Pieces of My Life

Chapter 1

"And you act like you're in a nursing home," Lamar shot back. The rest of the guys broke out into gales of laughter.

Meanwhile, a certain sadness overcame Elvis. He might have been with Kathy in another life, but in this one that ship not only sailed but left the port Viking style. After his short engagement to Ginger Alden followed a rather uninspiring string of women who loved Elvis the star rather than Elvis the man. He had grown too old to have that second child he wanted and possibly even too old to find true love again. For a while, he'd been so overweight that even he himself didn't understand why any woman would want to be with him. He suspected that he wouldn't have found one if he weren't Elvis Presley.

Elvis tuned out the conversations around him and turned back to the TV. After a while, he grew tired of this.

"Let's go backstage," he said. Every single one of the guys clamored to go with him so they could watch the other acts come and go as they started and finished their performances.

"You sorry bastards didn't even wanna go," Elvis reminded them as they obversed the various women singers and had animated discussion about how to get close to a particular female. Everyone stopped when none other than Loretta Lynn walked by, smiling at Elvis with a glint of something lovely hidden within her bright eyes. The guys burst into a fit of laughter at the mere sight of her, but Loretta didn't pay them any mind.

Elvis still remembered what she looked like in the 1970s. She used to wear long, flowing dresses down to her ankles. Her makeup used to be subtle, her hair cascaded down her back in long ringlets. She might have worn the occasional ring, but he never saw her wear earrings or anything else.

Now she had cut her hair to her shoulders. Many women permed their hair to achieve this look, but she might have been lucky enough to be able to force her hair into the style with a teasing comb and a mountain of hairspray. She didn't go easy on the blue eye shadow, but somehow it worked despite her age. Her eyes looked bluer than he remembered, almost like contact lenses. White boots covered most of her legging-clad legs. Her top and jacket were made of white satin, complete with matching earrings, necklace and bracelet. She wore a ring with a stone on top on each hand and painted her fingernails a dark red.

"What divorce can do to a woman, huh?" Jerry commented, but Elvis was too focused on Loretta's smile.

"She is flirting," Joe exclaimed. "I can't—damn. So much for you lost for sure. I didn't think she could flirt."

"She can flirt," Elvis said.

Lamar laughed. "I thought all she could do is say 'Crisco does you proud every time' and feed her fat ass husband food slathered with lard."

"Don't talk about someone you don't even know."

"We talk about people we don't know all the time," Lamar said. "You do too, E."

"I know her," said Elvis. "We met her a few times in Nashville. We were gonna record a song in '77."

A few of the guys exchanged glances.

Lamar cackled. "With her? You and her?"

Of course it had to be Lamar, the man whose gaze snapped up every time one of her Crisco commercials came on because he had the hots for her.

Elvis watched Loretta prance around the stage. Something wasn't quite right about the whole thing; the band was too slow and in a completely different key. It almost sounded as if she sang one song and they were playing another.

Judging by the chuckles and comments Elvis picked up on, the guys found the whole thing rather amusing.

"That band sucks. How does someone who's been in the business for more than twenty years have a band like that?"