A/N I'm sorry that I wasn't able to get this chapter out sooner. Things have been crazy here, and with Christmas a little over a week away I can't promise another chapter by next weekend. But, I do hope this extra-long chapter will help fill the gap in the meantime and I hope the error count isn't too high. I've read it over a few times and caught what I could, but I just don't have the energy to give it another go. My goal is to have the next chapter up before the holiday though, so keep your fingers crossed! One disclaimer which is obvious but, oh well, just putting it out there that I claim no rights to Happy Meals, McDonalds, or any other fast food places Arnold and Phillip may find themselves visiting along their way. Please enjoy -

As Time Goes By

Chapter 14

Helga hands Arnold Phillip's overnight bag, along with a bag of snacks and toys for their long drive. He stows the small suitcase into the back of Helga's Subaru next to his own, and rummages through the bag of snacks before tossing it onto the front passenger seat. "I don't know why you packed so much food for the car ride, I must have counted at least a half a dozen applesauce pouches. Is it really necessary to have SIX things of applesauce? It's only a four hour trip."

Helga scoffs at his niavete. "Heh, you'll be lucky if all that lasts from here to the state line. There's nothing hungrier than a bored four-year-old."

He closes the passenger door and walks up to Helga, wrapping his arms around her waist. He pulls her as close as her belly will allow and looks into her eyes. "Are you sure you're going to be okay while I'm gone?"

She smiles and kisses his cheek. "Yes, of course. I'm going to spend the first part of the day Christmas shopping with Olga, and then I'll be spending the night at her house. So I won't even be alone while you're gone."

He furrows his brow in concern. "Still, you should take it easy with the Christmas shopping. It is still Black Friday you know."

Helga laughs off his worry. "Heh, Black Friday is an overrated thing of the past. The new thing now is Cyber Monday. That's when you can get all the good online deals without even leaving the comfort of your own house." She sees that he's not convinced and softens a bit. "But I'm serious, Arnold, it will be okay. We're just going to Budnick's to pick up a few things, then hit up a couple of the small mom and pop stores on Main Street before finally hightailing it back to her house. After a nice lunch on Olga, of course."

Finally convinced, Arnold pulls her in for a kiss. "Okay, I believe you." Their kiss is short lived when they are interrupted by a very excited Phillip. "Okay, Daddee, I's all weady to go. I wents to the potty and everything."

Taking a moment to ruffle up Phillip's hair, Arnold opens the back door for him. "Okay then, hop on inside and I'll get you strapped up."

"Hold up there!" Helga shouts as she reaches for her son. "How about giving your old mom a good-bye kiss first, hmm?"

Phillip gives her an "Aw mom" smile and reaches up to give her a hug. She picks him up, holding him tight as she places a battery of kisses to his face. She gives him a no nonsense look while spouting out his orders for the weekend. "Now you be good for your father, no arguing, and keep the whining to a minimum. Oh, and stay close by his side at all times, no wandering off. And when he tells you it's time for a potty stop, I want you to try your best to go potty without any complaints, okay?"

Phillip gives her a nod of his head. "Okay, Mommee, and you has to pwomise that you'll take good care of Agnes and Mr. Cheezy for me while Daddee and I are looking at the twains. Oh, and I forgots to feed Mr. Cheezy today."

Helga gives him a roll of her eyes at the mention of Mr. Cheezy. "Oh, brother, I told you he was to be fed and watered before you left."

He sticks his bottom lip out in a pout. "I knows, but I forgots. I's sowrry. You will feeds him, won'ts you?"

Helga replies to Phillip's request with a frustrated look, causing the boy to ask again. "Won'ts you, Mommee?"

"Of course I will." She finally answers. Placing him back on his feet, she turns back to Arnold, giving him one last hug. "And you, be careful on those roads, especially going over that one pass. I'm glad you relented and agreed to take my Subaru instead of the Packard."

"Eh, that old Packard would have had no problem making the trip, snow or not."

"Heh, maybe so, but with the broken fuel light, and you constantly forgetting to stop for gas, I still feel that the Subaru is a safer ride. Last thing I'd need is a phone call from you at one in the morning, asking me to come get your butt somewhere past the Oregon border."

"Now, Helga that would never happen." He stops and gives her a mischievous smile, "and besides, if it did, I'd definitely call Gerald to come get us before calling you."

"That's a much better idea." She says before giving him one last kiss good-bye. "Well, you be careful, and send me texts along the way, just so I know everything's going okay."

After checking to see that Phillip is snugly strapped into his car seat, he walks around to the driver's side of the car. "You got it, expect the first text when we stop for lunch. I love you!"

"I love you too." She says as he disappears into the car. She stands at the curb, watching until the car finally fades from sight. Turning to face the empty boarding house, she lets out a sigh and heads up the steps.

xxxxx

Coming to a red light, Arnold takes the time to bring up the directions to the Oregon State Rail Museum onto his phone. Finding the museum's website, he clicks the tab marked "Directions", and waits while his phone calculates the shortest route. Arnold studies the suggested route, familiarizing himself with the different freeway exchanges he'll need to keep an eye out for. Once the light has finally turned back to green, he heads through the intersection and raises his eyes to the rear view mirror where he sees Phillip fidgeting in his seat. He furrows his brow and checks in with his son. "Hey Phillip, are you alright back there? You're looking a bit uncomfortable."

Phillip catches his father's eyes in the mirror. "That's cause I has to go potty."

Arnold looks at the boy in disbelief. "What? Already? We've barely gone five miles. We're not even out to the freeway yet."

Phillip starts to whine. "I can't helps it, I has to go bad."

Spying a gas station off in the distance, Arnold lets out a frustrated sigh. "Okay, just hold on for another minute and we'll stop at that gas station up ahead. Can you hold it that long?"

Phillip nods his head. "Yes, Daddee, I can holds it."

A few short minutes later Arnold takes Phillip by the hand as he leads him through the gas station's parking lot. He is hit with a rush of warm air and a peppy Christmas song as he opens the heavy glass door to enter the stations Quickie Mart. He doesn't give Phillip any time to be distracted as he walks him towards the back of the small store. Reaching for the restroom's door handle, he finds it to be locked and looks down at his son who is currently doing his patented "potty dance".

Phillip glances up, giving him a look of urgency. "I has to go weally bad, Daddee."

Hoping to avoid an accident, Arnold does his best to get his son to hold on. "I know, Phillip, but we have to wait. Someone's already in there. You know, I don't see how you can have to go so badly considering that you just went right before we left the house. Are you sure you went potty?"

Phillip nods his head. "Oh, yes, Daddee, I wents to the potty like I said, but nothing came out."

"What? So you didn't go potty?"

"Oh, no, I wents to the potty, I just didn't pee."

"But why didn't you pee when you were there?"

Phillip gives Arnold a frustrated look, amazed that he has to spell it out for him. "I didn't pee because I didn't has to."

Arnold tries to make sense out of what his son is saying. "Well, if you didn't have to go pee, then why did you go into the bathroom?"

"Because, that's what Mommee always makes me do before we leave the house, she makes me goes to the potty."

"But you do that so you can pee before leaving the house."

Phillip starts to become agitated at the circular conversation. "But – I – didn't – has – to – pee – then!"

Arnold opens his mouth to answer the boy back but is stopped when the bathroom door suddenly swings open. A surprised look comes across the occupant's face as she stops just short of running into Arnold. "Oh, excuse me. I didn't know anyone was on the other side of the door."

Arnold places his hand on Phillip's back, rushing him into the bathroom. He calls over his shoulder as he shuts the door. "That's okay, my fault for not paying attention."

xxxxx

Once Phillip is finally settled back into his car seat, Arnold takes a moment to make sure all systems are a go. "Okay, Phillip, are you sure you have everything you need?"

Phillip stops playing with the small action figure he talked his father into buying him on their way out of the store, and gives him a smile. "Nope, I's fine."

Arnold pushes on for further clarification. "You have enough snacks?"

Phillip picks up the applesauce pouch and juice box Arnold had given him and shows them to his dad. "Yep, I has my snacks."

Arnold asks one final question. "And you don't have to potty- uh - pee anymore, right?"

Phillip nods his head. "Uh-huh, I gots all my potties out when we were insides."

"Okay then." Arnold says as he closes the car's back door and slides behind the steering wheel. "You just went potty, you have your snacks and we have a full tank of gas. We should be good to go until lunch. Are you ready?"

"Yep, I's weady!" Phillip shouts as Arnold pulls out of the gas station parking lot.

They make it to the freeway entrance and Arnold has just merged into traffic when he hears a loud cry coming from the back seat. He once again raises his eyes to the rear view mirror. "What happened, are you okay?"

Phillip talks through his sniffles. "I droppeded my toy on the floor and I can'ts weach it."

"Oh, well, we can get it when we stop for lunch."

Phillip begins to cry again. "But I wants to pway with it now."

"I realize that, but I'm not going to pull over on the freeway to dig around for your toy. You can play with something else until we stop. Okay?"

Phillip crosses his arms in front of himself and lets out a huff. "But I wants my new toy."

Arnold feels himself getting sucked into another circular discussion and tries his hardest to avoid it. "Okay, look, I know you want your toy, but neither of us can reach it from where we sit, so how about we do this. You play with one of your other toys, and as soon as we reach a rest stop or something, I'll get off the freeway and get you your toy. Okay?"

"Well, okay, but can I has more applesauce first?"

Figuring it's worth another pouch of applesauce if it gets Phillip to calm down, Arnold is quick to agree. "Sure, no problem."

Satisfied with the food and his old Thomas toy, Phillip finally goes back to happily entertaining himself in the back of the car.

The next half an hour goes by without incident and Arnold relaxes to the soft, Christmas themed jazz that plays from the car's radio. His stomach gives a small growl and he checks the time on the dashboard clock. Thinking that it's got to be getting close to lunchtime, it surprises him to see that it is barely ten o'clock in the morning still. "How can that be?" he thinks to himself. "I swear it feels as if we've been on the road for hours."

His stomach lets out another grumble, but he is hesitant to stop the car when Phillip is being so quiet. He catches his son's bag of snacks out of the corner of his eye and reaches into it. Grabbing the first thing his hand hits, he pulls out one of the remaining pouches of applesauce. He glances at the writing that is printed on the outside of the pouch, wondering who it was that came up with the idea to combine mangoes with applesauce. He has his doubts about the flavor of the sticky concoction, but is pleasantly surprised when he takes his first mouthful. The first pouch goes down quite smoothly and it isn't long before he's digging back into the bag for a second helping.

xxxxx

With both of their stomachs satisfied for the time being, Arnold lets the radio's soft music carry him away once again. He ponders their reasons for taking this trip, and he grows excited when he realizes that in just a few, short hours both he and Phillip will be standing in the shadow of one of the mightiest steam locomotives in history. He lets his mind wander and his imagination takes over, causing the passing scenery of cement buildings and telephone lines to turn to that of Old West open country. The air that blows from the direction of the dashboard pushes back his cornflower hair and he imagines that he is sitting up high in the cab of Big Boy, and that it is the wind off the prairie that jostles his hair about, and not the forced air of the car's heater.

He smiles at the imaginary people that stand in awe of the steel behemoth, waving as it passes them by. He tries hard, and can practically smell the steam that billows from the train's smoke stack. The clackety-clack of the wheels as they glide along the steel rails encourage him on as the steam provides the power to push them along.

Traffic becomes heavy as they near a busy freeway exchange, and as the car slows so does Big Boy. Still lost in his daydream, he imagines himself waving to the onlookers below, tipping his engineer's hat as he gives them a nod of his head. At one point he hears his name being called off in the distance, surely by some jealous fan, wishing that it was them perched high in the engineer's chair instead of him.

He is finally brought back to present day when a soft projectile goes whizzing past his head. It's only when it hits the car's windshield that he sees that it's one of Phillip's empty applesauce pouches. Lifting his gaze to the rear view mirror, he gives his son a scowl. "Phillip! You know better than to throw things at me while I'm driving. I could have gotten into an accident."

Phillip gives him an irritated pout. "I's sowwy Daddee, but I twied to call you, but you wouldn't answer. You just kept nodding your head and smiling. Why were you smiling, Daddee?"

Arnold clears his throat before answering. "Oh, uh, nothing, Phillip. I, uh, was just enjoying the song that was on the radio."

Phillip gives him a confused stare. "There was no song, it was a 'mercial on the wadio."

Embarassed at being caught, Arnold changes the subject. "Well, that doesn't matter now. So, what was it you wanted anyway?"

"I was just wondering if we were almost there yet."

Arnold looks at the map on his phone, disappointed at the little progress that has been made so far. "Well, not really, we still have a long way to go. But it is almost time for lunch if you're hungry."

The mention of food perks the boy up and he gives his father a wide smile. "Oh, boy, I is vewy hungwee."

Finally finding something they can agree on, Arnold keeps an eye out for restaurant signs as he drives. "Okay, I can take care of that. What kind of food do you want?"

Phillip is quick with his answer. "I wants a Happee Meal!"

Arnold thinks about what Helga would say to him feeding her son a Happy Meal over something more nutritious, but the thought of a Big Mac and fries starts his stomach to grumbling again and he pushes the thought aside. "A Happy Meal, huh? I think we can swing that. We can stop at the next McDonalds we see."

"Okay!" Phillip yells as he keeps his eyes peeled for the familiar yellow arches.

Arnold knows that one thing that you can always count on when taking any sort of an extended road trip is the fact that there is bound to be at least one McDonald's every two or three exits down the road. So he isn't surprised to hear Phillip's shouts of joy only moments after starting their search. "Look, Daddee, I see's the sign!"

Arnold smiles at his son through the rear view mirror. "I see it too, Philly, we'll get off at the next exit."

The fast food restaurant is conveniently located a mere half block from the freeway exit, so it's not long before they are standing in line eagerly awaiting their turn to order. Arnold studies the menu before confirming Phillip's order. "Okay, Phillip, how does an order of nuggets and apple slices sound?"

Phillip immediately shakes his head. "No, I don't wants nuggets, I wants a hangaburger and fwies."

Arnold thinks about what Helga would order and tries to persuade Phillip to get the chicken. "No, I think the chicken nuggets and apple slices would make for a better lunch."

Phillip sticks his tongue out as he crinkles his nose. "Yuck, I don'ts like nuggets, I wants a hangaberger wiffs cheeeze."

They are next up in line now and Arnold is eager to have their order ready when he steps up to the cashier. "Okay, how about this. You can have a cheeseberger, but you have to have it with the apple slices and not the fries. Oh, and with milk, not soda."

Phillip thinks about it for a moment, the wheels in his head turning as he decides if this is a good deal or not. Figuring that he can always bum a fry or two from his dad, he agrees to the apples. "Okay, Daddee, I'll takes the hangaberger and apples."

Happy to have the matter settled, Arnold steps up to the counter and places their order. He fills a large cup with ice and Yahoo soda as they wait for their number to be called, and once they have their food in hand, they make their way over to an empty booth where Phillip takes a seat across from his father. He sits on his knees, bobbing up and down as he eagerly takes the box that his meal is in from his dad. He riffles through it as if he is searching for the Holy Grail itself, and once finding it, he deposits the hamburger and apple slices on the table so he can rip the plastic off the small toy.

After successfully removing a small plastic figure from its wrapper, he holds it up to show Arnold. "Oh boy! It's a Duke Galaxycruiser figure!" He finds a small button that, when pushed, causes a small light saber to emit a neon green glow. "And look, it even has a lighted-up sword!"

Arnold gives Phillip a smile and points to the boy's food. "That's nice, Phillip, but enough playing for now. We need to eat up and get going if we're going to arrive at the museum in time to see Big Boy's entrance."

"Okay, Daddee." Phillip says as he rips the top off of his hamburger. He picks up the ketchup soaked bread and takes a small bite.

Arnold watches this and speaks through a mouth full of fries. "What are you doing, Phillip? Put the top back on the burger and eat it the right way."

Phillip looks at the topless burger and pouts. "But I don't likes the bottom, I just likes the top."

Arnold reaches for the bag of apple slices and opens it up. He takes a couple of slices out and places them on top of the bag. "You can't just eat the top of the bun, that's wasteful, and not very nutritious." He holds an apple slice up for the boy to take. "Here, eat some apple too."

Phillip reluctantly takes the slice of apple and bites off a small piece. He puts the slice down and picks up one of Arnold's fries, shoving it in his mouth. By now Arnold is hungry and very eager to be back on the road, so he doesn't notice his stash of fries being slowly depleted.

Their lunch stop takes over a half an hour longer than Arnold had allotted time for, and he starts to become frustrated with his son's unwillingness to eat his burger. "Phillip, you've barely eaten half of your burger, and only one apple slice. You really do need to finish up so we can get going."

Phillip leans back in his seat, crossing his arms in front of him. "I's not hungwee anymore. I's all full."

Despite his efforts to stay calm, he can't help but to raise his voice a bit. "How can you be full, you've barely eaten anything?"

Phillip begins to argue. "I ateted lots, see." He picks up the leftover bit of his bun top, then points to a burger patty that's had no more than three small bites taken from it."

Giving up, there is no mention of the now browned apple slices that still sit in their opened bag. Arnold instead quietly gathers up their trash, depositing it in the garbage can on their way out the door. He looks Phillip in the eye as he straps him into his car seat. "I don't even want to hear that you're hungry once we're back on the road, understand?"

Phillip lowers his eyes and speaks quietly. "Yes, Daddee, I understands."

He feels a little guilty over losing his temper with Phillip and puts on a happy face once more as they head back onto the freeway. "Well, that took a little longer than planned, but if we don't stop too much we should still make it for Big Boy's grand arrival. We still have a good four hours until he's due to arrive at the museum."

They are just about to make it back onto the freeway when Phillip lets out a loud wail. Arnold immediately looks back to see what's up. "What's wrong, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Phillip's mouth is open, but no sound comes out. Arnold begins to worry when a high pitched squeal hits his ears. Finding his voice, Phillip finally begins to speak. "I forgotted my new toy back at the westerwant! I wants my new toy!"

Arnold looks to the Heavens for strength. "I'm sorry, Phillip, but we're already back on the freeway. Are you sure you don't have the toy?"

Phillip nods his head while continuing to cry. "Yes, I had putted it back in the box before we lefted the westerwant."

Arnold facepalms as he vividly remembers throwing away the trash filled box. "I'm sorry, Phillip, I threw the box away. I thought it just had trash in it."

Phillip starts screaming again. "It wasn't twash, it hadded my toy!"

Unable to calm the boy down, and not knowing what else to do, Arnold gets off at the next exit and searches for the nearest McDonalds. Once he finds it he pulls into the drive through and proceeds to purchase Phillip a second Happy Meal. As he places his order, he also asks for a replacement Duke Galaxycruiser, complete with a neon green sword. Not blue, not red, but neon green.

With his son finally appeased, the duo hits the road once again with Arnold silently lamenting over the lost time. He scowls at the words that come flowing out of the radio, thinking to himself that, for right now at least, this most certainly does not feel like the "most happiest" time of the year.

After a bit it dawns on him that it has been at least a good half an hour since he's last heard any noise from the back seat. Looking in the rear view mirror he smiles at his son, who sits sound asleep in his seat, with Duke Galaxycruiser clutched tightly to his chest. The sight causes Arnold to feel glad that, despite their tight schedule, he took the time to find Phillip a replacement toy.

xxxxx

The next forty minutes or so pass by with little to no incident, but Arnold begins to worry when he casts his gaze to the map that sits lit up on his phone. He sees the blue line they are following slowly turns first to orange, and then to turn red, just a couple of short miles up ahead. There is a flashing exclamation point that gets his attention, and when he presses it, a message comes up, warning them that there has been an accident up ahead. He tries to bring up an alternate route, but by the time it comes up it is too late, and he has missed his chance of making a quick exit off of the freeway.

So now they sit, along with a couple of hundred other weary travelers, as they wait for traffic to begin moving again. It takes twenty minutes for the driver of the car next to theirs to lose his patience and begin leaning on his car's horn.

The sound wakes Phillip up, and he gazes sleepily out the window. "Why are we stopping? Are we there yet?"

Arnold gives him a shake of his head. "No, I'm afraid not. There seems to have been an accident up ahead, so we have to wait for it to get cleared before we can be on our way again."

"Oh." Is all Phillip says before becoming quiet once again. Arnold tries to look ahead to the front of the traffic, hoping to see what the problem is when Phillip starts talking again. "Um, Daddee?"

Arnold turns back to look at his son. "Yes, Phillip?"

"I has to go potty."

Arnold closes his eyes and lets out a frustrated sigh. "I'm afraid we can't get off the freeway right now, Phillip. Do you think you can hold it for a while?"

Phillip gives him a sad look. "I don'ts know. Maybe I can."

Arnold gives his son's leg a reassuring pat. "You can do it, Phillip. I'm sure it won't be too much longer."

As luck would have it, the fates finally decide to cut Arnold a break and the line of traffic slowly begins to move. Phillip becomes more agitated so Arnold gets off at the first exit they come to.

His hopes of making a quick stop are dashed when he realizes that the exit has let them off in the middle of nowhere. Instead of a sprawling city, they find themselves on a country road, and the more Arnold drives looking for some sort of civilization, the more lost they become. He starts to become frustrated when Phillip's cries begin to mix with the map's gps calmly spouting out "Recalculating" every fifteen seconds.

It takes a while, but Arnold finally spies a gas station off in the distance. They pull up and rush into the attached mini-mart, entering the small bathroom just in time. Once Phillip is done, Arnold figures that it's better to be safe than sorry, and uses the facility himself.

Once back in the car, it takes a while, but Arnold finally finds the freeway and they are once again on their way. What had started out as excitement, has now turned to complete frustration, causing Arnold to just want to get to their destination and be done with it. By now they have missed Big Boy's grand arrival, and it is Arnold's hope that they can at least make it there before the sun begins to set.

His thoughts are again interrupted, this time by the ringing of his phone. He recognizes Helga's ringtone and winces at the realization that he had forgotten to call her as he had promised. He takes a calming breath before picking up the call.

"Hey, Helga. What's up?"

He picks up on the irritation in his wife's voice as she speaks. "What do you mean 'what's up'? You were supposed to call me hours ago."

He quickly tries to come up with an excuse for not calling her. "I know, and I'm sorry about that. We've just been having so much fun that I guess I just forgot. So, how are things at home?"

"Things here are fine. So how have things been going with you? Is Phillip behaving himself?"

Arnold gives Phillip a quick glance before answering. "Phillip's been just fine. He's having a great time, right Phillip?"

Phillip nods his head. "Yep, I gotted to have a Happy Meal for lunch!"

Helga's voice moves up an octave at the mention of a Happy Meal. "Happy Meals? Now Arnoldo, I told you I didn't want him loading up on junk food this weekend."

"Aw, Helga, it was just one lunch. I'll make sure he eats a good dinner tonight, I promise. So how was shopping with Olga?"

"It was fine. I was able to get almost everything on my list."

"And how are you feeling? You didn't over-exert yourself, did you?"

"I'm fine. My feet are a bit swollen, and my back is killing me, but I'm at Olga's now and she's waiting on me hand and foot so I'll be fine."

"I knew shopping would be too much for you. Are you sure you're telling me everything?"

"Yes, Arnoldo, I promise. So, how's Big Boy? Is he as grand as you keep telling me he is?"

"Well, actually, we're not there yet."

"What! You should have made it there over an hour ago. What's taking you?"

Arnold shakes his head. "I can't even go into it right now. I'll tell you everything tomorrow when we get home. But don't worry, everything is fine."

"Heh, I can't wait to hear this story. Okay, if you're sure everything's okay I'll let you get back to driving. Tell Phillip I love him, and call me tonight. I love you."

"I love you, too, and I'll do my best to remember to call. Bye."

He hangs up the phone and brings the road map back up. He heaves a sigh of relief when he sees that they are finally close to their destination. He looks back to Phillip and smiles. "Hey, buddy, guess what."

Phillip looks up from his toy. "What, Daddee?"

"We're almost there. Are you excited to see the trains?"

The boy kicks his feet and throws his arms up in the air. "Yay, we get to see the twains! I's weady!"

Another fifteen minutes finds them walking through the museum's parking lot. They follow the signs that lead them around to the back of the building, to the yard that displays all matter of trains, both antique and current. There is also an active rail that hosts a number of specialty trains that are used for special events throughout the year.

Having arrived later than planned, the two boys find themselves surrounded by a crowd of like-minded train enthusiasts, that range from the part time fan, to full blown foamers. Finally reaching the end of the main building, they turn the corner and stop to look in awe. They stand humbled as the massive form of the 4014 Big Boy looms over them.

xxxxx

"Oh, wow." Phillip softly exclaims. "Look at how big it is, Daddee. It's the biggest thing I've eber seen."

Arnold nods his head in agreement. "I know, me too. It sure is a beauty, isn't it?"

"Uh-huh." Is all Phillip can manage to get out.

Arnold is torn from his reverie when he is bumped by a careless passerby. Finally noticing the massive crowd, he takes Phillip's hand in his. "You're going to have to stick real close, Phillip. I can't have you getting lost in this crowd. Okay?"

Phillip gives his dad a nod of his head. "Okay, Daddee. I'll stay right by you."

They move deeper into the crowd in an effort to get closer to the mighty engine. Phillip tugs on Arnold's hand and looks up to him. "I can'ts see, Daddee. Everybody's butts are in the way."

Arnold looks down at his child and notices his vantage point. He grabs the boy and swings him onto his shoulders. "I see what you mean. There, is this better?"

Phillip places his hands on the top of the engineer's hat that Arnold is wearing and looks out over the top of the crowd. "Yes, it's much better, Daddee!"

Arnold continues to work his way through the crowd, slowly inching ever closer to Big Boy. Each time he nudges someone he is greeted with an irritated scowl, until they notice the boy that sits happily atop his shoulders. Unable to resist the lure of Phillip's smile, they graciously step aside, letting father and son by.

Once at the front of the crowd, Phillip notices one of the two train's engineers looking out from the cab's window. He catches the man's eyes, giving him a wave which is immediately returned. "Did you see's that, Daddee, he wabed at me!"

Arnold lets out a chuckle. "Yes, Phillip, I sure did."

He puts the boy down now, and pulls out his camera. He motions for Phillip to stand at the edge of the platform so he can get his picture with Big Boy in the background. Once that is done he is approached by a fellow fan who offers to take a picture of the two of them together. Arnold stands proudly next to his son as the picture is taken, and once done he gets into a deep conversation with the guy and they spend the next fifteen minutes exchanging facts about Big Boy's history.

Growing bored, Phillip forgets his promise to stick by Arnold's side, and begins to wander the length of the train. It's not long before he is swallowed up by the large crowd. With everyone's attention on the train, Phillip goes unnoticed as he wanders further away from his father. It's not until the boy finally breaks free of the crowd that he turns back looking for his dad.

He calls out for Arnold, but his voice becomes lost in the din of voices. He remembers that the last time he saw his dad was up towards the front of the train, so he begins to make his way back. Once he hads made his way back into the middle of the crowd he gets turned around and starts heading in the wrong direction. He reaches the end of the crowd once more and realizes his mistake. The crowd begins to finally overwhelm him so he sits down and does what any four-year-old in this situation would do, and cries. He stops his crying when he notices a shadow loom over him. He looks up expecting to see his dad, and is surprised by the sight of Big Boy's other engineer.

The man looks down at the boy with a gentle smile, and gets down on one knee so he can talk to him on his own level. "Hey now, why the tears little fella?"

Phillip wipes his nose with the back of his hand and talks through a sniffle. "I losted my Daddee."

The engineer pulls a handkerchief from his pocket and wipes Phillip's eyes. "Oh, I see. Well maybe I can help you find him. My name's Bob, what's yours?"

Phillip's sniffles begin to lessen. "I's Phillip, Phillip Shortman."

Engineer Bob stands back up and offers Phillip his hand. "Well, Phillip Shortman, tell me, have you ever sat in the cab of steam locomotive?"

Phillip's eyes grow large as he slowly shakes his head no.

"Well then this is your lucky day. Come on, we've got a daddy to find."

xxxxx

Arnold continues to stand in deep conversation with his new friend. The topic has turned from real trains to the model set ups they each have at home. Arnold is just starting to get into a story of how he was lucky enough to run across an old Lionel set at an estate sale when he hears his name come blaring over a bull horn.

"LADIES AND GENTELMEN, MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE. WE ARE LOOKING FOR A LOST FATHER. MR. SHORTMAN, YOUR SON IS LOOKING FOR YOU. IF YOU WILL COME TO BIG BOY'S CAB YOU CAN GET YOUR CHILD."

It is only when Arnold hears his name that he realizes that Phillip is nowhere to be seen. His heart drops to his stomach as he lifts his gaze to the window of Big Boy's cab. A rush of relief courses through him when he sees Phillip happily looking out the cab's window while sitting on the lap of Engineer Bob.

Catching his father's eye, Phillip waves down to his dad before pulling the chain that works the train's massive whistle. The announcement, followed by the whistle, elicits a wave of laughter through the crowd and it is with a red face that Arnold takes the walk of shame as he goes to retrieve his son.

He is invited up into the cab of the train, and as soon as he steps inside his embarrassment is turned to awe. He is like a kid in a candy store as he takes in all the knobs, and levers and dials that make the train work. His eyes finally land on Phillip, who stands ready to take his punishment for wandering off. He is surprised though, when Arnold gets down on one knee instead, and apologizes for his inattentiveness. "I'm sorry, Phillip. I should have been paying closer attention to you. I hope you weren't too scared."

Relieved at not being in trouble, Phillip gives his dad a smile. "It's okay, Daddee, I wasn't scared. Engineer Bob tooked good care of me."

Arnold stands back up to shake the man's hand, thanking him for rescuing his child, and reassures him that it will never happen again.

The rest of what's left of the day goes without any further problems, and it isn't until Phillip is tucked snuggly into the hotel bed that Arnold can finally heave a sigh of relief. He lays next to his son in the darkened room, exhausted from the long day. He is about to drift off into a deep sleep when a small voice peeps up next to him.

"Daddee?"

Arnold forces his eyes open. "Yes, Phillip?"

"I's can't sweep."

xxxxx

The ride home the next day is a quiet one as Phillip slumbers peacefully in his car seat. It wasn't until well after midnight that Arnold was finally able to get the boy to sleep, and with him wanting to get an early start home, it was a very rude awaking when the alarm clock by the side of their bed went off that morning.

After a quick stop for breakfast burritos and, for Arnold, an extra-large coffee, black and strong, they make it home without incident. Pulling into the back driveway, Arnold can't remember ever wanting to be back home so badly in his life. He is careful not to wake Phillip up when he unstraps him from his car seat. He enters the house through the kitchen door, and is greeted by Helga as she comes out of the family room while shoving her phone into the pocket of her maternity pants. "Well, there you guys are. Welcome home. How was the trip?"

Arnold leans in and drops a quick kiss to her lips. The exhaustion in his eyes doesn't go unnoticed by his wife. "It was great, just great. I can't remember ever having a better time."

Helga narrows her eyes at him and follows him to the stairs. "So, the trip went off without a hitch? No incidents or arguments?"

A bit of guilt washes over Arnold as he lets out with a little white lie. "Oh, nothing more than is usual when traveling with a preschooler. Well, I'd better get Phillip up to his room so he can finish his nap. I'll, uh, tell you more in a bit."

She pulls her phone back out of her pocket, clicking once again into the local news app that she was reading, and looks at the headline that reads "Local Boy Reunited with His Lost Father at Oregon Train Show." She looks at the picture of her husband and son as they smile out the window of Big Boy's cab. She smiles knowingly as she walks back into the family room, calling over her shoulder as she walks. "Sure, Arnold, I can't wait to hear all about it."