most illustrious - the Cape Suzette Memorial Hospital, the Care Center for Senior Citizens, The Hospital for Ill Children, Save the Clams, The International Federation of Nations...”

Karnage, who was sitting behind the mayor, ground his teeth in frustration and impatiently tapped his fingers against the handle of his sword while the extremely long list of achievements was read.

Finally, Mayor Tuskany said, “Would you please welcome Mrs. Sara Coopersmith-Fitzwarren-Goldenheimer-Stein?”

The elderly lioness rose from her seat and crept up to the podium. She walked so slowly that Don Karnage, about ready to jump out of his skin with impatience, got out of his chair, bodily picked her up, and set her in front of the podium. “Thank you, young man,” she said, peering up at him through her bifocals. She didn’t see the murderous glint in his eyes as he stomped back to his seat. In a brittle, thin voice, she began her acceptance speech. “Mayor Tuskany, men, women, and children of Cape Suzette, I do not deserve this award...”

“Then get off the stage, old woman,” Karnage muttered under his breath, “and let me in the spot of light.”

Ten minutes into her speech, she said apologetically, “Oh, dear. I lost my place. Now I’ll have to start all over again.”

With a deep and burning desire to slay the old lady, Karnage unsheathed his sword, causing Owen and the mayor to start in fearful surprise. Khan merely raised an eyebrow. Gibber, seated beside the pirate captain, hastily murmured into his ear.

Karnage put his sword back into the scabbard. “I remember, unfortunatement. I have to pretend to be nice, or my whole glorious plan is kaput,” he mumbled in disappointment. The savage gleam returned to his eyes. “But it would be more fun to bump her off right here and now.”

Back to the Wedding

“Do you, Baloo, take Rebecca to be your lawfully wedded wife from this day forward, to have and to hold, to love, honor, and cherish, for richer or poorer, to...er...” Pastor Geoffrey cleared his throat, “fight with and to make up with...”

Baloo shot Rebecca a questioning look, which she countered with a mischievous grin.

The pastor continued, “Through sickness and health, ‘til death do you part?”

Baloo was so elated that Rebecca was about to be his that he wanted to jump for joy and shout from the highest hilltop. Or, better yet, sky-write his vows everywhere that he went so that the entire world could see how much he loved this bearess. Caressing the backs of her small hands with his thumbs, he confidently vowed, “You better believe I do!”

Louie guffawed. “Ain’t he an eager beaver!”

Pastor Geoffrey flashed Louie a reproving glare. “Do you, Rebecca, take Baloo to be your lawfully wedded husband from this day forward, to have and to hold, to love, honor, and cherish, for richer or poorer, to fight with and to make up with, through sickness and health, ‘til death do you part?”

While the pastor read her vows, Rebecca silently thanked the powers that be that she had purchased Baloo’s Air Service. There had been two air cargo services for sale when she had been searching for a failing company to buy. Because she knew next to nothing about the air cargo business - except that it sounded adventurous and romantic - it had been difficult choosing between them. The scales were tipped in favor of Baloo’s Air Service when the banker informed her that Baloo was a terrific pilot, the best in Cape Suzette. Desiring to have the best pilot working for her and curious to meet the pilot with the unusual name, she had promptly paid her money and signed the deed.

And here she was, marrying the terrific pilot with the unusual name.

Rebecca had promised herself that she wouldn’t bawl and be a red-eyed mess on her wedding day. After all, she had spent a lot of time and money on her appearance. However, try as she might to stay calm, cool, and composed, her emotions overwhelmed her. Gazing directly into her beloved’s eyes through her own tear-filled eyes, she gently squeezed his hands with a watery smile. She quietly, sincerely, but tremulously said, “I do.”

“May I have the rings, please?”

Kit dug the gold rings out of his pocket and handed them over.

“These rings are a token of your never-ending love and devotion to each other.” He gave the smaller ring to Baloo.

“Uh, this one’s Becky’s,” Baloo murmured in the pastor’s ear. “It’s too small for me.”

“Yes, I know,” Pastor Geoffrey said with an amused smile. He was beginning to think that he had never met anyone as clueless about weddings as this bear. “You’re going to put it on her finger.”

“Oh.”

“Not now, Baloo!” Rebecca whispered, yanking away her hand as he tried to put the ring on. Her annoyance at his ignorance made her forget her tears. “Haven’t you ever been to a wedding before?” Then she answered her own question. “No, you’ve never been to a wedding before.”

“I told ya we needed a weddin’ test-flight, Beckers,” Baloo whispered back.

“No,I was the one who said we needed a test-flight, er...practice.” Rebecca’s voice rose in pitch and volume. “Yousaid, ‘We don’t need to practice. Any idiot can get married.’”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Well, maybe not those exact words, but it was to that effect.”

Kit rolled his eyes, and Molly flashed an uncomfortable glance at Kit that said, They’re fighting during the wedding ceremony?

Swallowing a laugh, the pastor interrupted with, “Before you exchange rings, you have to say a few things first.”

“Okay,” the big bear said huffily, returning Rebecca’s slight frown. “What do I say?”

“Repeat after me, Baloo - with this ring, I thee wed.”

“With this ring, I thee wed. Now what?”

“Nowyou can put the ring on her left hand.”

Flustered, Baloo proceeded to put the ring on her right hand.

“My other hand, darling,” Rebecca whispered, holding out her left hand. “On the same finger as my engagement ring.”

When Baloo slipped the ring on, Rebecca smiled up at him, her eyes misty. Perceiving that he was forgiven, Baloo kissed her hand and grinned back.

“On the other hand you have different fingers,” Wildcat observed.

Aunt Louise examined her own hands. “Ya know, he’s right.”

Wildcat and Aunt Louise began a discourse on hands and why fingers of the right and left hands weren’t interchangeable.

“Can we get back to the matter at hand?” asked the peeved pastor.

Louie snorted. “They were discussin’ hands.”

Rebecca’s perturbed, “Quiet!” reverberated through the park.

Silence fell over the group.

Following a stunned silence, Pastor Gregory said, “Rebecca, repeat after me - with this ring, I thee wed.”

“With this ring, I thee wed,” Rebecca echoed, slipping Baloo’s ring onto his finger. With a smile, she squeezed his hand three times. It was their secret, silent signal for ‘I love you’.

Beaming from ear to ear, Baloo returned the gesture.

Returning to the Awards Ceremony

Mayor Tuskany nervously tugged on his collar. “Now for...for our second award. This pirate, er...man has saved over one hun...hundred tw...twenty-eight pilots from crashing...and...”

Karnage roughly pushed the mayor away from the podium. Everyone in the audience listened, spellbound, as he began his acceptance speech.

“Hello, ladies and gentlemints of Cape Suzette. Yes, there were other heroic hero-type persons, but you chose me, Don Karnage, hero extraordinaire. Good for you! As I always tell my men, courage is something that you can’t be afraid to have. And I have a lot of courage. For instant pudding, you may have heard of my single-handed saving of many, many very thankful pilots from their deaths by drowning, burning, crocodile bites. Oh, that’s a nasty one! But I am a humble pirate. I do not deserve this.”

He picked up the plaque engraved with his name and the year. “Hey, this is only gold-plated! I deserve better than this! Oh, well, I will get it in a few minutes. Now that I have my award, it is time for you to receive your just award, Cape Suzette.”

His eyes moved towards the cliffs as if he was expecting something. When nothing happened, he tapped his foot impatiently and he said louder, “Ahem! I said it is time for Cape Suzette’s award!”

Back to the Wedding

“By the authority vested in me by the state and the city of Cape Suzette, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride,” Pastor Geoffrey said, closing his book and shaking his head with a smile of disbelief. This had been one of the most interesting and amusing weddings he had ever conducted. He didn’t think that so many zany characters could exist outside the movies or radio.

“Ooo! The best part. Pucker up pretty, you two,” Aunt Louise said, raising the camera to her eye.

Rebecca stood on tiptoe to wrap her arms around her new husband’s neck. She murmured, “I love you, Baloo.”

Wiping a glistening tear from her cheek, he gathered her close to him. “I love you, too, Mrs. Rebecca von Bruinwald. Man, oh, man, I lovethe way that sounds, but not half as much as I love you.”

While they shared their first married kiss, Louie blew his nose loudly on his tie, muttering repeatedly, “Bee-you-ti-ful. Just bee-you-ti-ful.”

Aunt Louise took snapshot after snapshot. Feeling as if they would never stop grinning, the cubs hugged each other.

Wildcat’s dreamy smile turned to bewilderment when his sensitive ears detected a low hum. “Sounds like a really big airplane with a really, really big engine.” He cocked his head to one side. “And it has a dirty air filter.”

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