Hi, everyone. The day just got away from me yesterday, and I didn’t get my sample posted. This snippet is from the title tale in It Happened in Memphis, the seventh entry in my Pocketful of Stories series. Enjoy this little time-slip moment!
“Whoo-ee, ain’t you a pretty thing?” One of the other men who’d been in that big photograph came over to Evie. He had wavy, peroxide-blonde hair and the most arresting amber eyes that Evie had ever seen. “What’s your name, baby doll”
“I’m Evangeline Boudreaux. I think I left my purse in here earlier. It’s turquoise and white, to go with my dress. I don’t imagine you’ve seen it?”
“I ain’t seen no pocketbook, no. But I tell you what; with a name like Evangeline Boudreaux, and that sweet accent of yours, you must be from Louisiana. Guess what? I am, too. Jerry Lee Lewis, from Ferriday. What do they call you at home, baby doll?”
“Evie.”
“Nah, that ain’t right. That’s a little girl’s name. Reckon I’ll call you Lina. How ‘bout that?”
“Sure.”
This can’t be happening. This has got to be a reenactment of some kind. But they couldn’t have taken those photographs down so fast.
“Elvis, Carl, I want you all to meet Lina Boudreaux. She’s from Louisiana, too.”
Everyone turned around and made polite noises of greeting. Elvis looked a little askance. “When did your date show up, Jerry?”
“Just now. See? You ain’t the only one got a pretty girl at your side.”
“You got a real pretty wife named Jane, is what I hear.” Carl took a long drink from a flask.
“I will have you to know, Mister Perkins, that me and Janie is what you’d call estranged. We are seekin’ to divorce.”
“Not the first time for you, either, is it?”
“Carl, I don’t know what kind of bug you have up your a— your backside. ‘Scuse my language, Miss Lina. But yes, it’s my second divorce. Not that it’s any of your concern.”
This was like no reenactment that Evie could have imagined. Something very strange was going on.
“So, we gonna make this-here ‘Matchbox’ record of yours or not?” Jerry Lee continued.
His question went unnoticed, as Elvis was talking about seeing a group in Las Vegas, where he’d met Marilyn, called Billy Ward’s Dominoes. As he described the singer who had covered “Don’t Be Cruel” in such an unexpected way, he started playing and singing. Carl rolled his eyes a little.
“You sit down next to me, Lina.” Jerry Lee scooted over on the bench. “Looks like we’re gonna be here for a while.”
Want your own copy of It Happened in Memphis? Here are the back cover copy and purchase links.
Evie Boudreaux has a knack for seeing history in action. Why? Because she sees ghosts. Come along on a visit to Tupelo and Memphis, and see the earliest days of rock music through Evie’s eyes! Buy It Happened in Memphis, Pocketful of Stories No. 7, today!
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