Pieces of My Life

Chapter 14

Another new routine. Now, Loretta got up and ready before everyone else, checked Elvis' hospital bag and laid out his clothes. She wanted to feel useful, like she was doing something important for him, and one of the things that always gave her that feeling was cooking meals. The cooks let her take over breakfast. Not coming to Graceland so early suited them as much as cooking for him suited her.

Elvis wrote on his manuscript every day and while he was at the hospital she read what he had to say and helped Lisa Marie with her GED studies. Of course there wasn't much she could do other than think of ways one might memorize a certain fact or formula. Elvis also got her a tutor, who came on weekday afternoons.

Marie Shepherd came by twice a week to cook with them but so far no one had quite managed to unlatch Elvis' reluctance to give diet food a chance even though he enjoyed the meal Loretta made him on Lisa's birthday.

But yet, every once in a while, negative thought swam around her brain. But why?

Why couldn't she accept that things were looking up? Everyone deserved some good times after all. So this decade so far had been nothing but pure misery for her, but it didn't have to stay that way.

With Elvis at the hospital and Lisa Marie in her bedroom listening to Madonna, Loretta resolved to fix herself up as a surprise for Elvis.

Maybe some of the Mafia guys were in the basement, maybe not. Loretta didn't let them bother her anymore. They had an unspoken agreement now—she left them alone and they left her alone. Charlie slept in his trailer, Billy in his and the rest of the guys went home at night too.

Loretta walked downstairs with her press on nails and several other supplies. The first floor was deserted, not that Loretta minded. One of the cooks did have to be there, though, because she was assailed by the sweet smell of cake.

She found Mary and Alberta in the kitchen, their eyes growing wide at the sight of her.

"I just can't say no to the poor man when he's hungry," Mary blurted out.

"Are ya makin' Elvis a cake he ain't supposed to have?" Loretta asked, her voice colored with amusement. "I wanna do that every day, you know? They're all the same when it comes to their food. They want what they want and lots of it." She placed her supplies on the table and went to work on her nails.

This time, she wasn't going to follow the direction on the box. The nails never did stick that way. Super glue, though, should do it. But if she didn't want her own nails to peel off when it was time to remove the press-ons, she had to paint them with clear polish first.

Loretta knew that it would be better to wait until the polish dried, but one part of her was in too much of a hurry to get things done and she ended up sticking the glue soaked press-ons on the wet polish.

About five minutes after she'd done this, she jumped at a sudden knock on the door.

Nobody just knocked on the door at Graceland. You had to get past the guards first. Alberta shuffled toward the source of the instant knocking, only to be surpassed by Loretta.

"You got work to do already," Loretta said. "I'm just sittin' there doin' my nails while we all wait for Elvis to come home. I'm bettin' it's one of the guys who forgot his key like they always do. Couldn't be anyone else, could it?"

"Not really. I couldn't think of anyone else."

Alberta made her way back to the kitchen while Loretta headed for the door. She threw it open and was about to walk away when an unfamiliar voice cried, "Excuse me?"

Loretta's head snapped around. The woman in front of her looked as if she walked out of the pages of a high fashion magazine. Her fingernails most definitely weren't press-ons and the heels encasing her feet made Loretta's ache just by looking at them.