The sound of chimes rang out. Jorden figured they must be signaling the next tour. A group had already gathered next to the admission booth. When Jorden, her mother, and Alex arrived at the booth, they rounded the number up to ten.

“Greetings. Welcome to the Little White House.” A cheery, grey haired woman greeted them. “My name is Helen. We’re so happy you joined us.” She had a twinkle in her eyes making Jorden smile.

“The house opened to the public as a museum in 1948, and the State of Georgia operates this historic site. Franklin Delano Roosevelt died here of a stroke on April 12, 1945. Most of this property has been willed to the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation.”

“As you can see, the design is a miniature version of the Washington D.C. White House. We’re going to walk through the rooms as they looked the day President Roosevelt died. Please listen—but don’t touch. We want to keep this site preserved as it is now.” Helen led them in.

The tour began in the entrance hall, with doorways to Eleanor Roosevelt’s bedroom on the left and the kitchen area on the right. Straight ahead, a passage led to the living room. Jorden first entered the kitchen behind the others and then proceeded into the living room. She could see a large sun deck which spanned the width of the rear of the house.

Next, Helen led them to the right, and Jorden entered the secretary’s bedroom with its own bathroom. Reversing her steps, Helen crossed the living room to the entrance of Franklin Roosevelt’s bedroom. As they entered, Jorden listened to Helen explain the details of his bedroom and the events which occurred the day of Roosevelt’s death. At the time, Jorden found it strange Eleanor and Franklin didn’t share the same bedroom, but who was she to question it?

Jorden trailed the end of the tour group as Helen took them through the bathroom Franklin and Eleanor shared; it was between their adjoining bedrooms. Helen stopped in Eleanor’s bedroom and continued to describe the details of the room. Before exiting to the entrance hall, she turned and looked at the group. “Any more questions?”

A loud voice from the back of the group boomed out, “What about Lucy Mercer? Wasn’t she here when he died?”

“I wondered if someone would ask about Lucy. I usually don’t mention it unless someone brings it up,” Helen replied.

Another voice rang out, this time it came from the center of the group. “Who are you talking about?”

“We’re talking about Lucy Mercer. She was an attractive young woman Eleanor had hired in 1913 as her personal secretary. Sometime between 1913 and 1918, Lucy and Franklin began an affair. In the fall of 1918, Eleanor found love letters between the two after Franklin returned from a trip to Europe. To put it mildly, Eleanor was furious. She wanted a divorce.”