Oath of Office Read Online Free

in Ireland it’s largely ceremonial. Still, Callaghan being a woman, Martin may not want to withstand the flak of standing her up.”
    Darlene smiled even though her insides were knotted up. “What would I do without you, Hajjar? Put yourself in for a raise.”
    “That’s just what I need to do. I can see the headlines now: ECONOMY DESCENDING DEEPER INTO DUMPER. FIRST LADY CELEBRATES BY RAISING STAFF PAY. ”
    “Okay, no raise. I’ll think of something, though.… Well, the director’s got a what-are-we-waiting-for expression. I suppose I need to move on.”
    “You’ll be great as usual.”
    Darlene stood, smoothed her skirt, and gave the press corps her A smile. She had chosen a baby blue suit for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which was in celebration of the grand opening of D.C.’s new Boys & Girls Club. The suit had cost $120 at Macy’s, and it sold out from every department store the first day she had worn it in public. Thanks largely to Kim’s tutelage, she now knew what colors best flattered her fair complexion, light brown hair, and hazel eyes.
    Her brief speech would focus on her two favorite topics—raising her daughter, Lisa, now a sophomore at Yale, and working as first a pediatrician and then the president’s wife to improve the nutrition of all citizens of the world, especially children.
    Unlike some First Ladies who embraced the guilty pleasure of fashion, Darlene did not, and whenever the cameras weren’t rolling, she favored the dungarees and plaid work shirts that were the mainstay of her wardrobe at K State.
    “Once a farmer, always a farmer,” she had been oft quoted regarding her background as a wheat farmer’s daughter.
    To the left of the two rows of folding chairs where they were sitting, a broad blue ribbon stretched diagonally across the glass doors of the gleaming new building fluttered gently in the breeze. The Young People’s Chorus stood off to one side on metal risers, waiting patiently to sing their song, “The Face of the Waters.” Kim had researched the piece and passed on the information that it was about creation. It was a fitting anthem, thought Darlene, considering that once again, she needed to create an explanation for President Mallory’s absence. Politics aside, his recently unpredictable behavior concerned her the way it would any loving and devoted wife.
    Martin’s nosedive in the popularity polls was one of the most historic drops in presidential history. But before the economy tanked, he had touted this particular Boys & Girls Club as a symbol of America’s renewed community spirit, and a shining example of the effectiveness of his controversial domestic spending policies. Now, with the country’s fortunes in free fall, the costly modern steel and glass structure might well become a symbol of his administration’s fiscal excesses.
    Darlene crossed to the lectern and spoke to the crowd of several hundred. “I’m afraid I have just received a call from my husband. He is tied up in an emergency meeting and regrettably will not be able to attend this magnificent grand opening. However, he is making arrangements for the Young People’s—”
    “Is he scared to show his face in public?”
    Through the glare of the afternoon sun, Darlene could not see the face of the man heckling her, but he was certainly close by. Too close. Kim must have sensed Darlene’s concern, because she immediately went into attack mode and began scouring the crowd for the potentially dangerous protester. The large Secret Service contingent did the same.
    Meanwhile, Darlene continued with her address. “The president wanted me to let you know—”
    The heckler wasn’t finished. “What’s next?” he called out. “Will our tax dollars buy a new football stadium for the Skins?”
    By this time, Kim had spotted the man and alerted Secret Service agents to his location. The agents acted quickly to cull the protester from the crowd. Darlene was used to hecklers, although their numbers