I looked in the window as I crossed the street from the parking lot. I did one of those double-take looks. I would swear I saw Elvis sitting at one of the tables in the bookstore’s coffee shop.

I tried not to stare as I found a table near the magazines. Sure enough, the guy at the table by the window looked just like the King himself. He was even wearing one of those white suits Elvis wore for his Vegas concerts during his big comeback.

I shook my head when I glanced at the table next to his. There were two people at that table, one with what looked like coffee and the other with iced tea. The coffee drinker was a dead ringer for Einstein, hair and all. The tea drinker could have posed for a driver’s license photo for Leonardo da Vinci, if da Vinci needed a driver’s license.

I pinched my arm as I looked out the window. This had to be one of those “ate the pizza too late last night” dreams. I have those once in a while. This time the pinch just hurt.

I turned back to the room when I heard the argument. At the table behind mine, Jimi Hendriz and Wolfgang Amadeus Motzart where having a rather intense discussion about tempo. At least that’s what it sounded like to me.

Now I was intrigued. If this was a dream, it was pretty cool.

I slowly looked around the room.

Abe Lincoln was at a table by himself, reading an issue of Model Railroader’s Magazine. John Kennedy and Mahatma Gandi were sitting in front of a laptop doing something. I couldn’t see what it was. Michelangelo and Bob Ross were looking at a book about modern art, pointing at the pictures and shaking their heads.

I saw Chaplin, Harrison, Lucille Ball, and Louis Armstrong, standing in line to get their coffee. Janis Joplin was waiting for her drink at the other end of the counter, talking with Frank Sinatra.

As I looked around, most of the people saw me. They just smiled, and nodded their heads in my direction.

Then Elvis got up from his table.

He wrapped his cape around his shoulders and walked in my direction.

He stopped by my table, looked at me, and smiled.

And then Elvis said…

– – – – –

What comes next? What is the story?