Hate to Love You [Elvis]

Chapter 26 - The Loss of a Starlet

My first day on the set to Under Fire went very well. James made me a a nurse, saying that I really looked the part. The best part of it was... no one bothered me about Elvis, even though everyone I worked with knew my story and where I came from. James never said anything, but he maybe asked them not to mention Elvis since I hinted that I didn't like the guy. That was the only thing I fibbed about to James.

My second and third day went just as smoothly. I was on the set of what was supposed to be a hospital, and was outdoors like the pool scene in Jailhouse Rock. I was supposed to be a nurse pushing someone in a wheelchair for a couple of seconds. Literally.

"You have been doing really well," commented my coworker Robert Levin, a guy near thirty years old and who played one of the comrades. "You really are a natural, far better than me on my first few days."

"I didn't do much acting, though," I argued as we stood off the outdoor set, and he was in his normal clothes while I was in the white nurse's dress. He was around to help James out.

"But I've heard how well you did in Elvis's film. Well done."

"Thanks."

He left me, and I headed to my car as the warm summer wind blew, or more hot. I read in the paper that this summer was one of the hottest we had in years. I thought of Jailhouse Rock and my experiences of being in that film, like the record store, the pool scene and the living room party scene. My heart started racing at thinking about what went on in that set building, off the set, especially in that hallway...

I shook my head. "Don't think of it."

I got into my car and drove on home. The moment I stepped through the door, Dixie went crazy with happiness at seeing me, and I picked her up and snuggled her as her tail wagged fiercely, and she licked my face. I giggled.

"I missed you, too. Did the phone ring while I was away?"

She continued licking my chin. Judy told me that she would call me when she and Greg entered a new state, just for fun. They must have not reached Wyoming yet.

I walked on through my apartment, and I changed out of my nurse dress and into red striped pajamas. I came back into the kitchen to get something to eat, and Dixie was following me. The phone sat there, silent.

"I wonder why she hasn't called me yet. She told me in her last phone call that they planned to drive through Wyoming on the 3rd. I guess they couldn't get to a phone. Maybe tomorrow, she'll call." I went into the kitchen and got out the peanut butter. "But tomorrows a holiday, so would she call? I guess we'll see."

The apartment smelled of peanut butter after I opened the jar and made my sandwich. With Dixie following me into the living room, I turned on my new TV and sat down to watch a sitcom while I ate.

~ ~ ~

My head whirled with a dream of actually being a nurse in the military, and the moment a bomb went off, destroying half of the makeshift hospital I was working in, I awoke to barking. I groaned and sat up, my head hurting like it would whenever I was woken up out of a dream or deep sleep. I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep since people were making a ruckus outside until all hours because of the 4th, and that included loud fireworks. That was probably why I dreamed a bomb went off—it sounded similar.

Sleepy, I got up and went out to the living room. It was early, like 6am.

"No barking!" I shouted at Dixie, and she stopped but scratched at the door. I looked over at the kitchen and saw a little puddle on the floor. "Oh, no... Dixie... You usually wait until I get up, which was going to be fifteen more minutes, I hope you know."