"No," AJ exclaimed, just as Carol Ann had feared and predicted. "I don't wanna talk to him. You never said that I had to talk to him, just that I have to go."
"But I'd like for you to talk to him," Carol Ann tried, knowing that he still did thrive to please her more than anything despite his climbing age.
"Why?"
"Why so you can ask him some things that might be on your mind n' things like that. Then tomorrow you can go right on home like I promised you."
AJ cocked his head to the side. "So you won't make me?" He stressed the word 'make'.
Carol Ann sighed. "Boy, do I have to make you?"
AJ gave a nod of the head, his face devoid of any humor or emotion in general. She would have laughed at this in any other circumstance, but there was nothing even slightly amusing about this situation.
Carol Ann took a deep breath, steeled herself and then said, "Alright, Aaron, I will make you."
"And then I get to go home tomorrow? Before breakfast?"
"After breakfast."
"Breakfast in the car," AJ suggested, pushing for a more slated compromised.
"We'll see about that. How about you read for another while now so I can talk to Elvis?"
"Neat!" AJ pumped a fist in the air before grabbing his book.
"Use the actual light," Carol Ann chided when he reached for his flashlight, which was still held captive by her hand.
"Yes, Mama," AJ intoned. Carol Ann made her way out of the room, lingering in the doorway to watch her youngster pouring over his book for just a moment. Ever since Elvis had resurface everything seemed to be a struggle. She was the one who had to be calm and controlled while everyone around her expressed their emotion. Someone had to stay rational and her mother kicked into irrational mode at the mere mention of Elvis, Elvis had a temper that rivaled any other and AJ happened to be a child.
It had to be her. She was the one to mediate between them, to pacify them, to act as though she wasn't just as hurt as the rest of them. Like many things in her life, it wasn't a choice but a necessity.
Carol Ann closed AJ's door behind her and then went off on a mission to find Elvis. Last thing she knew he had gone to take a shower.
Her mind drifted from 'shower' right back to that one faithful night. The way the water made his naked chest and shoulders glisten in the dimly lit room. The way he stared at her, his gaze so intense that she wondered if he was looking at her or right through her.
He pulled her in the shower and they made love. She had been so naive to think that she couldn't get pregnant if they did it in the shower and not quite sure if one could get pregnant the first time, anyway. Nobody ever taught her anything but abstinence until marriage and she couldn't evem blame them because that's how things were back then. A lot could change in ten years.
Carol Ann still felt guilty about having enjoyed it. One should not enjoy sin. Everyone said that the first time wasn't anything special. It just made her wonder how spectacular the second time would have been.
Forcing herself to banish those thoughts, Carol Ann searched the house for Elvis, finally finding him downstairs in the living area.
The small TV across from the couch was the only source of light illuminating the room. He sat stiff as a statue, wearing only a pair of loose fitting pants. He didn't like being shirtless, he'd told her what felt like a lifetime ago. It made him feel self conscious though there was nothing to feel self conscious about, now or then.
Elvis did not raise his eyes or even take notice as Carol Ann approached him.
"Elvis?"
His gaze snapped up to meet hers. She had never seen such a haunted look in his eyes. His hair was already tousled but he ran his fingers through it again.
"I'm sorry about . . . earlier . . . " Elvis murmured over the low rumbling of the television.
Carol Ann suddenly found herself irritated by it and went to turn it off. "You just needed some time to cool off. It's fine."
"It's not fine. I fired him."
The tone of his voice sent chills down Carol Ann's spine, but she schooled her face into a neutral expression. Stay calm, Carol Ann, stay calm.
He talked about firing Colonel Parker all the time in the past, but in the next breath told her why he couldn't. The Colonel would bankrupt him, there was a contract . . .
"What else?" she asked.
"Nothin' else. I got a little girl to think about," he blurted, then lowered his head and sniffled slightly. "And the boy . . . the boy. He stole all that time from us. I was supposed to teach him how to be a man. God knows my mama is turnin' in her grave."
"I think your mother would understand. Now, mine . . ." Carol Ann trailed off, beginning to feel better when Elvis cracked a small smile.
"You know I'm scared of your mother. And I don't get scared."
"I don't believe you," Carol Ann shot back and for just one precious moment it was like in the good old days, when they tossed banter back and forth non stop.
She never knew how much she missed it until now. It was over all too soon. Looking back, it was easy to ignore the bad parts and think that those days had been nothing but carefree.
"He's . . . " Carol Ann stopped, then spoke up again. "I think it would be a good idea for you to talk to him."
Elvis snorted. "I've been tryin' to talk to him all day and he won't say a word to me. Won't even look at my ponies. God, Carrie ,we could have been a family."
"If you had wanted to marry me you would have asked."
"I almost did. I used to wonder sometimes if we made a mistake."
"You can't do that. It will just drive you crazy and get you nowhere. AJ wasn't a mistake. Your little girl, she wasn't a mistake either. We wouldn't have had either one of them if we didn't make a mistake."
Elvis stared into space, a far away look in his eyes. "So you're makin' him talk to me, huh?"
"Sometimes you make your kids do things if you think they're for the best."
"I don't wanna torture him."
"You aren't torturin' him." Carol Ann swallowed, knowing that it was time to broach the subject that gave her so much anxiety. "I told him that he could go home tomorrow if he didn't like it."
"And you want me to change his mind?"
Carol Ann had expected anger, but what she got instead was even worse. It was as if Elvis had already given up.
"No. I just want you to take advantage of bein' able to have a talk with him today."
"Honey, I—I don't know what to say to him."
"Just . . . whatever comes to mind. That's what bein' a parent is, ain't it? Makin' it up as you go along. You got Lisa Marie, you know what it's like."
"It's too late now, Carrie," Elvis said gravely. Carol Ann didn't realize what he meant exactly, not until he added, "He's ten now. I was a lot younger than that when my daddy went to jail and when he came back I felt like I was the man of the house."
"That boy is not the man of our house. He knows darn well that my mother is."
Elvis burst out laughing, but his face fell again faster than she could blink, a deep sigh that originated from his very bones escaping him. "Tell me about the boy. What he's like."
"What he's like?" Carol Ann strode over and took a seat on the couch beside Elvis. "He's a good boy. A real good boy. But trouble's got a way of findin' him."
Elvis turned his head to the side to regard her, his eyebrow cocked in question. "He's got good manners. You raised him right."
"I did my best. He really makes me think of you sometimes."
"How?"
"The way he looks at me. The way he talks and sings . . . "
"He sings?"
"He does some. My mother wants him in our church choir but he don't like to perform so I won't make him."
A small smile flitted over his lips. "I woulda been on your side there. If I'd been there."
"I know," Carol Ann admitted. "We talked about things like that, remember? How we wasn't gonna make our kids do anything like that less they wanted to."
They fell into silence. Not the comfortable silence of their younger years, they had left that behind when they parted ways.
"Did you talk about that with all your girlfriends?" Carol Ann blurted out.
"No," Elvis answered without missing a beat. "Not with most of 'em. Not like that, anyway. We planned a whole future together. Not even with Cilla. With Cilla it was . . . we were married and less than a year later, Lisa Marie was here."
"We haven't been together for long either."
"But it was different."
"Hmm . . . AJ's not past needin' a dad in his life." She placed a hand on his thigh, feeling a jolt of electricity run through her body at the simple contact. "Talk to your son?"
♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪
They walked into the bedroom to find, AJ curled up with his book, his eyelids beginning to droop as tiredness was starting to take over. Nerves were coiling like snakes in Elvis Presley's stomach but he was determined not to let it show.
Carol Ann took the book from AJ, shoving a piece of paper in between the pages for him before leaving the room.
"Hey." Elvis was the first to speak. He almost added 'son', but stopped himself before the word fell from his lips.
"Hey," AJ shot back as Elvis took a seat on the edge of the bed.
"So Mama wants us to talk, huh?"
"Yes, sir."
"What are you reading?" Elvis asked when the silence became too much to bear.
"Where The Red Fern Grows."
"So . . . you like it?"
"Yes, sir."
"You're angry at me, aren't you?"
AJ averted his gaze. He fiddled with the covers, twisting the fabric between his fingers. "I don't know."
"You wanna go home?"
"Yes," AJ whispered. "I can. Mama said I could tomorrow if I don't like it none."
"And you like it none cause I'm here, I suppose?" Elvis concluded. "I never knew that you've even been born until just before we met. When I came to your house that day. You remember that?" AJ nodded his head, but didn't look up nor say a word. Elvis went on regardless, "I guess all that matters to you is that I wasn't there, not why. But I do want you to know that I didn't do it on purpose or 'cause I didn't want you."
That silence again. The air was thick with palatable emotion.
"You hurt my mama," AJ said softly.
It knocked the wind out of Elvis. He tried to respond, but his mouth was dry. "I did," he finally managed. "I never meant to, though. I bet you did or said things that hurt someone you love before. Everyone does sometimes. I would've known . . . you have no reason to believe me but now that I know I won't ever leave you again."
"Do I have to go live with you now? 'Cause I wanna stay with my mama."
"And that's where you belong," Elvis said firmly. "Lisa, my daughter, she lives with her mama too. In Los Angeles. All I wanna do is spend some time with you. You don't gotta call me daddy either. I know I'm just Elvis to you. Do you think that we could spend some time together here at the ranch?"
"Okay."
Elvis could hear just a hint of reluctance, but the word still was like music to his ears. "Maybe we could go ridin' tomorrow? Your mama says you ride at your uncle's farm."
"Yeah. But not good. I fell off the doggone pony."
"Didya get right back up?"
"Uh-huh. But I'm still no good."
"Don't matter. You'll get the hang of it if you just keep on tryin'." Elvis reached out to pat the boy on the shoulder, then drew his hand back quickly. Was he an affectionate child at all? Another little thing he ought to know.
The boy was his son, there was no denying that. But Elvis might never be his dad.
"Anything else you wanna know?" Elvis asked as AJ tugged the covers around himself.
AJ paused in his motions, considered for a moment and then asked, "Do you have a water slide inside of your house?"
Elvis chuckled. "Sorry to disappoint ya there, but I don't."
AJ's face fell. "So Timmy Wilson is a liar."
"Goodnight, Aaron," Elvis said as he got to his feet. He automatically pulled the blanket up to the boys chin, the same way he did with Lisa when he put her to bed. He left the room with a renewed glimmer of hope.
♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪
Author's Note: I've been kind of lazy when it comes to writing lately. I get stuck talking with my buddies on here or what not and end up not writing though I want to every day. I'll have to start dividing my time more wisely because it's been two freaking weeks since I updated this and a bunch of my other stories. It took me a while to figure out how to do this chapter too but I hope it worked. I wanted to show a little bit of Carol Ann's personality here which I hope I did.