Blue Moon of Kentucky

Chapter 15

"I don't even know what to do anymore," Elvis confessed.

"Well," Pete said, "Do you wanna be with her or not? You gotta say somethin' for the girl to get it."

"Hey," Sue protested. "It's you boys that need it all spelled out."

"Then why don't Loretta spell it out for me?" Elvis asked. "Unless she doesn't wanna be with me cause she wants to be with some miner."

"Tell her you wanna be a miner one day," Pete said.

"Pete, I've known her since I was twelve. She knows I don't want nothin' to do with the coal mines."

The whole thing remained on his mind as days went by, though he didn't mention it to his friends or anyone else again.

Herman Webb told Elvis that Loretta had gone out with Horace Dunn, whoever that might be and the jealousy over it killed him. He tossed and turned in bed, picturing her as Mrs. Horace Dunn with a child under her heart and one on each hip before Elvis himself would be eligible for marriage.

He wouldn't take it. Pete and Sue were right, he needed to claim her. So off Elvis went, all the way to Butcher Holler. He knocked on the door of the cabin with determination, but his heart sank when Loretta herself opened it. Her hair was sticking up in several directions and she had dark circles under her eyes.

The words momentarily stuck in Elvis' throat but eventually he managed to choke out, "I wanna give you my school jacket."

Her eyebrows rose at his words. "What?"

"When we were younger and went into town I promised you that I was gonna give you my high school jacket when I got one, and now I got one. And I miss you and I want you to come over to my house again like you used to. I don't like Barbara Jean, I thought that I did and I don't like for you to go out with no miners. So I wanna give you my school jacket cause I can't give you no ring yet. Cause I wanna go courting with you."

With those words, Elvis offered to her the school jacket, practically forcing it into her limp arms.

"Nothin' is nice without you anymore," he added while she continued to stare at him with a dumbfounded expression on her face.

"Not without you neither," Loretta breathed. "Cause I sure miss you, Elvis Presley." She clutched the jacket to her chest. "But you don't want me like that. Why would you anyhow?"

"Cause we got things in common and I thought you was the prettiest girl I ever saw. I don't care what you say about how you look cause I don't think none of that about you. I can't stand you goin' out with no Horace Dunn."

"How do you know about him?"

"Herman told me so."

"Herman hmm." Loretta's gaze flickered with something akin to anger. "He can't keep his mouth shut, can he? He done told me about you and Barbara Jean. Does he spy on everyone so he can walk around causin' trouble, that–"

"Loretta," Elvis bellowed, Herman being the very least of his problems now. "Are you gonna go courting with me, yes or no?"

"You're not allowed to."

Elvis groaned. "I'm not allowed to marry yet. I want you to sing with me at church, to come over to cook at my house and everything else. I wanna..." he paused, lowering his voice to add, "kiss you."

A blush crept over Loretta's cheeks but she moved closer to Elvis and whispered, "Me too. I really liked it."

"Hi Elvis," an enthusiastic, high-pitched voice sounded behind them.