Slow down.She could force her body to move with less haste. She took her time washing with her favorite perfumed soap and stood for a while enjoying the pounding of hot water between her shoulder blades.But her mind raced.George and Jilly had spent fifty thousand dollars on Lauren’s wedding. Lauren had had six bridesmaids, a Vera Wang wedding dress that Lauren and Jilly had traveled to New York to find, one hundred guests at a sit-down surf and turf dinner at the yacht club, and a band from Boston. But that wasn’t all. The day after the wedding, which had been in June, half of the guests had remained for a champagne brunch on a boat hired to take them around the harbor.Jilly was aware that Felicia thought her parents preferred Lauren. And it was true that Lauren was more like Jilly’s idea of a perfect daughter living a perfect life. Lauren had always been tidy, punctual, sweet, and dainty. Felicia had always had scraped knees, bruised elbows, torn clothes, and hair that in spite of constant brushings stood out all over like a bouquet of cowlicks.
