Graceland Beginnings [Elvis]

Epilogue - A Visit to the Cemetery

I stood at the foot of her grave as the warm sun shown down on me. It took some digging, but Momma, Dodger and I were able to find out exactly where they Toofs were buried. They were all buried in Elmwood Cemetery, southwest of the main city of Memphis, meaning where all those old buildings were. Grace had lived in the city boundaries all her life.

"She died in 1928, seven years before I was born," I said with a heavy heart, and tears stung my eyes. "Looks like you didn't make it to one-hundred, Grace. You didn't even make it to seventy."

I bent down and put the bouquet of roses right above her name stone, near some other flowers at the head of the oval-shaped grave. Actually, Dodger said it looked more like a cartouche, like in Egyptian writing. Momma, Daddy and I all came to this cemetery once before about a week ago just so we could find the graves, and there they were, the whole family together, in a Toof family plot with a large headstone marking the plot. The animals weren't there, of course. I had found Petunia's grave over in the back of the Toof house, only marked by a large rock that had "Petunia" etched into it, and I had to move some brush to get to it. I had gotten a chicken bone and placed it there in memory of my best pal when I was in 1880.

"I'm sorry that you weren't able to see me again, Grace, but I think you know that I'm here," I said as I stood up straight and gazed down at her name. I found out that she, in fact, never married, and that was why "Toof" was on her head stone instead of some other last name. She never married Nathan, married nobody, yet she still got the farm. "You weren't able to get over me, were ya? You must've just hid the letter anyway like I wanted you to."

I stood there for a moment longer, gazing down at the grave of the girl I loved back in 1880. Yvonne eventually came to Graceland to visit, and I told her the whole story. She only went along with it because I was her boyfriend and she didn't want to upset me, but deep down, I knew she didn't believe me. The only person who truly did was Dodger. Momma and Daddy only put it down to a very realistic dream. They still couldn't explain the "Presley Family" letter, though.

"Well, I think I should be headin' off," I told Grace, wherever she was. "I'll stop by here as often as I can, okay? All of ya." I walked over to Elma's grave, which was near to where her sister and parents were buried. She died only six years ago at the age of ninety-six. Her last name was Louse. "She married Eddie. Thought so. Hey, Eddie."

He was buried right next to her. Only one of her kids was buried with them. She had five, according to the census, and the rest were still alive, as far as I knew.

"Okay, until next time all of you."

I left the graves, and the moment I turned, I was met by a young woman. My heart jumped both at the surprise and at how familiar she was. She stared at me with big green eyes that were widened in surprise as well, and her fair cheeks were flushed pink. She held a bouquet of daises in her arms.

"Oh my word, Elvis Presley!" she gasped. Well, time to put on my "meeting a fan" front. I smiled at her.

"Hi, there, miss."