Playing House Away From Home

Chapter 18

After the Kentucky show they went to Texas, followed by Memphis. Not the most convenient way to travel by any means, but neither Elvis nor Loretta had any choice in that matter. They traveled both by bus and by plane.

Their respective bands and the Mafia went out to get themselves drunk more than once. As for Elvis and Loretta, when they weren't performing, getting ready to perform, interacting with fans, calling home or sleeping, they visited each other in their buses and hotel suites.

They were friends now and Loretta realized now that a man and a woman being friends wasn't as simple as she used to believe once upon a time. At least not in their position.

But she was rather sure that Elvis wasn't attracted to her- she wasn't anything special and Elvis was an unusually good looking man. She had seen the girls he had been with, including his wife. Everyone who thought they would be having an affair was a fool. Loretta would never step out on her husband and Elvis was a good man. Any good man would stop at a married woman, a mother of six children.

Loretta looked out at the masses of screaming fans through the curtains obscuring her tour buses' small windows. Their screaming intensified when they spotted her. Hands reached for the window, millions of voices begging to be let in.

A deep groan somehow managed to drift into her ears despite the noise outside. It was followed by the appearance of one tousle haired Elvis Presley. Loretta stepped away from the window and turned to face him.

"Good morning," she greeted him with a smile.

"It's morning?" Elvis expelled a large yawn.

"Not really. Afternoon. You didn't wanna go back to your bus yesterday. They're camped out in front of it."

"That's what they do." Elvis rubbed his eyes, stumbling over to the couch.

"Gets to be a little much to deal with sometimes, don't it?"

"Yeah." Elvis finally plopped down on the couch, the curtains now once again fully drawn. "You got a headache, honey?"

Loretta laughed softly. "You worry about yourself now. I don't got no headache. I'm good."

She sat down beside him, leaving some space in between them so their bodies wouldn't touch.

"Do they know that I'm in here?" Elvis asked.

"Wouldn't be crowdin' 'round your bus if they did. But you better keep your voice down."

Elvis lowered his head into his hands.

"Got a headache yourself?" Loretta questioned, her hand skimming over his back.

"I don't sleep so good. Never did."

"Me neither. You'd think workin' hard would make you sleep well, huh?"

Elvis sighed. "Not when there's so much on your mind. Last time I slept well was when my mama was still alive"

"How old were you?" Loretta asked, then amended. "You don't...I shouldn't ask that."

"I was twenty three. I know when you were twenty three you've been married quite a while and had four kids already but..."

"I'd hope that bein' married and havin' kids don't mean that you don't need your mama anymore."

"What I'm tryin' to say is....I thought I was a man at twenty three but I was nothin' but a kid. My mama was the one who...I went to her when I had no idea what to do. I used to be closer with my daddy than I'm now. He remarried and it all went to hell."

"My mommy remarried too," Loretta said. "I'm not sayin' it wasn't kinda strange, but Tommy's always been good to all of us."

"Dee's never been good to anyone," Elvis shot back, anger taking hold at the mere thought of his stepmother. Loretta, seemingly caught off guard, patted his hand as though to calm him in that manner.