Blue Moon of Kentucky

Chapter 13

It took weeks for Loretta's parents to lift her restrictions, but when they did it no longer mattered. Her girlfriends and cousins made fun of her every chance they got. She might not have been embarrassed when the incident occurred but she surely was now. Everyone knew about it and she would forever remain the girl who made a fool of herself because she wanted a husband so bad. As for Elvis, she couldn't spend time with him either. Two weeks into her punishment, Herman told her that he had seen Elvis with some girl from school and the girl made sure to tell him that she was going out with Elvis.

At first she was so sure that Herman made it all up to tease her, but he'd sounded so angry about it himself. And then, a few days later she saw Elvis with the girl with her very own eyes. A blonde, blue-eyed girl with her store-bought dresses and new shoes. A girl who was going to high school and definitely wasn't sixteen when she graduated from Grammar school. She probably wasn't even fifteen now. Nor did she have buck teeth, or crooked legs or a drop of wild Indian blood. Loretta just knew.

Oh, how unreasonably mad that made Loretta, that he would get mad at her for looking for a husband and then go and get a girlfriend himself. She didn't even want to see him. Not this week and not next and- she didn't want to think further than that. There was no use anyhow, she would have to go to church as long as she lived under her parents roof. 

She walked into the woods, following the narrow twisting path winding down over a hill. The light came down sifting through the trees, making out the shape of a diamond. Loretta glared at nature's perfection. She used to love the sound that the wind made while rushing through the fir trees, but now it irritated her along with everything else.

Growing up in the mountains, Loretta was used to sadness. But this wasn't sadness per say, it was more akin to frustration.

"Loretta!" Peggy Sue's voice screeched. Loretta whipped around to see the little girl running through the trees. "Loretta come! You gotta come. We're goin' to church."

"I know," Loretta muttered as Peggy Sue came to a halt, panting heavily.

"Why don't you like church anymore?"

"I didn't say that I don't like church anymore."

"But you don't," Peggy Sue said simply. "You used to like church. Now you don't like nothin' no more."

"That ain't true," Loretta protested. Peggy Sue went to stand beside her, her little body leaning against Loretta's.

"Are you gonna play with me after church? Please?"

Loretta just nodded her head. "Come on, Peggy Sue." Loretta grasped her little sister by the hand and lead her back to the cabin. Before they knew it, they were at church, Loretta being surrounded by the younger children. She saw Elvis sitting in between his parents, but he was staring straight ahead, not bothering to look at Loretta. She supposed that she wouldn't much care to look at herself either.

Once the service was over, Loretta was ready to escape but knew that she would be chastised for doing so. She stood by the side of the church while the rest of the family socialized.

"Loretta!" She whipped around, seeing Gladys Presley standing in front of her. Beside her was a rather sour looking Elvis.

"Hi, Miss Presley." Loretta forced a smile.

"Now why are you young'uns so angry at each other? You used to be such good friends."

Loretta lowered her head, hoping that Elvis would speak up and enlighten his mother. When he wasn't forthcoming, she murmured, "I borrowed some money from Elvis for somethin' and I ain't give it back yet."