Elvis Lives

Chapter 27 - Another Pit-Stop

The tall San Francisco skyscrapers started to come into view. I looked over at Elvis and saw his lips pursed, and his right leg moved up and down rapidly. He was nervous. Really nervous. I didn't blame him. The next day, first thing, he would meet his family, a family who knew him to be deceased for over forty years. He was right - no other person on the planet was going through this at the moment. I could say the same thing about me. But if time travel was possible, others probably had or were going through the same thing Elvis and I were going through.

"You okay?" I asked Elvis and he blew air out of his mouth.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Now that we're in the city, my nerves are rattlin' me more than ever."

"Well, we have another few more miles to the hotel. I think you'll feel better once we get there and are off the road. Just remember - the people that we're meeting tomorrow is your family."

"Yeah, I know."

Maybe I should change the subject. "So... you've been in this area before, for a concert in '56, right?"

He nodded, making his bangs bob. "Yeah, I did. It was in Oakland, the city we just passed through a few minutes ago." His brows creased a little, like he realized something. "That was the concert I saw Debora at."

I gasped. "Oh my gosh, I didn't even make that connection! That's crazy!"

"Yeah, that auditorium was big. It was was the kind that had the seating wrapped around an empty space in the middle of the giant room. That empty space had the stage and chairs set up. Debora had her seat in those chairs, up near the stage. That's how I saw 'er."

"That's just amazing. You know, I read about that concert. It was at the Oakland Auditorium Arena, right?"

"I don't really recall the name of the place, but I think that's the right one."

A wild idea entered my mind. "Well... how about we go swing by the place and take a look? See where you did one of your concerts, and where you saw Debora for the first time. Unless you just want to go to the hotel and recover from being in the car for hours."

He smiled, and I was glad to see it, considering his state earlier. "Nah, let's go. Do ya think it would still be there after fifty years?"

"Well, look it up and find out." I pointed to his phone he had in his hand. "Pull up Google and type in Oakland Auditorium Arena. And yes, I know the name of the place since I researched all your concerts before."

"All of 'em?" he asked with raised brows.

"You recall how long I've been your fan, right?"

He chuckled. "That's a fair point." He brought up his phone, and I didn't have to tell him how to work it. This felt like a mother being proud of her child when he learns how to do something new. "So it's still there, but it's called the Keiser Convention Center now, and it still looks the same as when I was there last. It's been around for quite a while, too. When I did my concert there, it was already over forty years old, according to the date it has here - 1914."

"Wow, so, is it far? Tap the map and then the directions button."

"Umm..." he hummed as he tried to do what I asked. "Okay, here's the directions button."

"So? What does it say? How many miles away?"

"Looks like it's about twelve miles from here, and back across the bridge. Wow, I can't believe we're this close to where I did one of my concerts."

"Well, think of how close we were to where you stopped off at a hotel for the night."

"But that hasn't happened to me yet."