My Little Friend

Chapter 3

August 13, 1958, 12:00 P.M.

He promised her something really good to eat, but nothing at the hospital cafeteria looked very appetizing. Still, Elvis tried to remain upbeat about it. "So, what do you want, little one? No sweets, real food."

"Fries," Lynn Rose said without missing a beat.

"Fries it is. That's what I would have picked too."

It was a good choice as far as Elvis was concerned. The fries did look the best out of everything the cafeteria had to offer. Elvis ordered the food and handed the woman behind the counter a few crumpled dollar bills. Far more than the meal cost. He figured that she could use it.

The cafeteria did not contain many people even though it was lunch time. Elvis chose a table in the very corner of the room, as far away from the windows as possible. His shoes slipped against the sticky floor on the way over. He sat down on one side of the table while the little girl sat across from him.

"Here you go, ma'am," Elvis said. He removed the plate from the tray and pushed it over to her side.

Lynn Rose began to shove several fries in her mouth at once, chewing and swallowing as fast as humanly possible. She began to hiccup in between bites, prompting Elvis to pull the plate away.

"Not that fast, darlin'. You already got the hiccups."

Her face contorted into the expression of shame. Elvis couldn't help but smile when she hiccuped again. He waited until she had swallowed what was already in her mouth before holding out another fry at her.

"One at a time now," he told her as she grabbed the fry and shoved it in her mouth, holding her hand out for another before she had even started chewing. "Eat that one first."

They went through half the plate this way until a girl of maybe eighteen approached their table, screaming his name at the top of her lungs the way most fans her age did.

"Elvis! Oh my god, it's really you, isn't it?

"It sure is," Elvis responded evenly.

"I've been a fan of you for-ev-er—" She stretched the word out dramatically. "Ever since I heard your song That's All Right on the radio. I cried my eyes out when I heard." She sniffled, referring to his induction into the army. "And now your mother is sick too."

"All of that will work itself out, honey."

Lynn Rose placed her little hand on his arm to garner his attention. Elvis turned to her with a smile. "Yes?"

"More please."

Elvis gave her another fry before focusing on the blabbering fan. "Want me to sign somethin'?"

The fan nodded vigorously, her head looking like a bobble head figure. "I'd love that," she thrilled, jumping up and down. "My name is Susan." She pulled out a note pad and pencil as if she came here for the sole purpose of hunting him down. That thought made Elvis nervous. If she knew that he was here then others did as well. He had spied a few reporters and photographers already. This was bound to get out of hand soon.

Elvis signed an autograph for Susan, who thanked him by jumping on his lap and squeezing the living daylight out of him. "Thank you, Elvis! I love you,Elvis!"

Lynn Rose stared after the young woman while nibbling on her fry. "She was way too big for that," she proclaimed with a shake of her head.

"She was, wasn't she?" Elvis gave her another fry.

"What'd you write for her?"

"My name."

Lynn Rose furrowed her brow. "But why?"