It's Up To You

Chapter 40

The idea that Elvis truly had those feelings about me made me sick to my stomach. My mind was always in the clouds about us being together, but now I began tor realize that I was wrong. I looked to Elvis as I awaited him asking me to leave.

"Now, listen to this." Elvis pressed play on the tape recorder. The sounds of Elvis and Priscilla sleeping together filled the room once again. I couldn't control my emotions while hearing him cheating on him. My hand smacked his face in my overwhelmed fever.

"What the hell?" Elvis furrowed his eyebrows. "Will you listen?"

"All I hear is you fucking her!" I cried out. Elvis shook his head.

"Listen closer." Elvis asked of me. I quieted down for a bit. With a mix of shock of relief, I heard my own voice on the tape. "That's us."

"She had a tape recorder in here from earlier?" I asked him. Elvis nodded, but then my fuzzy feelings immediately washed away. "Well how can you explain you talking trash about me? I ruined your family?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Elvis furrowed his eyebrows.

"You said I ruined your career and family! Why? Because I'm colored!?" I cried out to him. Elvis began fumbling with the tape recorder, he didn't exactly understand how to use it. Then finally, his finger pressed into the fast forward button.

"This is going ahead now." Elvis mumbled as the tape squeaked. Finally, he pressed play. I didn't want to listen, I was too furious at him.

"Elvis, why do you want me to leave?" Priscilla asked on the tape.

"I don't see this going anywhere. It's pointless Priscilla. What we had in Germany is over." Elvis explained to her.

"What about my parents? You were practically a part of my family!" Priscilla cried out. "And I was prepared to come back to America and marry you!"

"All I know is that I made a big mistake. It was horrible for my family, my career. All of that." Elvis explained to Priscilla.

"Elvis, I don't care what happened. I'm here now and I want you to make love to me." Priscilla said softly to him.

"My missus is downstairs, now. We won't be doing any of that— ever." Elvis told her with a nod. Elvis stopped the tape, suddenly I was so filled with love.

"I guess I had Priscilla here to figure everything out. To make sure this is what I really wanted." Elvis shrugged. "Some may call it cold feet."

"Cold feet? Cold feet? Elvis I've been living here for years." I furrowed my eyebrows at him. Elvis' grin spread across his face, he chuckled as he reached into his pocket.

"Lauren." Elvis cleared his throat. He leaned on his side while on the bed, his arm resting on my legs. "I love you and I always have."

"Elvis, don't tell me that's..." I smiled, looking at the black box in his hand. He smiled, trying to open it, but it wouldn't open. I laughed as he looked around the box, then finally pushed a little button.

Immediately, the box popped open. A beautiful emerald cut diamond was inside. I placed my hand over my mouth, frozen.

"Lauren, you've made me the happiest man in the world." Elvis smiled at me. "And you kept me in line too."

I laughed as I looked down at the diamond. Elvis took my left hand in his, then lifted the ring out of the box. Slowly, he slipped the ring onto my finger, then clasped my hands in his.

"Will you give me the honor of...?" Elvis began, but I didn't even let him finish. Immediately, I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him deeply. I was ready to spend the rest of my life with him.

May 10, 1964

The day finally came where Elvis and I tied the knot. We got a group of Elvis' closest friends to gather at a hotel in Vegas. Elvis was filming a movie, so Las Vegas was the best location for our wedding.

The women in my bridal party weren't my closest friends, but they had become apart of my life since moving into Graceland. I was so filled with love as I said my vows to Elvis, but after the fact there was no magical feeling. I'd already lived with Elvis, slept with Elvis, and cared for Elvis. There was nothing left between us except a marriage certificate.

"You looked beautiful up there." Joan Kardashian smiled as she removed the veil from my hair. "I can't believe you actually did it."

"I can't believe I'm Mrs. Presley." I smiled. Elvis was around his friends, who all lifted a toast in the banquet hall. Who knows where exactly they got that alcohol, but it seemed to follow them everywhere.

"To years of love, happiness and a pain in the ass." Nick Adams toasted. All of the guys cheered and drank back their alcohol. Elvis smiled as he looked down at his flashy wedding ring.

I looked around at the girls, but I was sad. None of my friends were present. I truly was alone in this. Suddenly, it was clear to me that my whole life revolved around Elvis.

In the back of my mind I thought of Ricky and how he would react. Already the paparazzi were flashing pictures of us, he'll immediately find out exactly what's happened. I remembered telling him I still had feelings for him, once again I would've broken his heart.

We sat down at a table as Elvis answered questions about what it was like to be a newly wed. They asked us to take multiple photos together to show how happy we were together. It was a storm around the country that Elvis Presley himself would be participating in intermarriage.

"Yes, my wife is not the same color as I, but that doesn't phase me." Elvis took my hand into his. "I've always had respect for everyone of all colors. I'm in love with my wife because of who she is, and I won't let our differences of skin get in between that."

The cameras continued to click and people feverishly wrote down Elvis' words. I was told by Colonel to let Elvis do the talking, so I sat quietly as he spoke for the both of us. I wanted to shout at everyone who made a dumb assumption. This was my husband and our marriage would work not because of our love, not get torn apart because of our races.

Still, in all of this, my heart ached for Ricky. I was faced with the question of the unknown. Would we have worked?