shirt,” Wildcat rejoined, prompting a small laugh from Kit.

“Baloo!” shouted Molly as she sprinted towards the big bear.

Baloo scooped her up and started dancing with her. “Hiya, Pigtails. You sure look spiffy today.”

“This lace is kinda scratchy.” Grimacing, she tugged at the lacy collar of her frilly white dress adorned with a pink sash. Around her ears were blue ribbons flecked with pink flowers. Pinned to her dress was a small corsage of pink and yellow roses and baby’s breath. “Mommy let me wear some of her lipstick. See?” She puckered up her lips, showing him the trace of pale pink lipstick on them.

Pretending to be impressed, Baloo said, “Wow! You’re practically a lady.”

She laughed, then a deadly serious expression appeared on the little girl’s face. “Baloo, can I ask you something very, veryimportant?”

“Sure, Button-nose.” He wondered what was going on in the bright little girl’s head to make her look so somber on such a joyous occasion.

“Mommy said I had to ask you first so you wouldn’t be uncomfor’ble.” Molly took a big breath. “Can I call you daddy now? You and Mommy are almost married. Pleeeease?”

Baloo’s heart leapt and a big smile spread across his face. He was so pleasantly surprised that all of his doubts and fears about the wedding completely dissipated. Tickling her gently in the ribs, he teased, “I’m real tickled that ya wanna call me daddy, Cupcake.”

“Yahoo!” Molly exclaimed between giggles. She threw her little arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek, leaving a faint imprint of lipstick. “I love you, Daddy.”

His eyes softly shining, Baloo whispered, “Love you, too, sweetie-heart.” He kissed her on the cheek and he set her down.

She ran off, shouting at the top of her lungs, “Mommy! Mommy! Guess what?”

With faint echoes of ‘daddy’ in his mind, Baloo followed her past the refreshment table, gazing with appreciation at the spread. He discreetly scraped off some frosting from around the base of the cake with his finger and promptly stuck it in his mouth. Only one thing could tear his attention away from the food - Rebecca. When he saw her in her finery, he mumbled, “Oh, baby.”

The bearess was a dainty vision of loveliness - elegance personified in her strapless, flowing ivory gown with embroidered pink trim. Her silky, wavy tresses were swept off her neck in a loose knot with a few wispy curls framing her small face. She seemed a different person altogether. For the first time in his life, Baloo felt shy of her, remembering that he was only a cargo pilot whereas she had an MBA, something that he with his sixth-grade education could barely spell. What right did he have to marry that beautiful, brilliant woman?

After Rebecca had returned Molly’s ecstatic hug, she turned her attention to the giraffe in a chef’s hat and continued her conversation. “We really would appreciate it if you could add it to the ceremony.”

“I don’t know,” the giraffe said dubiously, frowning at the slip of paper.

Rebecca flashed him her most persuasive smile, similar to the one that Molly used whenever she wanted something. “Please? It would mean so much to Baloo and me.”

“It’s highly unusual,” the giraffe said.

“We’re a highly unusual couple.”

“Well,” the giraffe hesitated for a moment before relenting; “okay.”

“Thank you,” she said primly. Feeling someone’s eyes on her, Rebecca turned. Seeing Baloo, his finger still in his mouth as he stared, awestruck, at her, a radiant smile lit up her face. That was exactly the reaction she was hoping that she would get from him. “What do you think, darling?” she asked, twirling slowly before him.

“Wowzers,” was all he could say as she took a boutonniere consisting of full-blown pink and yellow roses and baby’s breath from a box and pinned it on his lapel.

Rebecca’s smile widened. “I’ll take wowzers.” She then mock-scolded, “We’re not married yet, and you’re already cheating on me with another woman.” With the palm of her hand, she rubbed at the lipstick on his cheek.

“Thatother woman is only seven years old, Becky.”

“That’s old enough.” She smiled. “You made her day, Baloo.” Rebecca untied his bow tie and retied it for him, straightened his collar, patted his chest, and stood back, tilting her head to one side. “There. Now you’re perfect. You should wear a tuxedo every day. It makes you look so suave and debonair.”

“Nah, the guys at Louie’s would laugh at me - say I was stuck-uppity.”

Laughing, she impulsively threw her arms around him as best as she could and hugged him.

“Becky, honey, you’re squooshin’ yer purdy hair.” He reverently touched one of the spiral curls that lay across her cheek.

“I don’t care,” she whispered, holding him closer.

Baloo, wrapping his arms around her small frame, pointed out, “Ya might care when we start takin’ pictures.”

“Aw...look at the lovebirds,” Louie said with a dreamy smile on his face.

Wildcat peered up at the sky. “Where?” he inquired seriously, prompting a giggle from Kit.

The lovers reluctantly broke apart. Rebecca flashed a bright smile at Baloo as she picked up the box filled with boutonnieres. “Time to make the rounds.”

Coming to her mechanic, she pinned a boutonniere on Wildcat’s jacket.

The lion said in his usual simple way, “You smell really nice, Ree-becca, like my crouton garden, except the little croutons won’t grow, no matter how much salad dressing I water them with.”

“Uh, thanks, Wildcat,” Rebecca said, slightly confused.

He beamed at her and at Molly, who was tugging on his hand.

“Let’s go play on the swings, Wildcat!”

“Oh, this is for you and Baloo. Happy birthday.” Wildcat handed her the package. Molly eagerly dragged him to the playground equipment.

“Thank you,” Rebecca said, wondering what on earth the lumpy, newspaper wrapping could contain. It could be anything. “Keep your dress clean, Pumpkin!” She gingerly set the present on the refreshment table and picked up the box of boutonnieres.

As Rebecca pinned his flowers on his jacket, Louie said, “Are ya sure ya wanna marry this rundown ol’ bear?”

Baloo growled softly, “I’ll run you down, innkeeper.”

“Baloo didn’t give me a fair chance. Marry me, Rebecca, an’ I’ll make ya the happiest woman on earth. All the free Krakatoa Specials you can eat.”

Rebecca, her brown eyes twinkling with merriment, said, “That’s a tempting offer, but...” she winked over her shoulder at Baloo, “I’m afraid you’re too late, Louie.”

Baloo puffed out his chest, feeling as if he could fly without the Sea Duck. “Whatta ya think of them mangoes, Louie? I got the girl this time.”

“There’s a first time for everythin’,” Louie joked, a smile breaking over his simian features as he lightly jabbed Baloo in the stomach with his elbow. “An’ she’s some girl, you lucky fella.”

Last but not least, Rebecca bent down to pin Kit’s boutonniere on.

Shyly, he said, “Jeepers, Miz...Rebecca, you look great!”

“Thank you, sweetie. You look very handsome yourself and so grown-up.” She hugged the boy and whispered into his ear, “Thank you for getting Baloo here on time. I think you deserve the Hero of the Year award just for that.”

Kit laughed, then blushed with pleased embarrassment when Rebecca planted a tender kiss on his cheek.

Louie complained, “Hey, how come I didn’t get a kiss with my flower?”

Rebecca answered saucily, “You’re not the best man.” She gazed around the park and checked things off on her mental to-do list. “Everything’s ready and everyone’s here, except for the photographer. I wonder what’s keeping her?”

“Her, Beckers?” When Rebecca’s back was turned, Baloo stealthily reached for another handful of mints. He shoved all of them his mouth at once, chewed three times, and swallowed. “I thought we hired a guy named Frank ta take the pics.”

“We did, but he cancelled this morning. Something about a big development he couldn’t miss out on.” She frowned. “Very unprofessional, in my opinion.”

Always on the lookout for a pretty woman, Louie’s interest was piqued. “Is this she single?”

Rebecca smiled. “She is definitely single.”

Louie adjusted the cuffs of his suit. With Baloo getting married, he wouldn’t have any competition. “Cute?”

“I suppose she could be considered cute.” Cryptically, she said, “She sees a lot of different men.”

“Finds all men too handsome ta be tied down by one, huh?” He licked the palm of his hand and smoothed his reddish-brown hair down. “Just my type.”

Rebecca giggled. “Yes, she is.”

“When’s she gonna get here?” Louie asked eagerly.

“She should be here any...” A pink, single-man, single-engine airplane buzzed the park, causing all of the flowers to rustle and the punch to slosh in its bowl. “There she is.”

Louie’s expectant smile turned to shocked horror. “AUNT LOUISE?” he shrieked. “Oh, man, hide me! Hide me!” The big ape turned this way and that, desperately searching for a hiding place before diving underneath the table. He almost yanked the tablecloth and, consequently, the food, to the ground. He peeked through the lacy tablecloth, trembling.

ThePink Piranha flew over the hills and circled back. It hurtled towards the park at a breakneck speed. The plane’s wheels skimmed over the top of the caterer’s van before it landed bumpily on the road.

“Man, what a pilot!” Baloo said in admiration as the propeller came to a stop.

Aunt Louise, a brownish-red ape dressed in a pink polka-dotted dress, hopped from the Pink Piranha. A pink bow

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