April 27,1941 – Muncie, Indiana

Muted voices filled the parish hall as the assembled wedding guests waited impatiently for the grand entrance of the newlywed couple. Everyone was there waiting, even the so-often-missing Brian. Carter rubbed his hands together eagerly as he looked out across the knots of gossiping wedding guests. If everything went off as planned, it truly would be a memorable night, in more than just one way.

But if they were to stick to the rigid timeline that Chris had planned, they would have to get started soon. Pushing back the sleeve of his suit jacket to look at his watch, Carter found only a bare wrist. His eyes widened. How was he supposed to be able to stick to a timeline if he couldn't tell what time it was? But where was he supposed to get a watch from without arousing suspicions?

He started searching the hall anxiously for his younger brother. They would have to either find a watch or alter the plans. And the plans couldn't easily be altered. They wouldn't have enough time to fully inform Chris of the changes; Chris still had to act the part of the innocent bridegroom. But Brian was, as usual, nowhere to be found.

Carter started to wander to the other side of the building, hoping that Brian would turn up soon. They had to figure out something, and fast, or everything would be ruined.

As Carter searched frantically for Brian, Mary Jane edged her way through a crowd of people to Carter's side. "You guys have something up, don't you?" she asked suddenly.

Carter flinched, he hadn't been expecting her to suddenly show up beside him. "I don't know what you're talking about," he replied, trying to squash the grin that was threatening to break out on his face.

"I know that look only too well, Andrew," she retorted, her blue eyes glued to his face.

"What look?" he questioned, slipping his hands casually into his pockets. His fingers encountered something unexpected, a smooth glass face and a leather strap.

"That look!" she declared, watching as the grin on his face couldn't be contained anymore. "I know you're up to something."

Carter shrugged happily. There was something up, especially now that he had found his watch, and there was no use denying it. "Why would we be up to something?" he inquired cryptically.

"Because you're grinning like an idiot," she pointed out. "And although weddings are happy occasions, I don't see anyone else quite as happy as you are."

Carter pulled the watch out of his pocket. "I'm just happy that I found Chris's watch," he explained, thinking on his feet. "He was worried because he lost it this morning. I had to lend him mine," he continued showing Mary Jane his own bare wrist.

She nodded, looking from the watch dangling from Carter's hand to his wrist. "Well, I'm glad that you found it," she told him slowly, not quite convinced of his story. "But don't you and Brian do anything to wreck Chris's big day."

"We wouldn't dream of it," Carter assured her, starting to move off toward the bathroom. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see if I can find Chris to return his watch."

As he walked away from Mary Jane, Carter looked down at his watch. The second hand was creeping closer to the twelve; thankfully, despite the delay, he was still running on time. And he was more relieved to see Brian disappearing unnoticed into the bathroom.

Carter slipped through the gaps in the crowd toward the bathroom, taking detours around groups of people he knew would want him to stop and chat. He had already spent all of his extra time first searching for Brian and then talking with Mary Jane.

Chris was already waiting in the bathroom when Carter walked in; he must have come through the window because there was no way he could have made it through the hall unnoticed.

As the three brothers huddled together in the tiny bathroom, Carter's excitement bubbled over. "Oh, boy," he said gleefully, "this is going to be great. Better than great!"

"Mom's going to kill us," Brian broke in, not the least bit concerned.

Chris's ear-to-ear grin grew even wider, if that was possible. "Never mind Mom! She's the least of our problems. Anne's the one that we're going to have to worry about." But he too was unconcerned about the potential wrath of his new wife. "Did the two of you manage to get everything?"

"You betcha," Brian assured Chris. "You've got to take a look at this stuff. It's absolutely incredible." He reached behind the sink to pull out a bulging canvas bag.

"Hey," Chris warned, reaching around Brian to flick the lock on the door, "be more careful with that stuff. We don't want just anyone seeing it. At least not yet."

"Here," Brian offered, holding the bag out to Chris. "We even got some extra stuff, just in case."

"Can't," Chris said, holding his hands free. "I promised Anne that I wouldn't touch any explosives, detonators of any sort, or chemicals today. And that bag certainly contains all four, and probably a few things that Anne didn't think of." He chuckled, adding, "But I didn't say that I wouldn't closely supervise or plan the use of said items."

Carter, glancing again at his newly found watch, started. "We've got to get moving!" he declared. "Chris, you were supposed to be back with Anne twenty-three seconds ago. And Brian and I have to start getting this stuff set up."

Chris leapt up from his position, hastily scrambling through the open window. A moment later, his head reappeared above the windowsill. "This is going to be great. Better than great!"

Carter rubbed his hands together again. This had to be their best idea yet. Who, other than Mary Jane, was going to suspect anything? Chris was the supposed ringleader and lead perpetrator of all of their crazy stunts, no one would think anything would happen with him out of the picture. But little did they know what a big part the others played in everything.

Brian reached into the bag, pulling out his half of their supplies. "This is going to be great," he said, echoing their earlier words. "Better than great. A real big send off."

"Yeah," Carter agreed, "it'll be a really big bang. Something that they'll never forget." But even through his excitement, Carter couldn't help but be a little disappointed. He knew that with Chris married and gone, none of their pranks and jokes could be quite the same. They were all three growing older, and maybe this was the time for them to finally start growing up.