Blue Moon of Kentucky

Chapter 45

Loretta stood by the stove, carrying her two children, one in her arms and one under her heart.

She gave up on trying to make that stubborn baby come. For the first few days after that, Elvis refused to leave her alone in case she might go into labor. Now, he left to sing at local bars, to have meetings with Jim in Nashville, to buy food at the local diner.

"Get Mama or Dodger if you go into labor," he'd say, but it always sounded as if he didn't believe she would.

Loretta placed Erin Love on the ground, groaning at the motion. Gladys would have a heart attack if she knew that Erin Love was underfoot while Loretta was canning, but she'd recently decided that she didn't like to be in a room that did not contain a familiar adult.

Erin Love pulled open the lower cabinets and unearthed a rolling pin. "Da?"

"You wanna make some cookies, baby?" A collection of indecipherable words escaped Erin Love's mouth, but Loretta played along. "Mommy's doin' some canning."

"Yum." Erin Love flashed her baby teeth.

Loretta clutched the expanded skin of her stomach with a moan, waiting for the sudden pain to dull.

Erin Love's big blue eyes were on her. A little finger stabbed at the ground in front of Loretta and a little voice chimed, "Pee pee!"

Loretta glanced down at the puddle beneath her feet. "My goodness, Erin Love," she said in a shaky voice. "Now we gotta clean up, don't we?"

"Huh-huh."

"Can you get me that bucket over there?" Loretta pointed out the object in question. Getting Erin Love to follow instructions was hit and miss but today, as if she were sensing her mother's peril, Erin Love grabbed the bucket. "What a good girl! Now give it to Mommy." She reached her arm out as far as it would go, angling it down so Erin Love could reach.

"Now, can you get mommy the little rag that fell out of it?"

"Oh?"

"Over there." Loretta pointed. "Pick that up."

Erin Love shuffled over, thankfully avoiding the mess on the ground.

Ten minutes later, Elvis and Junior returned home to find her on her hands and knees. At first Elvis looked bewildered, then the expression faded and was replaced by a smile. "Erin Love have an accident again?"

Loretta sighed. "Erin Love's been good as gold. She was my little helper today."

"But..." He inclined his shoe toward the mess she was cleaning. Before she could answer, Elvis blanched. "Oh."

"She did?" Junior ventured. "I heard somewhere that pregnant women do pee themselves sometimes."

Loretta let out an embarrassed squeak while Elvis snapped, "Shut up, Junior. Get Mama, tell her that the baby's comin'. I gotta call the doctor."

Junior was out the door before it occurred to either of them that it might be a good idea to ask him to take Erin Love.

"Sit down, stop scrubbing the floor," Elvis demanded. He pushed her canning off the stove. "Mama can finish that for you."

"She won't," Loretta whimpered. "And I look like..." She ripped the curlers from her hair and tossed them on the ground in front of her . Erin Love immediately grabbed one and stuffed it in her mouth, but Loretta extracted it from her just as quickly.

"No!" Erin Love wailed. "Ewin, Ewin."

Elvis picked the angry baby up. He held her up in front of him and laughed at her contorted face.