The Colonel's Daughter [Elvis]

Chapter 10 - The Appearance of a Special Lady

Well, now I had to continuously ingest the fact that my manager wasn't a Thomas Parker, but an Andreas... what was the rest of his long name? Well, nonetheless, he wasn't who he told everyone that he was. A week had passed since that revelation, and the life-altering kiss that took place in that custodial closet, and he, I, nor Rainie mentioned it at all—her father's secret nor that kiss or the conversation that came after. In fact, Rainie was avoiding me.

The set was a bustle, and no one knew of the secrets I was keeping to myself, nor the secrets that Rainie was keeping inside. She and I would glance at each other now and then, but she would always look away and get to prepping the set. I was eyeing Rainie again as I was standing with my acting buddy Robert who played Tulsa's best pal Cookie. What he told me completely shot my thoughts of Rainie and the Colonel away, and I looked over at him with wide eyes.

"Wait, hold on, say that again?" I said, my heart starting to go wild in me under the army uniform I was wearing.

"I said that the blonde bombshell herself, the belle of Hollywood, is currently acting in a film in Paramount. I'm not sure what days she's going to be here, but I just heard that filming is going to start soon." He took in and let out a long breath and grinned. "Oh wow... meeting her in person... I don't know how any man would be able to keep themselves in check with her around in person. Did you know that she's a natural redhead?"

Indeed, I did know that. I read it in a magazine sometime ago. I saw her picture and couldn't stop staring at it, and I read the article along with it that talked about her backstory. "I knew that, and... you're really sayin' that she's gonna be here at Paramount?"

"That's what I heard, my friend. Who knows? Maybe she'll stop by and say hi."

The thought of meeting that hot tamale of a woman made my heart dance more than when I did the Jailhouse Rock number. Or when I went nuts at the charity concert at Russwood Park a few years ago that got me into so much trouble, enough that the government wanted to toss me into the army to teach me a lesson. "I don't know, Rob. She's a busy woman."

"You saying that one of the most famous women in the world doesn't want to meet one of the most famous men in the world? I doubt she'll stay away. But be careful—she's married."

I also read that in that article. "Unfortunately. She's a bit older than me, but a woman who looks like her has the power to bring any man to his knees, older or younger. I think I may pass out from just lookin' at 'er if she comes to say hi. I really doubt she will, though."

"I suppose we'll see."

"Indeed."

I was called onto the set—we were going to film the scenes that come directly after the "Didja Ever" number—my mind going with another blonde that I was pretty crazy about. Yeah, she was married, but that didn't stop my heart from going whenever I thought about her. A person can't help the feelings that develop. I learned that with another married woman I knew and loved, Judy, God rest her soul.

Someone screamed, a woman, which made my heart jump, and I looked over, as well as many other people, at Rainie who had eyes as wide as they could go, and both hands were covering her mouth. She was talking with a woman of the crew. I had a gut feeling she was told who could potentially make a visit.

~ ~ ~

I really couldn't think of a better distraction to what was going on with me, Elvis and Dad. I had to ask Danise if I heard her correctly. Who did she say was going to act in a film in this Paramount lot and could possibly visit this set? I could hardly believe my ears! My favorite actress!

The rest of the day, my mind had difficulty thinking about anything else. I had to call Brenda on the phone they had at the set, and she screamed. She and I had the same favorite actress. We both went to the theater when Some Like It Hot came out, and we just adored her in that movie, along with the comedy duo Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. What a hoot that movie was! It caused about as much controversy as Elvis's hip dancing did. Thank goodness they chose to run it instead of burn the film reel. That film would keep people laughing for decades.