Blue Moon of Kentucky

Chapter 29

For the rest of the summer, they traveled the South, visiting every radio station on the list Jim had given them in hopes of getting their songs played. Sometimes they did manage to get them played in another commercial with the help of their new ally. They even managed to get themselves interviewed a few more times, and each time, they sold records in the parking lot.

They were actually making money, albeit money they had already spent to get the records in the first place.

August was coming to an end. In Kentucky, the kids had returned to school. They closed the one-room school house Elvis and Loretta attended and sent the children down to Van Lear now. It saddened Loretta in a way- she did not receive stellar schooling there, but she still had fond memories of the place where she'd gotten all of her education and met her husband.

Loretta sat on the edge of the camper. Her hair was hanging in loose spiral curls, protesting clips and curlers, just like they protested sanity according to their parents. Her feet were bare, toes peeking out from the long hem of the dress she was wearing.

The night sky sprawled out like a thick, dark blanket and a little warmth hung in the still air, which in contrast, seemed to whistle past up on the roof of the camper.

"Loretty," Elvis hollered from inside. "Get your boots on, it's too cold."

"It ain't cold," Loretta called back. "It just ain't hot for once."

"It's not gonna be hot for much longer." Elvis sauntered outside, taking a seat beside her. "Just when we're gettin' somewhere, huh?"

"There's some places where it don't never get that cold, ain't there? California-"

Elvis snorted. "That's on the other end of the country."

"So?"

"They close most of the campgrounds over the winter."

"But just most of 'em and not all. We can ask Jim for a list of all the campgrounds and which ones is open and-"

"How would Jim Henderson from Tennessee have a list of campgrounds all over the damn country?"

"Since when do you say that word? You never used to. Junior musta rubbed right off on you. It ain't a nice word."

Elvis' eyebrows drew together, as if he had just now realized the type of language he had used when speaking to his wife. "Sorry, Loretty. I didn't-"

"Oh boy oh boy, what your mama would say if she heard-"

"Don't go and rub it in. I'm sorry I said it. I guess Junior is rubbing off on me. If I do it again, you can smack me."

"I'm tryin' to teach him not to cuss."

Elvis laughed- it was true, Loretta did correct Junior most of the time when he used foul language. But that wasn't the only time she corrected Junior- she corrected him when he chewed with his mouth open, when he smoked in the car and made a mess, when he burped, when he complained about her meals.

Junior called her 'Mommy'. And every time he did, she'd say "I'm real glad that I ain't your mommy".

Junior claimed that he found Loretta irritating, but every time he said it, he was smiling, telling Elvis that he enjoyed their banter.

"Is he gonna come back soon?" Loretta asked, fretting over Junior as though she truly was his mother.

"He's a grown man. If he's not back when we wake up in the mornin', then you can start worrying, Loretty."

"What if he's drinkin'? He's supposed to drive and you can't do that when you're drunk."

"Then I'll drive that one time. You know that he's got... problems."