"I, Howard Constantine Mathis, do solemnly swear, that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."
With those words, Howard C. Mathis, a former accountant, went from being a recently divorced Vice President to assuming the highest office in the land. Just ten years before, he had run for Governor of New Jersey, and was considered an underdog in that contest. He won, however, and that set him on the path that made his now disgraced predecessor, former President Norton Cornell, choose him as his running mate.
Mathis's personal life had briefly dominated the front pages, with his divorce from his wife Patricia acting in lieu of a real story on slow news days. Patty, as some called her, hated political life, and wanted a boring, but relatively easy and quiet life as an accountant's wife.
She had "signed up" for that, so to speak, and not for being in the limelight. She had tolerated his amusing experiment in running for Governor, but just barely. When it turned into 2 terms in the statehouse, and then a run for Vice President, she simply left him.
Mathis filed for divorce on grounds of desertion, and the case dragged out for 18 months, before he finally won. Since they had no kids, due to Patty's tubal ligation, their divorce settlement simply split up the assets evenly, and sold off the house. She was living on Long Island by then, and he was in the Vice President's residence.
When proof of President Cornell's sale of pardons for campaign funds went public, that news diminished any remaining interest the people had in Mathis's personal life. This was a true scandal, with a definite villain- the Chief Executive himself. Cornell was forced to resign to avoid conviction, but he waited until he had already been impeached to do it.
Now, suddenly, at 50 years of age, President Mathis was the head of state, and he was already faced with 2 vacancies: the Vice Presidency he had just left, and the position of First Lady. Since he was divorced, he would have to either re-marry, which would take some time, even if he chose to do that, or he could find an alternate hostess for the White House.
President Mathis remembered that Thomas Jefferson had employed his daughter Martha in the role of official hostess, while James Buchanan had used his niece. So, there was precedent for a hostess that was not the First Lady- that is, not the President's wife.
At this point, he thought of his sister, a widow named Thalia, and decided to offer her the job.
"Hello, is this Mrs. Thalia Sanders?"
"Yes. Who is this?"
"This is your President, Mrs. Sanders. I need you to help me with something."
"Howard! It's you! Wow, my brother just became President, and he almost immediately calls me, his sister- that's incredible! I would have thought that you'd be trying to forget me. After all, I was the one who set you up with Patty 24 years ago."
"Hey, sis, that was an honest mistake on your part. You thought she was a decent human being, and she's not."
"Well, her loss!"
"You mean, because she's divorced from the President?"
"No, because she's divorced from this President."
"Well, thank you, sis. I know that we haven't talked in months, but I really do need your help on a matter of urgency."
"What's that, brother- you know that I'll help you if it's possible."
"Since I'm divorced, there's no First Lady, so I have decided to offer you the chance to serve your country as official hostess of the White House. How does that sound, sis?"
"Howard- that never occurred to me, but, wow! You want me to host the White House, presumably even to live there- that's wonderful!"
"I'm glad that the idea pleases you, because I would need you to move in ASAP. I want to be ahead of foreign dignitaries, for one thing, for state dinners."
"So, Russell, Jr., and Rosa can live in the White House, too?"
"Yes, of course, your children can stay here. I mean, when was the last time there were kids in the White House? It could use a few. Oh, and you guys will also get Secret Service protection, I have to warn you."
"That's ok. Just make Rusty's a woman. He would love that!"
"Well, I'll see what I can do. Thanks, sis- this is quite helpful."
"No, thank you, Mr. President. God, that sounds weird- calling my brother 'Mr. President'!"
With that, 41 year old widow Thalia Sanders was hired to be the official hostess of the White House. She moved in the next week, and immediately got to work on refurbishing. She was very pleased when her brother issued a directive that she was to get the East Wing, with as much staff as required. After all, if she was to function like the First Lady, she could use the First Lady's perks.
She already loved and practically worshipped her older brother, but now she really admired him. He could have just ignored the matter, or scurried to find a wife, if he was so inclined, but he chose to give his sister the job. She began to be around Howard alot, and she saw what kind of a serious, dedicated leader this man was, and that he was going to do his best to make the country better for the next generation, which included her kids.