OVAL OFFICE
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Late morning sunshine crossed from the large windows of the Oval Office, creating geometric patterns on the paintings that hung upon the walls; paintings by Andrew Wyeth, Edward Hopper, Milton Avery, Benjamin Foster, and Winslow Homer, the president’s favorite American artists. It was a gallery of the country’s finest painters, a gallery of past greatness and, in the present, of American tradition, for today on display was an act in one part, the passing of power, the continuation of the great American experiment that was democracy.
The ceremony lasted only ten minutes. It was intimate, solemn, and in its own way, historic. There were seven people in the Oval Office, including President J.P Dellenbaugh; Antonio Ribalsi, the White House photographer; Chief of Staff Adrian King; and Mark Hastings, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Hastings held a Bible as he began to speak.
“Please repeat after me,” said Hastings, a smile on his face. He looked into the eyes of an attractive forty-eight-year-old woman with brown hair, who placed her hand on the Bible. “I, Judith Xavier Brown, do solemnly swear…”
“I, Judith Xavier Brown, do solemnly swear…”
“… that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…”
“… that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…”
An hour ago, Judith Brown was the governor of the State of New York. Now, she was being sworn in as Vice President of the United States. Standing next to her were the two remaining individuals in the room, Brown’s twenty-five-year-old daughter, Caroline, and her nineteen-year-old son, Toby.
“… that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same…”
“… that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same,” repeated Brown in a confident voice.
“… that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion…”
“… that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion…”
“And that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
“That I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
Hastings extended his hand to Brown and shook it.
“Congratulations,” said Dellenbaugh as he came over and shook Brown’s hand, then gave her an enthusiastic but polite hug. “The first female vice president of the United States. It’s about time.”
“Thank you, President Dellenbaugh,” Brown said, smiling widely. She went to her children, who stepped to her and hugged her. “Thank you for your belief in me, sir.”