Chapter 10

The bathroom door closing pulled Tim out of his sound sleep. For the second night in a row, he hadn't awakened even once during the night. It was an almost unheard of luxury with the way his life was right now. If he could get lots of sleep on this trip, it might see him through to when Delilah could do some of the parenting duties again. With three kids in the house, it would be good to have the two of them.

That thought pulled him away from the comfort of sleep and onto the major event coming up in his life. They still hadn't really managed to hash out what would happen next. Daycare would be astronomically expensive, and they didn't really like the idea of putting three kids in daycare all day, every day. One of them was going to have to quit their job or else they would have to come up with some other brainstorm. Delilah was going to be on maternity leave for at least three months. Where it was twins, she'd already been talking about taking more time, but still, they had the problem of the long term. At this point, they both made close to the same amount in salary (Tim was a bit higher since his promotion.) and they'd been frugal, trying to save as much as they could. They had some sound investments. It was just a matter of deciding what to do.

Battle of the disabilities, Tim thought to himself a little bitterly. Which was more debilitating? Delilah's paralysis or his ongoing emotional roller coaster?

"Hey, none of that, Tim."

Tim jumped, looked over and saw that Tony had come out of the bathroom without his noticing.

"None of what?"

"You're thinking about stressful things. I can tell by the look on your face. This is a vacation. No stressing."

"Ha. Very funny," Tim said and sat up.

"What were you thinking about?"

"What's going to happen after Delilah has the twins," Tim said, glad that he could be honest about his most immediate source of stress. "We still haven't decided which of us will quit."

"Oh. Well, which makes more?"

"We're about the same. I make a bit more since becoming a team lead."

"Benefits?"

"Both are federal government jobs."

"Right. Well, I don't have the answer."

Tim smiled. "I didn't expect you to."

"Good, but no more thinking about it. You're not going to solve that on this trip anyway. That's between you and Delilah and she's not here. So set it aside and relax. You need to relax more."

"No kidding," Tim said and sighed. Then, he got up and went into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

He didn't linger in the bathroom, but he wasn't sure he really wanted to deal with another serious conversation, either. Still, if he stayed in too long, Tony would start pestering him through the door. So he took a breath and walked out. Tony was all packed up to go and he walked over to Tim. He slung his arm around Tim's shoulders.

"This is a vacation," he said. "I get that you can't relax all the time, but this is the perfect chance to catch up on some of that, just like your sleep. Can't change how much sleep you get at home, but you can get enough sleep out here."

Tim raised an eyebrow. This was quite a shift from the day before.

"So...are you going to let me relax?"

"I'm going to make you relax, Probie," Tony said with a grin. "You have no choice."

"What brought this on?"

"That's what trips are all about, Tim. I don't know what you're talking about," Tony said innocently.

Tim couldn't figure out what was going on, but he didn't want to start the questions up again, so he shrugged.

"I guess I was mistaken."

"Darn right," Tony said. "Let's get some breakfast and then find this Cadillac Ranch thing."

"Okay..."

Tony just chuckled and let Tim go. He grabbed his bag. Tim followed suit, and they left the room. They got their breakfast and then headed out of the hotel to get on their way. They got out of Amarillo and there was the Cadillac Ranch, just off the road. They parked on the side of the road, climbed through the gate and headed over to the cars.

"So...it really is just cars," Tim said, surprised.

"Not just cars," Tony said. "How many Cadillacs have you seen planted in a field?"

Tim laughed, but it was accurate. The cars really were planted, it looked like nose-down, in the field. He wasn't sure if it was actually nose-down because there was so much graffiti on them that it was difficult to tell what direction they were facing. There were some spray cans laying around and Tony suddenly got a delighted look on his face. Tim could see where his mind was going.

"What are we going to do, Probie?" Tony asked.

"I don't know."

"Well, start thinking, McGenius! We've got to do something here! We can't leave without leaving our mark!"

"Can't you?"

"You should be faster than I am."

Tim rolled his eyes and looked around. Then, he smiled.

"What?" Tony asked. "You've got an idea. I can tell."

Tim leaned over and picked up a spray can. He shook it and there was still paint inside. Then, he walked over to Tony and pulled him over a few feet.

"What are you doing?"

"Give me a dramatic pose, Tony," Tim said.

Tony's brow furrowed.

"What are you doing?" he asked again.

"Just do it!"

Tony shrugged and made an Elvis pose. Tim smiled and nodded. Then, he hurried over to the Cadillac right behind him and began to spray.

...following the line of Tony's shadow which was just the right size for Tim to follow the line. He carefully sprayed all along, although he didn't try to get the exact details of things like Tony's hands, but he got the basic outline.

"There. Done," he said.

Tony turned and grinned.

"Nice! My turn!"

Tony grabbed Tim by the arm and dragged him over to another Cadillac where he forced Tim to do a mock pose of Rodin's Thinker. Then, he carefully followed Tim's shadow with neon pink spray paint. (Tony's had been a bright blue.)

"Perfect!" Tony declared. "Now, pictures!"

They both posed by both outlines. Then, Tim suddenly had a thought. He grabbed the pink spray paint and walked around until he found a part that was mostly dark paint. (No part of any of the cars was bare.)

"What are you doing, Probie?" Tony asked.

"Nothing."

"Liar."

"Okay. It's something, but just wait."

He knelt down and began to spray carefully. Two names and a question mark. Then, he got out his phone and took a photo to send to Delilah.

Tony leaned over and laughed.

"Subtle, Tim."

"Really? I was trying to be obvious," Tim said.

Tony grinned.

"Evelyn and Esther, huh. Kind of old-fashioned names, aren't they?"

"Yeah, kind of."

"So why those?"

Tim smiled as he looked at the names.

"Evelyn means 'wished for'. Esther means 'star'. We've talked about a lot of names, and it seems like a good choice. Of course, Delilah will have to approve."

"They start with the same letter."

"Yeah, but they don't sound alike," Tim said. "That's what we want. They're twins, but they're two separate people."

"Well, send it and see what she thinks."

Tim smiled and did so. Then, they both waited for a few minutes, staring at Tim's phone. For some reason, it wasn't silly that they were waiting for a response when they could just get on their way and see what Delilah said as they were driving. It should have been silly, but it wasn't at all.

Then, his phone dinged a reply.

"Open it, Tim!" Tony said, peering over Tim's shoulder.

Tim opened the reply and they both started laughing.

Tommy was standing over Delilah as she lay in bed, with two signs. One said Evelyn and one said Esther. There were arrows on the signs pointing to different parts of Delilah's stomach. Delilah was smiling with a thumbs up. That was it. No other message. And for some reason there was no question about calling to verify. They were going to leave it at the two photos until Tim got home.

"I guess that means yes?" Tony asked.

"I think so. We'll just have to wait and see when we get back."

"Okay. Anything else you want to do here?"

"Nope."

"Good. Let's get going, then!"

"Okay."

They headed back to the car and then, Tony got a look on his face and Tim groaned. Tony's mouth stretched into a grin.

"No avoiding it, Tim. Just accept it."

"I could plug my ears."

"Wouldn't help. I'd just play it louder," Tony said.

They got in the car and Tony started another version of "Route 66" playing. This one was by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. What was really irritating to Tim was that the song was slowly worming its way into his head. He knew that he wouldn't be able to keep himself from singing along if Tony kept this up. He looked over as Tony sang gustily along with the song. There was a temptation to turn it off...if only he didn't know that Tony would just start it over again.

"Get your kicks on Route 66!" Tony said as the song ended.

Tim gave a loud, long-suffering sigh.

"You love it and you know it."

Tim scoffed.

"Anyway, how far are we going to get today?"

Out came the atlas. Tim knew that Tony found it entertaining that he did this, but he loved it. It was like figuring out a math problem. How far could they go? What would they see? How long would it all take? He loved it.

"Well, Flagstaff is about nine hours away, and we'll be crossing into the Mountain time zone, so we'll gain an hour, too."

"Okay. That works. Let's aim for that. What is there to see?"

"Not much in Texas," Tim said, looking at the map. "And there's very little of the original road in New Mexico. We'll just be on the interstate."

"Sounds good."

They headed off on their way.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tony glanced at Tim as he alternated between looking out the window and looking at the atlas. He still seemed a little wary about what Tony might have to say, but he was starting to relax again, and Tony was starting to see what Ducky meant. Tim might be more likely to talk and to hear what Tony had to say if he wasn't already on the defensive.

...and the trip would be more fun that way, anyway.

So he resolved the keep things lighter, unless Tim himself brought it up...for the moment.

They got through Texas and into New Mexico without any trouble.

Then, Tim said, "Mesalands Dinosaur Museum. Want to stop?"

"Where are we?"

"Tuc... Tucumar... No. Tucumcari," Tim said, reading the atlas.

"Sure. We can't stay all day."

"I know that. I just think it would be fun. I haven't been to a dinosaur museum in years."

Tony smiled at how normal Tim sounded. It was almost wistful, a look back at an easier time.

"All right. I haven't, either. We'll stop."

He took the exit and drove to Mesalands Community College. He parked the car and they got out.

"I didn't realize it was going to be at a college," he said.

"Me, neither, but works for me," Tim said.

They went in, bought their tickets and started to wander through the exhibits. It was a fun museum. The first thing they saw was a brontosaurus with a saddle.

"Get on the dinosaur, Probie," Tony ordered.

"I'm too tall, Tony," Tim protested. "This is for kids. Tommy would be the perfect size. Not me."

"Get on the dinosaur," Tony said again. "That's an order!"

"You're not my superior, Tony. You can't order me around," Tim said, although he was grinning. "And you can't make me any shorter than I am."

"Straddle the dinosaur, then. I don't care. Just get on it so I can take a silly picture."

"Okay, okay."

Tim's legs were long enough that he just straddled the dinosaur, but it wasn't as small as he was claiming. He could have sat down and lifted his legs pretty easily. Tony decided not to push it and he just took a couple of pictures. Then, it was off into the museum itself. As Tim had said before, it had been a long time since Tony had been in a dinosaur museum and it was fun to walk around, looking at the fossils. They had dinosaur eggs, a couple of bronze dinosaur statues, and the fossils of a rare dinosaur called the Torvosaurus, a relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex. They actually ended up staying for nearly an hour before they realized how much time had passed and that they need to keep going.

Tim was smiling contentedly as they walked out of the museum, into the bright sunshine.

"That was fun," he said. "Don't you think that was fun?"

"It was, but I didn't think we'd be there for so long."

"Well, neither did I, but it's not like we don't have time. We've covered ground pretty quickly so far," Tim said. "And we got to see some cool fossils. I don't know if I've ever seen dinosaur eggs before."

They got in the car and Tim was driving this time.

"I'm pretty sure I haven't," Tony said.

"Well, back onto the road, then. Let's keep going."

"Sounds good to me," Tony said.

They got back onto I-40 and continued on. Tony was looking at the atlas when he suddenly saw something that made him grin.

"Hey, Tim, watch for exit 256."

"Why? What's off exist 256?" Tim asked.

"Las Vegas," Tony said, grinning.

"What? It can't be. Las Vegas is way over in Nevada."

"Yep. This is Las Vegas, New Mexico. We're going to stop there."

Tim glanced at him with a furrowed brow that was so totally Tim that Tony wanted to celebrate.

"What? Why?"

"Because we're not going to stop at Las Vegas, Nevada."

The furrow deepened. "So? What does that have to do with going to Las Vegas, New Mexico?"

"There's another Las Vegas, Probie. We're stopping there. Take exit 256 when we come to it and stop arguing."

There was nearly an eye roll, but Tim managed to suppress it. Tony just started whistling their theme song for a few seconds... before Tim turned up the radio to cover the sound. Tony just chuckled.

When exit 256 came up, Tim looked at Tony and dutifully took the exit, putting them on US-84. They drove to Las Vegas, NM, and found themselves in a quaint little town with historic buildings everywhere they looked. But Tony wanted a building with a Las Vegas sign on it. After a little driving, they found one on a sign near downtown.

"Okay, Tim. I need a picture under this sign," Tony said.

"Of course you do," Tim said.

Even though Tim was acting a little less enthused, this was still normal. Tony knew that Tim would have been like this even before. There was nothing in Las Vegas, NM that they particularly wanted to see. It was historic, definitely, but they were only stopping because of the name.

Still, Tim dutifully took the pictures Tony wanted him to take and then, Tony ordered Tim to pose as well. Tim again was obedient. Then, it was back into the car.

"So...now, what?" Tim asked. "You want to make a stop at Paris? Or maybe Moscow or Heidelberg?"

Tony could see the twinkle in Tim's eye that told him that Tim wasn't really irritated even if he was acting like it.

"Nope. No time for that, Probie. We've got to get on our way."

Tim did roll his eyes that time, but it was with a smile.

"Well, are we going to backtrack?"

"Nope. No backtracking," Tony said. "You just start driving west and I'll figure out where we're going."

"That seems like a bad plan."

"I'll let you stop and get gas, then," Tony said, staring at the atlas, determined to figure it out without the GPS.

"Okay."

Tim drove to a gas station while Tony got everything figured out. There was a strange silence in the car, but Tony was choosing to ignore it.

"Whose turn is it?" Tim asked.

"I don't remember."

"I'll get it."

"Okay."

Tim got out and Tony refocused on the atlas. It looked like they could just make a bit of a loop and drop down into Albuquerque and get back onto the interstate. That would work. It would be slower and maybe they wouldn't make it all the way to Flagstaff, but that didn't matter. They were ahead of schedule anyway. He looked at the map again.

Tim got back in the car.

"Hey, have you heard of Sandia Crest?" Tony asked.

"Nope. Should I have?" Tim asked.

"I doubt it. Want to go?"

"What is it? Where is it? And how long will it take to get there?"

Tony looked at Tim and grinned. "It's a mountain. It's in the Sandia Range, and I don't know."

"Ah, one of those stops. You driving?"

"Your turn."

"Your idea."

"Uh..." Tony scrambled to think of something to put it back on Tim again.

"And mountain driving?" Tim asked.

"Yeah. Probably."

"You drive. I'll navigate," Tim said and held out the keys.

"Come on!"

"No way. I'm not navigating a mountain road. You want to see it. You're driving and I'll drive again when we're out of the mountains."

"Okay, okay."

Tony took the keys and they switched sides. They got going.

He was willing to drive, but he definitely hoped that it was worth it.