The Wedding: A Faces of Evil Short Story Read Free Page B

it should be if her hair would only cooperate.
    “We’ll get it,” Gina assured Jess as she gazed over her shoulder and into the mirror. “I know what you’re going for.”
    “That’s what Lily said an hour ago.” Jess was going to be the first bride to stroll down the aisle at St. Paul’s who looked a mess.
    For some reason Lily and Maddie’s hair had fallen into soft, lush waves. Maddie wore the sweetest sparkly tiara. Lily’s hair was up in a French twist. Lily swore that sleeping in those massive rollers had given her hair just the right amount of fullness and body.
    Jess was reasonably confident her sister had made up that part.
    “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll have to go with an up-do like Lil’s.” Jess had really wanted her hair down since her gown was an off-the-shoulder one.
    She still remembered the one and only photo she’d ever seen of her parents’ wedding day. The small, framed photograph had sat on the bedside table in their bedroom. Her mother had worn an off-the-shoulder gown, and her long blond hair had draped her shoulders like a curtain of wavy silk. Jess supposed she’d been thinking of her mother when she chose her own gown.
    “Try not to worry.” Gina dug her cell phone from her purse. “I’ll call my stylist and see if I can get her over here ASAP.”
    Jess felt ill. Her nerves were twisted into a thousand knots.
    “Jess.”
    She turned as Lori entered the master bathroom. “Tell me you have a hair genie who can transform this...” Jess stared at her reflection again. “Oh, for heaven’s sake.”
    “Your aunt is in the living room,” Lori said gently. “She said she has something for you.”
    Jess frowned. Wanda Newsom had been invited to the wedding. She’d received her invitation. No question. Jess had gotten the RSVP. Had something come up? Was she here to give her regrets in person?
    Whatever mistakes Wanda had made in the past, Jess’s new motto was never to take family and friends for granted—or to hold their past transgressions against them.
    “I’ll be back,” she promised Gina.
    How was it that women like Gina and Sylvia could look so beautiful so effortlessly?
    Jess sighed as she tightened the sash of her robe and headed for the living room. Her hair didn’t have to be perfect. The gown, the flowers, and the cathedral would be perfect. No one was going to care what her hair looked like.
    “Besides you,” she muttered.
    Wanda stood in the living room admiring the Christmas tree. Jess paused at the door a moment and considered how nice her aunt looked. She wore a well-fitting skirt and jacket, both in a soft powder pink. Her gray hair was styled in an attractive fashion.
    Sensing Jess’s presence, Wanda turned around and smiled. The apprehension on her face warned that she worried she’d intruded or overstepped somehow by coming to the house.
    “Your home is just beautiful, Jessie Lee.”
    “Thank you.” Jess moved into the room, noting that Wanda carried a small white gift bag. “You didn’t need to bring a gift.”
    Wanda held the bag out. “I came across this as I was digging through a couple of old boxes I found in the attic. I thought you might want it for today.”
    Jess accepted the bag. “That’s very thoughtful of you.” She gestured to the sofa. “Won’t you sit down?” Jess wanted to shake Lil for not joining them. Lori had no doubt told her Wanda was here.
    “I know you’re busy. I don’t want to be in the way.”
    As much as Jess resented that Wanda had not been there for her and Lil when they had needed her so very badly, she simply didn’t have the heart to hold it against her any longer. “You’re not in the way.” Jess sat down with a plop. “Right now I’m so frustrated with my hair, I need a break anyway.”
    Wanda settled on the sofa, her back stiff as if she feared she’d chosen the wrong place to sit. “I’m certain you’ll be beautiful no matter how you wear it. You look so much like your mother.”
    The