“Hi, sis, is anything wrong?”  Lately the only calls
he had gotten from his sister were to relay yet the
next disaster to befall the Metcalf family.

“No, no, for a change I have good news to tell you.  I
know you weren’t going to be able to make it to the
wedding tomorrow, which is fine since it isn’t going
to happen. . . ”  Linda starts to tell Hank.

“What do you mean, it’s not going to happen?  I
thought you said this call was good news.  Did Jeff
and Ginger have another fight?  Are those two ever
going to get everything straightened out?”  Hank can’t
believe his ears.  When Jeff and Ginger had first
started dating Hank wasn’t sure about their
relationship but it soon became clear to everyone that
his little brother and his sister’s kooky best friend
had been made for each other.  If those two didn’t
come to their sense soon, Hank was going to have to go
back home and talk some sense into those two.

“Hank, will you let me finish. . . Jeff got a call
from Coach Zelnick.  The team wants to make sure that
Jeff has fully recovered from his injury so he has to
report to the minor league team in Wichita for
tomorrow night’s game.  Jeff called Ginger and told
her they would have to postpone their wedding one more
time.  Al took Jeff to the train station to catch the
6:00 train out tonight.  I got a call from Mrs. Szabo
in a panic because Ginger had left her a note that she
would be in Wichita and not to worry.  I called the
church and found out from Father Dreher’s secretary
that Ginger had arrived at the parish office in her
wedding gown and dragged Father Dreher to the train
station to marry Jeff and Ginger.”  Linda had to stop
because she knew Hank could not hear a word she was
saying over his own fits of laughter.

“Oh, Linda, Jeff is going to have his hands full with
Ginger as his wife.”  Hanks is finally able to get out
between fits of laughter.

“I had the same thought.”  Linda continues with her
account of the day’s events.  “Anyway, I called Coach
Zelnick to let him know what has been going on.  He’s
been like a father to Jeff lately and I thought he
would like to know.  After he finished laughing, he
told me that he felt sorry for the newlyweds.  I asked
why and he tried to tell me, as delicately as
possible, that they would probably be pretty “tense”
by the time they get to Wichita.  The minor league
doesn’t pay for a roomette or even a berth for its
players, so they will be sitting up all night and most
of tomorrow before they get to Wichita.  Once they get
there, Jeff will barely have time to report to the
team and get ready for the game.  Coach told me that
they change trains in Chicago.  Can you get down to
the train stations and arrange a few surprises for the
newlyweds?”

The wheels were already turning in Hank’s head.  “What
time are they due in to Chicago?”

“Coach’s secretary told me that they get in to Chicago
about 2:00 in the morning and leave on the train to
Wichita at 3:30.”  Linda can almost hear the wheels
turning in Hank’s brain.  Hank and Linda had spent
many years tormenting their little brother, but they
did love him and Ginger had been like a member of the
family for most of their lives.  Those two had gone
through so much in the past year, they deserved a
better wedding night/honeymoon than they were going to
have.

"One more thing, Hank . . . tell Jeff that Mom and
Michael left for New Jersey with Al.  Mom decided to
go while Al was taking Jeff to the train station."
Linda wasn't sure how Hank would react to this new
piece of news.  She was surprised to her Hank say
"Will do, sis.  I'll give the newlyweds a kiss for you
when I see them."

"Thanks Hank.  Please come home for a visit soon."

"I will, Linda.  I think it's about time to lay some
ghosts to rest."

Hank was already planning what needed to be done
before he headed to the train station.  He had plenty
of time but he had better get moving if he wanted to
get everything ready for the newlyweds.