A Happening at Graceland [Elvis]

Chapter 7 - Group of Three Turns to Four

My finger hovered over Karley's picture on my phone that evening. I needed to talk to someone about this, not some random stranger. Karley had been my best friend since fourth grade, and she was living with her little family where we both grew up in southern Washington state. If there was anyone I wanted to know about all this, it was her. We told each other everything.

"Okay, Karley, be prepared for some unreal news," I said as I tapped the green phone icon, and my screen suddenly turned to her picture. She was a pretty girl with long, wavy blonde hair. Her two kids inherited that hair, not the brown hair of her husband.

"Hey, girl!" she greeted me after a couple of rings. "What's up? How's Graceland?"

"More unbelievable than you would know," I said as I sat on my sofa in my living room and faced the armchair that Ashton sat in that time. "How's Payton and Anders?"

Her two kids. "They're wonderful. Payton hit her terrible twos like nobody's business, and Anders is teething. So, as you can imagine, I want to pull out all of my hair."

I laughed. "I'm sorry. So... sorry about not calling since I arrived in Memphis. Things have been pretty darn crazy."

"You've been texting, though. I'm so glad you were able to make it over there. You probably love being in the same place that Elvis lived."

She wasn't a fan of his, but she was patient and understanding with my obsession. "You have no idea. It's so amazing, and... well, you remember what I said about Graceland being haunted?"

Anders was crying in the background. "Oooo, yes, I do! Did you see the ghost of Elvis or something?"

"Actually... yes, I did."

She paused as Anders cried pretty close to the phone. She was probably holding him. "Wait, what?"

"It's true, Karley. I saw him, and... okay, I'll just tell you the whole story. I'm aching to tell someone. Well, I told my mom some things, but she doesn't know the whole story. I also told some random man about it, but... anyway, you should sit down."

"Okay..." she droned, unsure, and I heard the sound of a cushion being sat on. "I am, so what's up? You saw the ghost of Elvis? Seriously? Like that 'Walking in Memphis' song?"

I just had to spill it like a tipped jar of milk. "Not exactly like the song since I was in Graceland the whole time, or most of the time. So..."

The words tumbled out of my mouth. I told her about arriving there at Graceland, hearing about it being haunted, hearing little noises and voices, the bathroom... I stopped there since she said frantically, "Hold on, hold on, hold on. Wait. He actually appeared to you after you were crying over him dying? Holy cow! That's so sweet!"

"I have no idea how you think that I'm not insane here. You know me as a no-nonsense type of person."

"Which is why I believe you, honey. You wouldn't make something like this up. Now, what happened next?"

I commenced telling her what Elvis told me, on to what happened with Ashton and meeting Jesse, on to the incident at the diner. I stopped before I told her that I left the diner and went to those trees. She didn't say anything for several seconds.

"Karley, say something," I pleaded.

"I have no idea what to say. This all straight out of a fantasy movie with a supernatural twist."

"Well, it's happening to me, and I have no idea what to do. I mean, I've gotten used to them just popping up and disappearing and all that, and I've hung out with them a few times, like they're my guy-friends. They basically are... my favorite star and his twin brother who never actually lived. And I have to deal with the pressure of sometime telling Priscilla Presley that her deceased husband has been in my company for the past month and tell her the message he wants me to." Karley knew what that was since I mentioned it in my wild story. "My mind's going to explode, Karley, especially now, since..."