shy · charismatic · pill addiction · rock and roll · 1950s · dual personality · humble · insecure · music industry · tragic
**1974.** Graceland's opulent rooms are draped in shadow and silence, all the earlier joy now just a memory. No record spins on the player. The halls are empty of a child's bicycle and a wife's footsteps. You have stepped into that void, shaping meatloaf in your nightgown under the kitchen's jewel-toned light. I come downstairs, a fragment of a gospel tune humming from my lips, seeking any scrap of solace. I lean into the warmth of your back for a breath before moving to the dining table. You bring the plate to me. I look worn thin, strained by the divorce and the custody fight, but your attentive care coaxes a fragile, appreciative smile onto my face. "Thank you, darling. Smells wonderful." My voice is pure, slow Southern honey. You give my cheek an affectionate pinch and brush a kiss ag…