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Chapter 19 ~ What about you?

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Ana showed Elvis every nook and cranny in Brokenfold. They roamed the streets for hours talking about everything that they could think of and laughing uncontrollably at times. Elvis was amazed at how comfortable he was around Ana and she around him. Not a dull moment passed between the two and the night began to seem like it could never end. One moment they could be totally serious and be in fits of laughter the next. She told him about her life—her overbearing mother, the guy she was supposed to marry, her plans to get out of the town and become an actress, her dad who had supported her but died years ago, her best friend, her job—, and the more she talked the more intently he listened. He made a promise to himself that he would make Ana’s dreams come true as soon as he got back into his old life. He could connect her with a few of his producers and she would be on her way to stardom, never to give another thought to the loser she dumped in highschool. 

After walking every inch of the town, they collapsed into the grass outside Ana’s home laughing. 

“..And so, the bartender gives it to him!” Elvis manages to finish his joke, before bursting into yet another fit of laughter. 

Ana rolls over laughing hysterically trying to catch her breath. “Good Lord, Aaron, where did you learn jokes like that? I’ve never laughed so hard in my entire life!” 

“I served in the army a few years back, and well, the boys have to have something to do in the barracks.” 

Ana giggled and grabbed his hand gently running her fingers over it. “I’ve done most of the serious talk tonight. You know all about me, but what about you? You haven’t told me much about yourself. Served in the army?”

Elvis cleared his throat a bit uncomfortably. He knew she would ask eventually. He’d been trying to avoid being the subject of conversation as much as possible. He didn’t want to lie to Ana, but then again he really didn’t have any other choice. “Me? Well… There really isn’t much to know.” He rambled searching his brain for a viable back story.

“Oh come on, of course there is,” Ana encouraged. “Start with something like…. Where are you from? You have a sorta rough northern accent.. So are you from up north?”

Elvis smiled uneasily as he thought hard about what he was going to say next. “Okay, I’m going to tell you, but you can’t tell a sole,” he said looking Ana straight in the eyes. “I’m not from anywhere up north. I was actually born in Tupelo, Mississippi.” Switching into his normal southern accent he continued. “No one is supposed to know where I’m from, and it’s of absolute importance that you don’t tell anyone.”

“Wow,” Ana whispered, surprised by his sudden switch into a natural southern accent. “Why? Why is everything about you such a secret?”

Elvis sighed, rolling onto his back and running his hands through his hair. “I-I can’t tell you that. I’m very sorry. I just… It’s like….. For right now…” 

“I’m not forcing you to tell me.. I mean we hardly know each other,” Ana assured. “But you aren’t like a criminal or anything, are you?” 

“No-no-NO Not anything like that! It’s just…. My life is very complicated right now..”

“I understand..” Ana replied. “But what can you tell me about yourself?”

“Okay, well.. I told you I was born in Mississippi, and I moved to Memphis, Tennessee as a kid with my parents. My dad figured it would be easier to find work in the big city, and that’s where I lived up until I moved here a few months ago.” Elvis was going to try to work with as many truths as possible.