Playing House Away From Home

Chapter 12

Today Elvis couldn't smile at Loretta. He tried, but ended up grimacing instead. It was hard to smile when guilt was eating away inside of you. Lisa's little face flickered through his mind- the way it lit up when she grinned at him this morning.

She didn't know that they weren't going to be eating lunch today- or possibly ever again. He tried not to imagine what Priscilla might say to her if she asked why. Probably something along the lines of 'Because Daddy and the guys didn't listen to Mommy'. Frustration bubbled up within him. Elvis' hands clenched into fists.

"Elvis?" Loretta's voice sounded. "Are you-"

"I'm alright, honey."

The lie hovered between them. Loretta didn't push though. They had already crossed a line and what good had it done?

Loretta pulled out her script, ready to go over their lines for the day. Elvis was thankful, though he found it hard to focus. He failed to recite his line following hers several times but tried to give it his all- that was until he stumbled over a certain line enough to begin stuttering. His first reaction, which he seemed to have no control over, was to grab the script and toss it to the side.

It didn't take long for embarrassment to set in, though Loretta's face gave nothing away. Or perhaps she was in a state of shock over his little outburst.

"I'm sorry," Elvis mumbled. "I didn't...today's not my day." He picked up the script and placed it on the table in front of them to smooth it out as best as he could. "Priscilla won't let Lisa come to lunch anymore."

When Loretta asked, "Why would she do such a thing?" Elvis cursed himself for speaking before thinking.

"To hurt me, I guess. Because she can. She's being unreasonable about everything cause she don't want me workin' -" Elvis stopped abruptly and waved his hand. "Never mind. Let's just rehearse."

"Your friends are comin'," Loretta said, pointing toward the approaching figures of Red and Lamar.

Elvis groaned. "Can't you see what we're doin'?"

"I got you coffee and donuts," Red said. "But if you're gonna be an asshole-"

"Hand over the food."

"I reckon that she can't be talked to?" Loretta asked Elvis. Red and Lamar, who caught on immediately, burst into a fit of laughter.

"There ain't no way but her way for Queen Cilla," Lamar said, no longer bothering to hide his animosity toward Priscilla.

"Lamar," Elvis bit out but Lamar went on, looking at Loretta as he spoke. "Every day she'd ask us if you were around Lisa, if you were mean to her-"

Loretta frowned. "Cause I'd be mean to a baby cause her mama's a...cause we don't like each other."

Red and Lamar laughed and Red said, "You don't got that in you."

Meanwhile Elvis exhaled a sound too harsh to constitute the laugh he was aiming to produce. Of course they saw it all, the icy treatment Elvis received from Priscilla in the mornings, the fights they had at night. Not to mention his empty threats to send her back to Memphis.

He no longer could deal with Priscilla and the tangled web of problems she represented. The breaking point had been reached. The helplessness made him want to kick and scream until he was no longer able to do so. But instead he held it in, as he was meant to.

"Elvis?" Loretta's voice sliced through his thoughts.

Elvis shook his head to try and force himself to snap out of it. "Let's just practice our lines." His gaze connected with the guys, silently letting them know that it was time to depart. To his surprise, they caught on and vacated the premise without another word.