A Happening at Graceland [Elvis]

Chapter 2 - The Figure in the Bathroom Doorway

Second day on the job. After my shift ended the day before, I went back to my apartment that was about a mile away from the property, and I just killed time until nine o'clock when I went to bed. I just wanted to get back to Graceland. It was the place that I had to be at—I was drawn to it by some force. Be it my love of Elvis or the place was just magnetic. Either way, I wanted to be there all the time. It felt warm and inviting, like he was welcoming me every time I stepped into the house.

I came into the employee building and went into the custodial closet. Ashton was in there getting his supply pail ready. It was one of those containers that hat a handle in the middle and compartments around it. He saw me as I walked in, and he instantly smiled.

"Hey, mornin'."

"Good morning. I'm not late, am I?"

"No, you're not. The others just like getting started early." He whispered, like he was telling me a secret. "Older gals... I don't know how they can get up earlier than early. Brenda told me that she gets up at three every morning, and Candice told me the same thing. I myself get up at four."

I snickered and got my pail. "They're not that old, Ashton. Candice looks only a decade older than us, assuming that you're around twenty-five."

"Twenty-six, actually. Close. You're twenty-five? I mean, I know a woman's not supposed to reveal her age..."

"It's alright. I'm twenty-five."

"You totally don't look it. I thought you were twenty-two or somethin'."

I grinned, flattered. "Well, thank you very much."

"That's Elvis's line."

We both laughed at that as I went to get the checklist for the first floor. It was connected to a clipboard. "Looks like they got the kitchen, Jungle Room and bedrooms in the north wing."

"Yep. That means we have the living room, dining room, and the bedroom that's off from the entryway."

We got our stuff together and headed out. The morning was cool, but not too cold. It was the end of May, so the days would start to get warmer pretty soon. It was still dark out, and lights in the backyard were on. I tried not to look out at the dark fields. Darkness always creeped me out, like vast darkness, not the darkness of my bedroom or something similar.

"So..." Ashton started as we neared the house, and we both were in hoodies, his navy-blue and mine a deep purple, and the hoods were down. "I'm just gonna ask this so it's not awkward whenever I talk to ya... Do you have a boyfriend?"

A smile escaped before I could tell my mind not to do it. My neck started heating. "Um, no, I don't. I just moved here, so I wouldn't have one, and if I had one back at school, then I still wouldn't have one since I don't do long-distance relationships."

"I see." We came to the back door, and we went on in, me first. Ashton was a southern gentleman. "I don't do those, either. And by the way, I'm single."

It was flattering and comical that he told me that himself before I asked him. My female intuition told me that he was interested in me, or at the very least, he thought I was attractive. He had that look in his brown eyes that I saw on my last boyfriend.

"Okay," I said to what he told me. "So... I'll be in the living room."

"Sounds good. I'll be in the dining room and entrance area. Well, you'll see me."

Since it was all open to each other. "Yep."

We got to it, and an hour in, Brenda found us, and she asked Ashton to get the kitchen while she went down to the basement. I forgot about the basement. It was on the list with the Jungle Room and kitchen. Ashton got to it, giving me a wave. I surmised that he wanted to work in a similar part of the house as me and train me on purpose. Yesterday was the same for the first and second floor. We both worked on Lisa Marie's room as well as the office while the others were in Elvis's bedroom when we were cleaning up there yesterday.