A Very Bassett Wedding

Two days before Penny Wise marries Wooton Bassett, the wedding plans are in full swing, and Connie Kendall is serving as wedding coordinator. At the bridal shower, Penny's mother, Eleanor Wise, keeps asking about family traditions: the purple-and-gold unity candles that her parents and grandparents all had, a photo slideshow, an arrival by carriage. Penny isn't planning to include any of them, and Mrs. Wise sighs, "Yet another tradition tossed to the scrap heap of abandoned dreams." Connie assures her the wedding will be perfect anyway, and at least Penny will be wearing her mother's wedding dress.

The pressure takes a toll on Penny, whose stomach has been in knots ever since her parents arrived. As she packs for a honeymoon destination Wooton refuses to reveal - stuffing her suitcase with everything from scuba gear to snow pants, just in case - she wonders aloud whether she should simply give in to her mother's suggestions. Connie, speaking as an experienced coordinator, tells her she will never be able to please everybody and should plan the wedding she wants.

Connie gets unexpected help when Whit is called out of town and Eugene Meltsner shows up as her assistant. She makes him agree to one rule: the assistant shall not question the coordinator. She also lets him in on her secret technique, the "related event switcheroo." Whenever Wooton or Penny proposes something wild for the wedding - a face painter, a trapeze demonstration - Connie redirects it to a different event, like the rehearsal dinner. That, Eugene realizes, explains the falcon trainer at their engagement party. Moments later, Penny arrives with Wooton's idea for a Jamaican cooking demonstration at the reception, and Eugene smoothly steers it to the rehearsal dinner instead.

Meanwhile, Wooton's wealthy brother Wellington arrives to support the couple, and Wooton drags him along - mail route stops included - to pick up Penny's resized wedding ring at Stan's Shop of Jewelry. Outside the store, a sweet elderly woman asks Wooton to help her across the street. Ever the gentleman, Wooton carries her bags and chats about her uncle's argyle socks. But when he gets home, the ring is gone from his coat pocket. Wellington is certain they've been conned: the woman watched Wooton pocket the ring, played up her frailty, walked on his left side, and lifted it while he held her packages. Wooton can hardly believe someone so nice could be a thief, but Wellington declares, "No one gets away with scamming a Bassett." A piece of tape on her walker read "Property of Odyssey Retirement Home," so the brothers head there, where a staff member recognizes their description - especially the "World's Best Soccer Grandma" shirt - as Ethel Depris, the sweetest lady in the building, currently calling bingo. The two begin secretly watching her every move.

Back at the hotel, Penny's father, Frank, is happily fixing the room's leaky sink while Eleanor frets that none of the family's wedding traditions will survive. Frank can't remember the unity candle colors, but he does remember the pink flowers in Eleanor's hair and how, watching her walk down the aisle, he couldn't believe he got to spend his life with her. The tender moment shatters when his greasy wrench slips out of his hand and lands on the wedding dress, leaving a terrible stain.

Eleanor calls Connie, who is in the middle of giving Penny a relaxing avocado-and-honey facial. Connie leaves Eugene to awkwardly finish the facial while she takes the call, and she begs Mrs. Wise not to tell Penny the gown is ruined - the bride can't handle any more stress, and since she barely remembers the dress, a white and poofy replacement will do. Eleanor and Frank rush to the bridal shop and find a beautiful gown that looks remarkably like Eleanor's own, in Penny's size. But the dress has a green tag: it's on hold, the only one in stock, and ordering another would take six weeks. When Eleanor asks to speak with whoever put it on hold, the saleswoman answers, "It's me. And no."

While all this unfolds, Penny keeps calling the people she loves - and no one answers. Her mother lets the call go to voicemail in the dress shop, and Wellington makes Wooton silence his phone during their stakeout. Alone and unable to reach her best friend, her fiancé, or her parents, Penny hears someone tell her there's no time to wait: she needs to get into surgery - now. The story ends on that cliffhanger, leaving listeners to wonder what has happened to Penny and what it means for the wedding.