, but fascinating in every way.’ He spoke of

her as if he were a fan, not her future husband. In fact, he collected photographs of her from newspapers and maga- zines, he told me. He said he had hundreds of them. She was his idol, really.”

Even though Jackie had decided to delay a decision re- garding a marriage to Onassis, she didn’t want Ethel to be- lieve that she had had anything to do with it. “I don’t want Ethel to start thinking she can run my life,” is how she put it at the time to a friend of hers. When news leaked out to fam- ily members that the wedding was being postponed, Ethel was the first on the telephone to Jackie.

“I think you made the right decision,” she happily told her, according to Leah Mason.

Jackie hung up on her.

A few weeks later, in the middle of May, Jackie was with the family at the Hyannis Port compound. She flew in from New York because she wanted to see Bobby and congratu- late him for his recent successes at the polls. Jackie still felt a sense of union with the Kennedys. As far as she was con- cerned, the family’s successes were hers, as were their fail- ures.

It’s true that Jackie had not wanted Bobby to run for the Presidency because she feared for his life. She hadn’t changed her mind about that, but since he was pushing for- ward anyway, she wanted to support his effort, which was the reason she had decided to postpone any decision about marrying Onassis. Jackie was struck by Bobby’s courage, awed by his wisdom. He so reminded her of Jack that watching him deliver a speech on television never failed to bring a tear to her eyes. She said that she wished she could attend more of his speeches in person, but feared that her presence might detract attention from him. “I’ve been

shopping for an awful wig that would provide enough con- cealment to let me watch from the crowd,” she joked, “but I look so stunning in all of them, there’s no way I wouldn’t be recognized!”

Jackie’s backing was a double-edged sword for Ethel, however. Even though it was Ethel who shared with Bobby the thousands of small intimacies that actualized not only their marriage but also the true essence of who he was as a man, it still always seemed that she was in Jackie’s shadow. Once again, just as after Jack’s death, it felt to Ethel as though Bobby’s need for Jackie was greater than his need for her.

After Jackie’s return from Greece, there was a family gathering at Rose and Joseph’s to fete Bobby. It soon grew into a raucous affair with plenty of drinking and friendly (and sometimes not-so-friendly) ribbing, so typical of a Kennedy gathering. Joan, Eunice, Pat, Jean, their hus- bands . . . the whole gang was present and, for the most part, in good spirits. However, tension between Jackie and Ethel was palpable, and seemed to be growing thicker as the evening wore on.

Bobby began reading the results of recent promising polls. With every “win,” the family would raise a cheer and someone would make a toast. “Jacqueline did not applaud politely, as she usually did,” recalled nurse Rita Dallas, who was also present. “She led them all.”

When Bobby had finished reading the results, he grinned broadly. “Well, looks like we just may make it,” he said.

“Three cheers,” Rose said. “Hip, hip . . .” And everyone joined in—“Hooray!” “Hip, hip . . .” Ted added.

“Hooray!”

“Hip, hip . . .” Eunice shouted.

“Hooray!”

Jackie, caught up in the jovial spirit of the moment, called out, “Won’t it be
wonderful
when we get back in the White House?”

“What do you mean,
we
?” answered a female voice from across the room. All eyes turned. It was Ethel.

The room fell silent. Rita Dallas remembered that Jackie “looked as if she’d been struck. She flinched as though a blow had actually stung her cheek.”

Ethel’s comment seemed to beg an explanation, some- thing along the lines of “Oh, I was just kidding. Let’s have another drink.” However, Bobby’s wife just shrugged her shoulders at the deafening silence her remark had caused, then disappeared into the kitchen.

Jackie looked about the room helplessly, waiting for someone to come to her rescue. But everyone, it seemed, was too stunned. Without saying a word, Jackie stood from her chair, head high, and walked over to Bobby. She kissed him on the cheek. Then she walked out of the front door.

During her years as First Lady, Jackie had enjoyed shar- ing her glory with all of the Kennedys. Even though Ethel clearly resented the attention Jackie got, Jackie had done what she could to make Ethel feel as if she were a part of Camelot. She had never snubbed her, never intentionally set out to hurt her. It was difficult to reconcile Ethel’s callous remark, but its effect on Jackie would force a defining mo- ment in the former First Lady’s relationship with the Kennedy family.

The next morning, Jackie arrived early at Rose and Joseph’s to visit Joe. “Her hair was tied back with a silk

scarf,” Rita Dallas recalled. “She looked somber and very tired.” Dallas said that Jackie stayed for just a few minutes before telling Joseph that she had some “thinking to do.” Before leaving, she stopped to talk to Rita Dallas. Sitting at a chair in front of Rita’s desk, she fidgeted with a paper clip and then asked Rita, “You’ve been a widow for a long time, haven’t you?”

“Almost twenty years,” Rita said.

“It’s hard, isn’t it—being alone, I mean.”

Rita Dallas recalled telling Jackie that widowhood had been difficult for her. However, she took it upon herself to suggest that Jackie should not make the same mistake that she had made—devoting all her time and energy to the Kennedy family, only to find that her hard work was barely appreciated.

Without wanting to seem presumptuous—but since Jackie had brought up the subject—Rita suggested that Jackie consider moving on, forging a new life for herself, and perhaps breaking some of her close ties to the Kennedys in the process. It would be impossible to end her relationship with the family completely, Rita reasoned, and Jackie shouldn’t even attempt to do such a thing. She had her chil- dren to think of, after all, and they would always be Kennedys. Moreover, Jackie would always feel a sense of responsibility to keep Jack’s memory alive through the Kennedy Library, the many exhibit showings, or in any other way she thought appropriate. No doubt, in keeping Jack alive in the hearts of those who loved him, Jackie felt that a part of herself continued to live on in her so-called “Camelot.” She could never give that up completely. But perhaps a little distance would do her some good, Rita ad- vised.