Stranger Things Have Happened (Elvis Presley story)

Chapter 16

"Anna," a whispering voice brushes against my ear.

I let out a groan and bury my head deeper into my pillows.

"Anna," the voice tries again, this time a little louder. I feel a warm hand land on my shoulder and shake me gently. Squinting my eye open, I see Elvis perched on the edge of my bed. "Merry Christmas, baby." He reaches out and brushes stray strands of hair away from my face.

"What time is it?" I ask groggily, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. Elvis flashes me a crooked smile. "It's a little after nine," he says softly before kissing my cheek and standing up. "We're going to be opening up presents here pretty soon." He crosses the room and leans against the doorframe, gazing sweetly at me. "I'll let you get dressed."

I nod and watch as he leaves, gently closing the door behind him. Letting out a tired sigh before forcing myself out of bed and tiptoe over to my closet. Sliding the door open, I cock my head to the side and scan my eyes over everything. One thing in particular catches my eye and I pull it out, inspecting it. It's a little cherry red dress with big white buttons going down the front and a white collar. Elvis had given it to me a little while back. I hold it up to my body and look at myself in the mirror before stripping off my nightgown and tugging it on. It is a little tighter in the waist than I expected, making the skirt poof out around me. Felling goosebumps form on my legs, I decide to tug on a pair of black tights as well.

After slipping into my black flats, I move on to doing my hair and makeup. I take a seat at the vanity in the corner of my room and begin brushing out my mop of hair. It's starting to get really long and falls just past my waist. I end up French braiding the hair that falls on either side of my face, pinning it behind my ears. I curl my hair next, transforming my loose waves into something a little more structured. For makeup, I just do a cat eye and slap on a little red lipstick to match my dress.

Standing in front of the mirror again, I do a quick once-over before heading out into the hallway. As I make my way down the stairs, the sound of excited chattering floats to meet my ears. Once I get downstairs I see everyone sitting around in the living room. Elvis is seated on the couch, so I scurry over and plop myself down beside him.

Joe and Red work together to pass out all the presents to everyone, and before we know it, we all have huge piles of gifts sitting in our laps. We all go around in a circle, each opening one gift at a time. And each time someone opens one of my gifts, I can't help but smile happily. Gladys holds the dainty golden locket that I had got her up to her neck and beams, thanking me profusely. It looks gorgeous on her.

Now that it's my turn, I pick up the smallest box on my pile, noticing Elvis's handwriting scrawled out on the tag. I shoot him a look before carefully tearing the paper back. Inside is a small little navy velvet box, and when I open it my mouth drops open. It is a pair of breathtaking dangling sapphire and diamond earnings. They must've cost a fortune. All I am able to do for a few seconds is just stare at them, but I eventually manage to give Elvis a hug.

"Thank you," I murmur softly in his ear just before pulling back.

Just as it's Elvis's turn to open his present, I point for one that I had gotten for him. He raises an eyebrow at me but obeys, picking up the small package and pulling the ribbon off to tear back the paper. I bite the inside of my cheek hard, praying that he'll like what I got for him. When he sees what's inside, his eyes go wide.