Matt pulled into the driveway and shut off the car. When he climbed out, he could hear sounds from the backyard. He grabbed the grocery bags from the trunk and made his way to the patio. Looking around, he found the source of the noise he had heard earlier. Jeff was standing in front of a huge board, sticking sparklers in the tiny holes he had drilled there. He was humming a tune, which Matt couldn't quite make out yet.

Matt cleared his throat, causing Jeff to turn around. "MATTY!!" he yelled loudly. He rushed over and grabbed his brother. Matt felt the air rush out of him as Jeff squeezed tighter. "You're here!" Matt shook himself loose from Jeff and replied, "of course I'm here. I had to bring the food for the barbecue." Jeff bounced up and down, then told Matt, "take it inside. Everybody should be here soon."

Matt looked down at all the bags and thought about asking Jeff to help him carry them inside, then decided that it would just be easier to do it himself. Jeff went back to his sparklers. A few minutes later, Matt was dragging the cooler outside and filling it with ice when he heard another car in the driveway. Looking up, he saw Shannon and Shane entering through the gate.

"Here, lemme help ya out," Shane said as he reached Matt. Shannon had gone to help Jeff, giving Matt a small wave on his way. Shane and Matt then made several trips in and out of the kitchen, loading the cooler with ice and drinks. Matt was coming out the door when he ran into Shane's back. Shane was standing there, doubled over in laughter. "What the hell?" Matt asked.

Shane pointed in the direction of the two younger men. Jeff and Shannon were still plugging the holes with sparklers and singing loudly. "YANK MY DOODLE, IT'S A DANDY!" Matt heard. "HEY!" he yelled over to them. "Y'all ain't right, man!" Jeff and Shannon turned to him. "Whatcha mean, Matty?" Jeff called to him. "We's just singin'!" Matt shook his head as Shane tried to recover. "Ain't right," he muttered. Across the yard, Shannon shrugged as he and Jeff went back to their decorations.

The loud bass of a car stereo signaled the arrival of more guests. Christian and Joey soon joined the others, bringing boxes of firecrackers and CD's, ready to help with the party. Joey ran back to the car and grabbed another box, taking it to Matt. Ah, beer! Matt turned to Joey and said, "they let you buy this?" Joey pouted. "Yeah, after I showed 'em every piece of ID I had." Shane laughed and ruffled the baby-faced man's hair.

Within an hour, Jeff's backyard was full of people, the music was blaring, while Matt thanked the stars above that Jeff and Shannon had abandoned their song from earlier). Adam and Jay arrived, with Jay gravitating to Jeff's small group near the sparkler-covered board. Matt approached Adam and offered him a beer. "Think I'll hang over here with the big boys," Adam said. Matt and Shane sat in a corner of the patio, trying to stay away from the hyper group surrounding Jeff.

Matt glanced down at his watch, then called Jeff over. "Hey, little bro," he said, "you gonna fire up the grill any time soon?" Jeff laughed. "It's ready, I's just waitin' on you to bring out the food." Matt looked around the yard, not seeing the grill. "Uh, Jeff?" he asked. Jeff turned to him, smiling. "Yeah, Matty?" Matt stood. "Where's the grill?" Jeff rolled his eyes and looked at him like he had lost his mind. Turning, he pointed to the large volcano he used on his bike jumps.

"Duh, Matty!" he said. Matt followed Jeff's hand then started shaking his head, loudly saying, "No, no no! No way in hell!" Jeff nodded, then yelled at Shannon. "Shanny, get the grate! Matty's ready to cook!" Jeff ran off to get a ladder and placed it next to the volcano. Matt was still standing there, mouth open in disbelief. Adam and Shane walked over. "What's wrong?" they both asked. Matt shook his head, then pointed to the volcano.

"THAT'S where Jeff wants me to cook the burgers!" he said loudly. They both shook their heads and started laughing. After a few minutes, Shane patted Matt's shoulder. "C'mon, Matt," he said. "I'll help ya." Adam went inside to grab the platter of meat as Matt and Shane made their way to the makeshift grill. Turning to Jeff, Matt yelled, "if anything on me catches on fire, do you know what's gonna happen to you??"

Jeff smiled his most angelic smile and said, "if ya catch on fire, Matty, I'll put it out!" Matt shook his head again, muttering, "no, I'll put you out, ya little shit!" He placed the burgers and hot dogs on the grate and stood there, flipping them occasionally, with Adam and Shane assisting. The whole time, Matt just said, "this ain't right, man. This is so not right."

An hour - and two burned oven mitts later - the food was cooked and everyone piled their plates high, sitting around the yard eating and talking. Everyone was having a good time, including Matt and Jeff, despite Matt's burnt fingers and Jeff's swollen lip. Adam looked over at the board Jeff had been working on and asked, "what's that?" Shannon smiled at him before answering, "it's Jeffy's Independence Day message. He's gonna light all the sparklers later so we can read it!!"

As the sun began to set, Jeff jumped up and called out, "hey, everybody, can I have your attention?" Everyone gathered around him, finding places to sit on the grass. "In a few minutes, we're gonna start the fireworks and stuff. Me and Shannon made a tape of songs just for today, so I hope y'all enjoy the entertainment." Christian turned off the outside lights while Shannon cranked up the stereo.

Shane leaned over to Matt. "Fireworks?" he whispered. Matt sat there, dumbfounded. He had no idea what Jeff was doing. 'America the Beautiful' played as Jeff dropped the first firecracker in the still burning volcano. It shot up in the air and exploded into a beautiful rainbow of color. Adam looked on, shaking his head. "He's going to blow this place sky high," he said to Matt.

Matt grabbed Adam and Shane and went inside, emerging moments later with fire extinguishers, just in case. Jeff continued his display, the music blaring. At least they were patriotic songs, and not that idiotic thing they were singing earlier, Matt thought. Finally, Jeff said, "okay, now for the grand finale" and walked over to the board. He gave Shannon a lighter and they began lighting the sparklers.

Each one hissed as it caught fire, and the sound of 'Yankee Doodle' came out over the speakers. When they had all the sparklers lit, Jeff and Shannon stood back and threw their arms out, bowing deeply. They began to sing along with the tape - "YANK MY DOODLE, IT'S A DANDY!!" - as the message on the board became apparent to all.

Adam and Shane collapsed in laughter as Matt hung his head, sorry for the day that he had to admit he was related to his brother. Christian and Joey ran over and tackled Jeff and Shannon, rolling on the grass with them. Soon everyone was joining in, as what little clothes they had on went flying. Naked, they ran and jumped in the pool, as Matt watched the sparklers spelling out "Jeff Hardy is a sex god" burn out in the night air.

Tricks, Treats and Moore