The Pygmalion nature of our relationship was a mixed blessing. The most fundamental thing at this stage in our life together was that Elvis was my mentor, someone who studied my every gesture, listened critically to my every utterance, and was generous, to a fault, with advice. When I did something that wasn’t to his liking, I was corrected. It is extremely difficult to relax under such scrutiny. Little escaped him. Little except the most salient fact of all—that I was a volcano about to erupt.
