Baby, Let's Play House_ Elvis Presley and the Women Who Loved Him - Alanna Nash [333]
Dr. Ghanem had recently added a new wing onto his house for celebrity patients and suggested that Elvis come there for a “sleep diet,” for which he would be sedated and take only liquid nourishment. The idea was to force Elvis to rest, and in the process, let him lose fifteen pounds before his next tour. Sheila took the first shift, staying about a week. Linda would return with him for a second stint in December.
Elvis originally told Sheila about it when they were lying in bed on Monovale. She didn’t like the sound of it, but “he said, ‘Baby, Ghanem’s got the sleep diet,’ and it was the first time that he and I were making a decision together, and I didn’t want to nix it.”
There was no way that Elvis could be kept totally asleep without general anesthesia, Sheila learned, and Dr. Ghanem was often not there.
“It was the worst time that I ever endured,” she says. Elvis often woke up in the middle of the night and wanted a papaya shake, but it wouldn’t be time for it, or he would spill it, and as soon as Sheila changed the sheets, he’d soil them. Then she’d get him up and take him to the bathroom, but “he would have to crawl. I would stay awake all night. I had my entire face break out from the stress.”
In September, when Elvis was home in Memphis, he met fourteen-year-old Reeca Smith, a friend of Ricky Stanley. His fortieth birthday loomed in January, and Elvis was doing everything he could to stave off depression. It was the number he had set for himself to deliver his “message” to the world, and he felt defeated, that he still hadn’t found his purpose. Reeca, with her long, thick, blond hair, was just the sort of young girl he always delighted in mentoring.
“He was dating Linda at the time, but he mentioned that I reminded him of Lisa, because we both had blond hair. He came over to my house and met my parents, and my dad just loved him, because he was so friendly and such a gentleman. Elvis told him, ‘With the age difference, you probably think it’s crazy for me to see your daughter. But I think she is a wonderful girl and I have great intentions.’ ” He called her his “Li’l Lioness” for a jacket she wore with a big fur collar. “He said he loved the way it framed my face.”
The relationship lasted only a few months, and mostly they spent time just hanging out and watching television downstairs at Graceland. He needed somebody to keep him company, and he took delight in buying her nice outfits, including a long, ornate suede-and-leather coat that fed her dream of becoming a model. (“When he gave me the clothes, he was just like a kid. He was so excited, seeing me happy.”) Elvis also counseled her about the dangers of prescription drugs, saying he didn’t ever want to catch her taking them. “In fact, Ricky tried to give me something one time, and Elvis heard about it, and oh, my goodness, he hit the ceiling.”
Overall, Reeca considered Elvis to be extremely protective.
“He didn’t take advantage of me. He kissed me, but they were just sweet, innocent kisses. There were a few make-out sessions, and we would make out for a long time, but that’s all, nothing where he would try to go any further. I remember he would kiss me and say, ‘You are just a beautiful little girl.’ ”
Her father, Ed Smith, let her accept the silver Trans Am Elvis bought her, even though she wasn’t old enough to drive, but when Elvis wanted to take her on a plane ride to Nashville, Ed drew the line. Reeca was ready to end it anyway, which she did in February 1975.
“I saw the decline in his health, and it scared me. He had gained a lot of weight over that period, and he just didn’t seem as happy. It upset me, just knowing his situation. I got to where I would tell my mom I didn’t even want to take his calls, because I just felt helpless, and it was sad seeing it happen.”
One day when Reeca was there, Elvis called everyone in the house to his room, where he held a meditation—a s