I Gotta Find You [Elvis]

Chapter 3 - Spur-of-the-Moment Interview

"You happy now, Elvis?"

My manager wasn't happy about stopping at that school, of course. I had begged him and begged him, and finally, he gave in. I just wanted to cross the school off of my mental list since he confiscated the physical one. "I'm sorry, Colonel. I guess she doesn't go to this one. I asked a few of the girls that I signed papers for, but they never heard of 'er."

"How about you just drop it? Please, Elvis. Move on. You had a moment with her, yes, but now, just move on."

I didn't want to, but I said, "Right." The car went on as Jerry drove it. "Well, at least I could make all those students happy." I noticed the Colonel looking over at me, and he wasn't looking away. It wasn't a mean or irritated look. "What?"

"You're a good man, Elvis."

I smirked. "Thanks. But I think I'm a selfish knucklehead, too."

"You're also that, but you're a good man. You went after that girl after I said some pretty harsh things to her, and you forced me into agreeing to let you go to that high school to find her, while at the same time, giving a lot of those kids something that they'll never forget for the rest of their lives."

My manager was strict, but there was a soft spot there, too. "That means a lot, Colonel. I guess I just see people—or more, I try to see people—the way that God does and treat 'em as such. My momma taught me that."

"So did mine, and she would probably be appalled with me right now."

His mother, from what he told me, was ill at the moment, but a really sweet gal. "You were only tryin' to protect me from someone who could've been the bad guy, but... it turns out that she wasn't." I paused and fiddled with the bottom hem of my suit jacket. "I really wanna see 'er again. Badly. I was really hopin' that that high school was hers."

"Maybe it was, and those kids didn't know her."

I nodded. "Could be." I looked at him. "Are you goin' along with this now?"

He sighed again. "Well, I don't want to, and I want you to move on, but you're going to continue to bug me about it, so do I have any other choice? We're not going to the next high school to ask around, though. Who knows what those kids will think of this Miss Rose when they find out who she is?"

Oh boy, I didn't think about that. "You're right. If she really does go to that school, those kids are gonna find 'er and demand how I know 'er. She's gonna be mocked because of me..." My heart dropped to my toes. "I've been a fool. I'm sorry."

He snickered. "It's alright. A man in love is always a fool and does stupid things."

"So, you think I'm in love with 'er?"

"You have a crazy infatuation. Plus, I wouldn't worry too much about how she fairs. She was mortified by falling on you, so I doubt that she'll say how she really knows you if her classmates come asking. She may just say that she met you and got an autograph like any other fan."

I nodded, thinking that through. It eased my nerves a little. "You're right. I just don't want 'er to be disliked. I want the opposite."

"You want her to know that her favorite star has feelings for her, that's what you want," he quipped.

"Yeah, and... I just wanna see 'er again."

"Well, God willing, you may."

That was right. God was in charge. He allowed me to meet Evalyn through a rather interesting way, and He could allow us to meet again. "Yeah, you're right. Let's just head on to the interview and pray that they don't ask about how I got knocked over by a fan."