Swapping Around

Chapter 9

Loretta didn't sleep as well as she did on her previous nights at Graceland. She stayed with Roxanne until she stopped crying and then spend the rest of the night checking on both of the children regularly. Of course Minnie Mae was there as well, but her room was downstairs and Loretta preferred for the children to keep her up rather than an elderly woman. They both slept through the night though. Loretta got up with Little Elvis despite being sleep deprived; got him ready for the day before sending him downstairs to meet Mary, then walked into Roxanne's room. The little girl lay curled up in her usual position.

"Hey there," Loretta said, gently shaking Roxanne in an attempt to rouse her. "It's time to get up.

"I don't wanna get up," Roxanne mumbled, voice muffled by her pillow.

"We've done this every day this week and in the end you always get up cause you don't want me to dress you."

"I can't go to school."

"You gotta go to school." Loretta reached for Roxanne's covers, then pulled her hand away when something entered her mind. "Could it be that you don't wanna go to school cause you didn't finish that book yesterday?"

Roxanne let out a groan that was enough of an answer for Loretta.

"You know, we could go ahead and finish that book now if only you would get yourself up right now. Or you can go and explain to your teacher why you didn't-"

Roxanne jumped to a sitting position so fast, Loretta found herself startled by the movement. Roxanne was stumbling across the room within seconds, picking up her satchel and going through it until she located the book.

She sat there in her wrinkled pajamas, hair a mess atop of her head, reading about how the Ingalls family crossed the Mississippi. At least until she came across a word she could not decipher immediately at which point she stopped and demanded, "Miss Loretta, what's that mean?"

"Why don't you try it."

"I thought you could read." Roxanne stood, walked back over to her bed and plopped down beside Loretta. "Where's Vissy?"

"He's downstairs with Mary right now. Do you want me to read the last part of it cause we had such a hard night yesterday?"

Roxanne looked skeptical, but handed the book over. She even seemed to be listening quite intently as Loretta read the last few pages.

"You really can read," Roxanne exclaimed, in complete awe.

"Did you think that I was gonna be lyin' to you? What would I lie to you for?"

Roxanne shrugged, her eyes on her interwoven fingers. "Cause I'm just a kid."

"Well, that don't matter to me." Loretta closed the book and handed it back to Roxanne. "Now you go and get ready and I'll tell Miss Mary what you want for breakfast, okay?"

"Pancakes, I guess."

"Alright." Loretta made her way down to the kitchen where Little Elvis was munching on his usual breakfast of peanut butter and banana.

"Etta eat with me?" he asked with an adorable grin on his chubby face. "Daddy?"

"Daddy is gonna be home today," Loretta said, glancing over at Mary, who was on the phone. She overheard the other woman say, "Yes, Miss Loretta's here." Mary placed a hand over the receiver and turned toward Loretta. "Miss Loretta, can you come and speak to Mr. P real quick?"

"Sure."

"My kids give you a hard time?" was the first thing that came out of Elvis' mouth.

"No. Roxanne's done her school work and she let me sing to her a bit last night."