VIVA LAS VEGAS - 1 ENGLISH EDITION

VIVA LAS VEGAS-1/88

„Hahahaha...", I burst out into laughter because I thought, Elvis was kidding. But his face went even more pale. From his eyes I could tell that he panicked. He sat down on one of the camping chairs and cursed: „This damn leather suit! I can hardly move in this thing!", desperately he dug his face in his hands.

„Wait a minute! You are not kidding, aren't you? A few minutes ago you were so eager to go out there and perform.", I was very worried when I grabbed one of the other chairs and sat in front of him. I took his hands that were trembling constantly. Elvis seemingly was in a state of emergency. It was clear that he had a panic attack. I was completely helpless.

„I simply cannot do it, Idy. I will fail. We had not enough time. The show isn't perfect yet. People will hate it. They will hate me!"

„Don't be silly! They love you, Elvis. So what, the show might not be perfect but I guess they won't even notice it. You are a professional. You can do this and if something goes wrong, they will forgive you, believe me!"

Elvis was sweating all over and didn't stop pulling at the leather outfit which seemed to be pretty uncomfortable.

„Damn, this outfit doesn't give me any space to breathe at all. How am I supposed to sing properly? I shouldn't have approved doing a comeback show. I should have known that it won't work."

„It will be a success, Elvis. I believe in you!", I held his hands in mine, „You have a wonderful voice. You have this god-given talent and the best musicians will support you on stage."

Elvis nodded: „I really do have the best people but yet we had not enough time. This show is so important."

„I know, I know....", I took him into my arms tenderly. I held him for a while until somebody knocked at the door.

„Boss? It's time!"

„Give us a minute, Johnny!", I shouted.

„Okay, I can give you another three minutes."

„You have to go out there, Elvis!"

He lifted his head and looked at me with a desperate expression on his face. I had to look away because I couldn't bear it. I didn't want to cry, I had to be strong for him. My voice sounded a little cold when I told him: „I cannot help you, Elvis. All I know is that it is your duty to go out there! Go and do what you have to do!"

Without saying anything else and not even looking at him, I stood up and left the dressing room. When I stepped into the hall way and closed the door behind me, I burst into tears. How I wished I could have told him that he hadn't to go out there. How I wished I could have told him that he could stay. How I wished we just could have disappeared somewhere, just Elvis and I. But I knew too well that all this wasn't about me and it wasn't about Elvis. It was all about the artist in Elvis and what his voice and his music did to the people.

I was devastated. I didn't know how Elvis would react. I hoped that he was able to put his doubts aside. Hastily I wiped away the tears from my face and joint Johnny and the others backstage.

„Where is Elvis?", Johnny asked nervously.

„He will be ready in a bit."

Johnny threw me a confused look.

„I hope he is ready to go out there. The audience is waiting for him!"

I didn't answer and sat down on a chair that somebody had brought me. From this place I had a quite good view at the stage.

My legs were trembling, I was very nervous. What would happen if Elvis refused to go on stage? How was he doing at this moment? Was he about to get rid of the uncomfortable leather outfit and packing his bags? Was he about to take a taxi and asking the driver to bring him out of town? My body was shivering when I let my fingers run through my hair. What if the things I just told him had made it even worse?

„Everything okay, Idy?", I felt a hand touching my shoulder.

When I looked up, I recognized Michael. I threw him a fake smile: „Everything is fine. Why are you asking?"

„All this hype. Tonight everybody seems to be a little tense. Especially me and my team. My team is too small. We cannot handle a show like this. I don't like that at all."

„Why didn't you borrow a few more men form the Sands?", I knew that in the past there had been several exchanges of staff between the both hotels.

Michael shook his head: „No chance. The rat pack is performing at the Sands tonight and they are going to have a special VIP guest, Sophia Loren. Believe me, they need everybody they have. I can't believe that Elvis' concert had been announced on such short notice. A big thing like this has to be planned with enough time to be prepared. But the Colonel always has to exaggerate everything. I have to go now. Enjoy the show, Idy. We will meet after."

I nodded and smiled. Michael was a good chief of security. I absolutely understood his concerns. Slowly, besides being nervous, I began to feel scared.

Suddenly there was a lot of excitement around me. A few people backstage applauded. I noticed his scent before I saw him. Elvis came around the corner. He was still wearing this amazingly sexy leather outfit and he beamed with joy.

I was stunned. What had happened during the time when I left him in his dressing room, being totally insecure, and now? I had no explanation for it. It was a whole new Elvis. With his amazing charisma he smiled at me and kissed me softly.

„Thank you, darling!", he whispered and winked at me. Then he went on stage.

I closed my eyes for a short moment, because I had to process what just had happened. I had no idea how he did it, but Elvis managed to enchant his audience in a blink of an eye.

He took his guitar and sat down with the guys from the band. Johnny had told me that Elvis would begin with "Heartbreak Hotel". I feared that this song might be too challenging for him. During the last days of rehearsing, Elvis used to complain about his voice not being the same as before. Therefore I watched him closely as he adjusted his guitar and made himself ready for the first tune. The panic had disappeared from his face. He smiled, the audience applauded hysterically.

I expected to hear the first tunes of „Heartbreak Hotel" every second. Also the boys from the band watched Elvis' hands closely, ready to receive his sign that would tell them to begin. But there was no sign. He seemed to hesitate.

-to be continued-