Chapter 6

"Where are we going now, Daddy?" Tommy asked after they'd been driving for about twenty minutes.

"To the Liberty Bell," Tim said.

"What's that?"

"It's a really big bell with a crack in it," Tony said.

"How did it crack?"

"Do you know?" Tony asked Tim.

"No, I don't. But I remember that it's a really big one. They can't even ring the bell anymore because the crack is so big that if they tried it would break all the way."

"Wow. Is it neat?"

"Of course it is."

"Hey," Tony said suddenly. "We can see the Rocky statue!"

"The what?" Tim asked.

"The statue of Rocky at the Philadelphia Museum of Art," Tony said.

"What are you talking about?" Tim asked.

"Rocky. ...well, and Rocky II. In Rocky III, he's mostly running on the beach. In Rocky IV, he's in Russia and runs up a mountain. In Rocky V, there's a tiny scene running up the steps with his son. Then, in Rocky Balboa, when he's old, he runs up with his dog. He's training and he ends his run by going up the steps of the museum and then he stands there at the top of the steps with his fists raised above his head like this!" Tony demonstrated and then looked back at Tommy. "Help me out, Tommy! Show your dad! Yeah!"

Tommy laughed and copied him.

"Yeah!" he shouted, raising his arms above his head.

"Exactly! We have to stop there while we're in Philly and see the statue and run up the steps."

"Okay, okay," Tim said. "I guess I can hardly say no, but the bell, first. Then, we'll go to the Rocky statue. I think it closes pretty early and I'll bet we can go to the statue anytime."

"Works for me."

"Good."

"Daddy, look at that car! It's red!" Tommy said.

A bright red sports car zoomed past them, far exceeding the speed limit.

"I see it, Tommy," Tim said.

And for just a moment, he didn't look happy about it.

"Hey, you okay?" Tony asked.

"Yeah...just being stupid," Tim said and obviously forced a smile.

"About what?"

"Driving. It's nothing, Tony," Tim said in a low voice and then looked back at Tommy. "What other colors of cars can you see?"

"I see gray! And blue! And green! And more gray! And white!"

Tommy began listing off colors and kept doing it for the next ten minutes before he got tired of it. Tony let Tim avoid having a real conversation about that moment, but he could admit that having Tommy hear it would probably not be the best thing. Still, it was a surprise. Tim hadn't shown any reluctance to drive in years...and multiple road trips. Maybe it was just that Tommy was with them. Tim would definitely feel some responsibility for his son's safety.

They made it to Philadelphia and then Tony navigated them to a parking lot where they were lucky to find a spot.

"Okay, Tommy. We're in the city. You know what that means."

"I stay with you and I hold your hand," Tommy said, sounding like he'd said that kind of thing many times before.

"Wow, you have him well-trained," Tony said as they got out.

"He's five and excited about everything," Tim said, smiling. "If he doesn't know that there are rules, he'll likely get himself hurt and not in a way that he can easily get over." He started around the car to get Tommy out. "I know you think I'm overdoing it, but Tommy's my oldest and I don't know how to do it all yet."

"You're doing just fine McDaddy," Tony said, grinning. He slapped Tim on the back and kind of shoved him to the door. "I could only wish for a dad half as good as you are."

Tim looked at him with some surprise and then he reddened a little in embarrassment at the compliment. Tony felt a little embarrassed, too, but he didn't take it back. He meant it. Tim got Tommy out of the car and Tony was impressed that Tommy obediently took Tim's hand and didn't try to pull away. They must have gone enough places that Tommy really did know and understand the rules.

They walked along the sidewalks and Tommy was looking around at the buildings with interest but not the same kind of excitement as at the aquarium. Actually, Tony was surprised that Tim wanted to take Tommy here. Sure, it was pretty cool and part of U.S. History, but Tommy wasn't quite six years old yet! But Tim had insisted that this be one of their stops.

When they got to the building housing the Liberty Bell, they joined a large group going in, meaning a long line through the security check. Here, Tony noticed that Tommy was standing much closer to Tim than he had been. So without saying anything, he stepped closer to them so that there was someone he knew on both sides. Tim glanced over and nodded slightly but didn't say anything about it. No need to make Tommy more nervous but at the same time, it was good to acknowledge the nerves he already had. When they got into the room with the bell, there were a lot of taller people in front of them and Tommy couldn't see anything, so Tim picked him up and held him high enough to see until they could get close to the bell themselves. They took some pictures, and then, Tony was surprised when Tim set Tommy down and knelt down beside him. Tony stepped close enough to hear what Tim was saying in the midst of all the people.

"Tommy, this is called the Liberty Bell. Do you know what liberty means?"

"No," Tommy said.

"It means freedom. The reason people like this bell is because it reminds them that this country we live in is supposed to be a place where people can be free and there are a lot of places in the world where they aren't. Even here, sometimes, people haven't been free."

"Why aren't people free?" Tommy asked, looking at Tim.

"A lot of reasons, but for us, because we are free, we need to make sure that we don't ever forget how lucky we are to be here. It's not always good, but we have freedom and that's important. Okay?"

Tommy nodded solemnly. Tony was surprised that Tim would talk about something so serious on this trip, that he would be talking to Tommy about something so serious when Tommy would likely not even remember it later.

"Good."

"Okay," Tim said, standing up. "There's one more place we need to go and then we can go and see Rocky."

"Where's that?"

"You'll see," Tim said.

They walked out of the building and started down the sidewalk.

Then, Tim paused. "Oh, look! A ranger. Tommy, do you want to talk to the park ranger?"

"Yeah!" Tommy said, all seriousness gone.

"He might have something for you, too," Tim said.

Tommy clapped his hands and then dragged Tim over to the park ranger.

"Hi," Tim said. "Are you still doing the little souvenir cards?"

The ranger laughed at how eager Tommy was. "Yes, we are. What's your name?" he asked.

"Tommy!"

"Well, Tommy, how old are you?"

"Five!"

"I have some cards with me. Do you think you can answer a history question?"

"Can my dad help?"

"Maybe. You might know it. How long have you guys been here?" he asked Tim and Tony.

"Just the Liberty Bell. That's it. We don't have a lot of time but I wanted to stop here," Tim said.

"Okay. Now, Tommy, do you know where the Liberty Bell was before it was in the building where you saw it?"

"No. Does that mean I don't get a card?"

The ranger smiled. "No, that's not what it means. The Liberty Bell used to be in this building right here. It's called Independence Hall and it's where the Declaration of Independence was signed a long time ago. Philadelphia was the capital of the whole country when it got started."

"How did it get down?" Tommy asked, his eyes wide.

"The first time they rang the bell it cracked. They had to take it down and fix it, and they had to do it twice. Then, it was used kind of like the bell at school, to get people to come to meetings. But finally, it cracked again and they couldn't fix it. So they took it down and now, it's on display for everyone to see it."

"Cool!"

"Okay. Here's your question. Philadelphia used to be the capital of the United States. Do you know what the capital is now?"

Tommy grinned. It certainly helped that he lived so close to the capital. Tony knew that Tim had taken Tommy to the National Mall before...and that Tommy was pretty smart.

"Washington, D.C.!" Tommy said happily. "I remembered it, Daddy!"

The ranger laughed.

"We live just north of D.C.," Tim said.

"Oh, I should have picked a harder question, then," the ranger said. He leaned over and pulled two cards out of his pocket. One had a picture of the Liberty Bell and the other had a picture of Independence Hall. "Which one do you want?"

Tommy looked up at Tim.

"Just one, Tommy," Tim said.

Tommy looked back and forth between the two options. Then, he grabbed the bell, which Tony wasn't surprised at. Independence Hall was just a building to him, but he'd seen the Liberty Bell.

"Enjoy your stay," the ranger said.

"Thanks," Tim said.

Then, they kept on their way, walking about a block away from the Liberty Bell.

"Where are we going, Tim?"

"Just one more patriotic stop and then you can have your Rocky time," Tim said, but he smiled as he said it to show that he wasn't upset.

They crossed the street (with Tommy holding Tim's hand) and then, Tony saw where they were going. The Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier. Again, Tony wondered at this choice.

"Why here?" he asked.

"It's kind of a tradition," Tim said.

They walked over to the monument.

"Tommy, what do you see here?"

"A statue and a fire! Why is there a fire?"

"A long time ago, when we were fighting to be free, there were soldiers who were hurt and sick and they died here. We don't know their names, but because they fought for us, we want to remember them."

"How can we remember them if we don't know who they were?"

"We know that they're here," Tim said. "And we keep that fire going all the time. Do you remember the fire when we went to the cemetery in Arlington?"

Tommy nodded.

"This is the same kind of thing. We don't want to forget. The words up there say that freedom is a light. And we want to remember the people who helped us get that light. Can you say thank you to the soldier, even though he's not here?"

Tommy nodded again. He straightened and put his arms to his sides, like he was standing at attention.

"Thank you!" Tommy said.

"Good. Now, let's get a couple of pictures here and then, we'll go see Tony's statue."

Tony was impressed at the way Tim managed to explain the significance without dwelling too much on the death part. He'd even abbreviated the words, dropping out for which many have died in darkness, choosing to focus on the light instead.

They got a couple of pictures and then started walking back to the car. As they walked, Tommy suddenly grabbed Tony's hand and then started to swing between them, running forward and then kicking his legs up in the air, forcing Tim and Tony to support him as he swung back.

"Wheee!"

"So why do that, Tim?" Tony asked, in between helping Tommy swing.

"My dad brought me here when I was about Tommy's age, maybe a little older. It's not about being fanatically devoted to the country or believing it can't do anything wrong, but we really are blessed here and it's important to remember that. To appreciate what we have, even when we acknowledge that it can be better."

"You think Tommy understands all that? I mean, he's five."

"No. It's just a start, not the end. You don't teach it all at once. It has to be layer by layer, bit by bit until it's something he really knows. Not just one and done."

Then, Tim grunted as Tommy jumped especially high, laughing happily.

"Okay, Tommy. That was the last time. You nearly ripped my arm off. Let's get back to the car."

They walked back to the lot and then started over to the Phildelphia Art Museum.

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

They had to find a place to park when they got to the art museum, but they lucked out...sort of. Tony was willing to pay the high price for parking in the museum garage. They walked around to the sidewalk in front of the museum.

"That's a lot of steps," Tim said, looking up toward the building.

"Seventy-two," Tony said. "Are you ready for that?"

"Wait, I'm not Rocky," Tim said.

"Nope. You're Tim. I remember your name."

"Ha."

Tony grinned. "I'll run up first to show you how it's done." Then, he pulled out his phone and suddenly, there was music playing. "This is the running-up-the-stairs music."

Tim laughed.

"Okay, okay. Tommy, do you want to run up with Tony or do you want to wait and run up with me?"

Tommy furrowed his brow and considered the choice. All the while, "Gonna Fly Now" was playing on Tony's phone.

"I'll run with you, Daddy," Tommy said, finally.

"Okay. Go ahead, Tony," Tim said. "Show us how it's done. Don't start gasping too soon."

Tony just laughed and started running. Tim quickly pulled out his phone and began filming Tony running up the steps.

"Play the song, too, Daddy," Tommy said.

"I don't know if I can find it in time, but we'll have it playing when we run up. Okay?"

"Okay."

Tim continued filming until Tony was all the way up at the top and was jumping around with his arms in the air.

"Come on, Tim!" he shouted down.

Tim turned off the recording and quickly found a track of the same song Tony had played.

"Okay, Tommy. Let's go. Can you run all the way up?"

"Yes!"

Tommy took off up the stairs, Tim ran beside him, making sure his son didn't trip on the stone steps which would end the fun for the day. He didn't outpace him, enjoying the fact that, while Tommy had more energy than he did, his legs were shorter.

However, the steps were wide and that meant he couldn't really skip any. Tim was feeling a little puffy when he got to the top, but Tony was right there, grinning and so he couldn't let on how tiring that had been.

Tommy was breathing heavily, but he didn't seem at all tired out. No big surprise.

"All right! You made it!" Tony said. He raised his hands over his head. "Yeah!"

Tommy copied him and Tim quickly took a picture of both of them.

"Your turn, Dad," Tony said. "Even Rocky did it when he was old."

"You're older than I am," Tim said, but he half-heartedly raised his arms, feeling a little silly.

"No. You have to mean it, McGee! Come on! Tommy, show your dad how it's done."

"Like this, Daddy!" Tommy said and raised his arms over his head, jumping around energetically.

Tim couldn't disappoint Tommy, so he did it with more enthusiasm.

"That's better," Tony said.

"It is a nice vew," Tim said.

"Now, let's go see the statue."

"Okay."

They went back down the steps and found the statue. There were quite a few people around, lining up to see it. When they got to the front of the line, they took some pictures as quickly as they could. Then, they went back to the car. They found a place to eat dinner before leaving the city, and then, it was time to get going. Tony drove them out of Philadelphia and on their way to New York. Tim was glad that he'd already decided that getting to the Statue of Liberty would be too much. So instead, he started searching for a hotel for the night, planning on them getting an early start the next day.

They finally stopped at a Marriott in New York and got a room. They took their things inside, although Tommy had fallen asleep and Tim had him draped over his shoulder.

They got a suite that had two separate bedrooms. Perfect. Tim and Tommy could sleep in one and Tony in the other. They wouldn't even irritate each other.

Tim got Tommy into his pajamas, sent a quick text to Delilah that they had just got to their hotel, and that Tommy was already sleeping. He promised that they'd call in the morning.

And then, it was time to sleep. Tim was happy to lie down and go to sleep and put off any other decisions until the morning.