“Why wouldn’t Gransley come up here and tell me herself?” I asked.
“Because Gransley is terrified of you,” Sloane said, walking through the doorway, looking sheepish.
“You’re the one who should be terrified, not her. How could you?” I shouted at Sloane.
She rolled her eyes, which made me even madder.
“How could I what?” she asked, as if she didn’t know.
“How could you give me lice the week before my wedding?”
Sloane put her hands on her hips. “Oh, yeah,” she said. “This is exactly what I wanted. I wasdyingfor there to be a lice outbreak at Mother’s Morning Out so that the boys could get lice and I would have to deal with that on top of my husband’s physical therapy, becoming my family’s breadwinner, and planningyourwedding. That was not annoying at all and totally in my life plan.”
Mom walked in. “Girls, let’s calm down. What’s the problem?”
I pointed at Sloane and then crossed my arms as she pointed at me.
“She thinks I gave her lice on purpose,” Sloane said.
I could feel myself getting choked up for no good reason. Even I couldn’t figure out why I was so emotional lately. “You are all trying to sabotage my wedding,” I said, turning and walking downstairs.
“Don’t touch anything!” Mom called. “The Lice Doctors will be here in less than an hour, and we have to go stay at the Peachtree Bluff Inn posttreatment.”
“So I hear,” I said.
I texted Mark:Murphy family lice infestation. Truth time: I have it, so you probably have it, too. Someone has to come fumigate your house. Meet me at PBI in thirty.
He texted back:How am I going to get to the Palm Beach airport in thirty minutes?
Then:Ohhhhh... The Peachtree Bluff Inn.
Then:Shit. Is that why my head is so itchy?
Me:You might want to warn Her Royal Highness.
Mark:Maybe it will go to her brain...
Me:Wishful thinking...
I went out to my classic childhood cooling-off spot—the dock—to try to put things in perspective. There was something about the breeze and the open water that made everything seem right again. When I heard footsteps behind me, I expected to see Mom or maybe Sloane, though I had the feeling she had had it with me.
But it was Caroline who sat down beside me. She tapped my temple. “What’s going on in there?”
I shrugged. “I have lice, and you just touched it.”
“Oh, my God,” she said, jumping up and moving far, far away from me. She leaned way over, so far that I was afraid she would fall in, to cleanse her hand with salt water.
I smiled sweetly at her. “Vivi has it, too. The whole family has to be treated.”
“Special,” she said. “What a great start to the day.”
“A great start to your day? I have bugs crawling around in my head because my sister is trying to sabotage my wedding.”
Caroline cocked her head to the side. “You don’t actually think Sloane tried to give you lice to sabotage your wedding? I mean, what is going on with you lately? You’re a disaster.”
I knew that was true. I knew I hadn’t been myself. There were so many emotions swirling around inside me about all that had happened recently. I had always had a hard time facing my emotions, sorting them out. It seemed to be even more difficult for me lately.
I sighed. “There’s just so much going on. I’m overwhelmed, and I don’t know why.”
