Swapping Around

Chapter 10

When Elvis woke on Saturday morning, it was just past noon- quite a feat considering when he went to bed. There had been more tossing and turning than sleeping despite having taken his medication. There were too many things running through his mind.

It wasn't just that he was going to talk to Priscilla today- tomorrow Loretta would be allowed to change the family routine and rules. They would have to live by her rules for the rest of the week and even though he did like Loretta, Elvis found himself more than just a little uncomfortable with the arrangement.

He would bet all his money on Priscilla having broken the Lynn family rules more than just a handful of times by now. Loretta obviously hadn't done things the way Priscilla would have either; not that it bothered him. It was nice to not have someone complain about the Mafia or the children for a whole week.

Elvis worried about what kind of rules Priscilla would inflict upon Loretta's family. From what he had heard about them, Priscilla wouldn't fit in.

Elvis took his time to get ready for the day. When he arrived downstairs, the Mafia was present and busy shoveling food into their mouths. They had just barely exchanged their greetings, when Red said, "They're outside by the swings. Cilla didn't call yet and Loretta didn't call her man either."

"Thanks," Elvis mumbled before turning on his heel to walk toward the back yard. He just watched for a moment, catching a glimpse of their activity and interactions without intruding. Roxanne was running across the grass with the dogs, barefoot and happy, while Loretta was pushing Little Elvis on the swing. A smile twisted its way onto his lips at the sound of his children's laughter.

It was Little Elvis who spotted him first. One tiny hand let go of the swing's chain and an even tinier finger pointed in his direction. "Daddy!"

Loretta manged to grab Little Elvis, who was prepared to make a bee line for his father without waiting for the swing to come to a halt. The little boy laughed, wiggling until Loretta released him, allowing him to run over to his father.

Elvis scooped the boy up, wrapping him up in a hug. "Hey, sonny. Are you and Miss Loretta havin' fun?"

"Ya. We swing. Not Roxy."

The girl in question came running over. She gave Elvis a quick hug before taking off into the house.

"Well..." Elvis gave Loretta one of his usual crooked grins.

"Well?"

"Are you lookin' forward to that rule change thing tomorrow?"

"I didn't even think of more than one thing to change."

"That's a good thing, ain't it?"

"I reckon."

"And what is that thing?"

"Hmmm." A smug smile formed on her lips. "I ain't gonna tell you."

Wrinkles formed on Elvis' forehead as he frowned at her. "And I thought that you were a nice girl." He put on his best pout, which Little Elvis promptly copied.

The sight of them was enough to cause laughter to trickle out of Loretta's mouth. "Nobody's nice all the time, Mr. Presley."

"Don't you ever call me that. That's my daddy."

"Your daddy said to call him Vernon."

Elvis glanced at Little Elvis in his arms, fingers shoved in his mouth. "I guess one day he's gonna say that Mr. Presley is his daddy."

"I'm sure that he will."

"Sometimes I wish that he could talk that much."

"He's gonna learn." Loretta reached out to pat Little Elvis' cheek. He beamed at her in response. "I didn't talk till I was four."