Philadelphia! Read online

  “Right now?” Alfie asked. Suddenly he didn’t feel very hungry.

  “Yep!” John said. “My friend wants to get started on the story as soon as possible. We can call him from my office.”

  Alfie looked at his dad. Dad smiled and stood up, ready to follow Alfie and John out of the room.

  “You’ll do great, ragazzo!” Zia encouraged.

  “Way to go, Alfie!” Emilia called out.

  Alfie felt his stomach drop as he walked out of the dining room.

  In the hotel office, John called his friend at the newspaper, Conrad, and put the phone on speaker.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Alfie,” Conrad said. “Can you all hear me okay?”

  “Loud and clear,” John answered, flashing Alfie a thumbs-up.

  Dad put his arm around his son.

  “Great!” Conrad continued. “So, Alfie. Let’s jump right in. Can you tell me about what happened with the plumber?”

  “Well,” Alfie started, nervously, “I thought he was acting strange when he came to look at the pipes. He seemed nervous and uncomfortable—kind of like how I get before a math test.”

  Everybody laughed. Alfie began to relax.

  “Then he made an excuse about needing to go to his truck and rushed out of the room. As he was leaving, something fell out of his pocket. I picked it up thinking I’d give it to him when he came back, but he never did. The thing I picked up was a business card for Ray Stevens.”

  “But you didn’t tell John or your dad about it?”

  “No, I didn’t think it was a big deal. I put it in my pocket and forgot about it until today, when Emma was talking about the developer. Suddenly, it all made sense.”

  “I bet it did,” Conrad replied, chuckling. “Now, what happened next?”

  “Emma brought the business card to her dad, and we told him the story. Then he called you.”

  “That’s fantastic,” Conrad said. “What a huge discovery you made!”

  Alfie beamed.

  “I’m going to get started on the rest of my research, but I’ll let you know if I have any other questions for you,” Conrad said.

  “Okay!”

  “Thanks for talking to me, Alfie. I wouldn’t have much of a story without you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Alfie said. His nervousness about the interview had melted away. Now he just felt excited!

  Alfie and Emilia woke up the next morning feeling a little more rested. Alfie thought he’d be wide awake after the thrill of being interviewed for a newspaper article, but he was so tired from the busy day that he’d crashed right away. He could still hear creaks and noises throughout the night, but now he was more used to the sounds of the old building.

  When Mom, Dad, and Zia were ready, they all headed down to the lobby and found Emma at the reception desk, helping her dad sort through a stack of paperwork.

  “Good morning!” Emma and her dad said.

  “Morning!” the Bertolizzis replied.

  “Great job answering those questions yesterday,” John said to Alfie. “My friend called this morning. He worked on the article all night long. It’s going to be posted online tonight and run as a feature in the morning edition tomorrow!”

  “Wow!” Alfie said. “I didn’t think it would be done that quick!”

  “When there’s breaking news, you have to act fast,” Mom said.

  “That’s right!” John nodded. “I’ll let you know as soon as the story is out.”

  “Okay, thanks,” Alfie said.

  “We got another stack of flyers and postcards from the printer,” Emma told them. “I thought we could go hang them around the Philadelphia Museum of Art and then stop in for a quick visit.”

  “That’s a fabulous idea!” Zia said.

  “Yeah, cool!” Emilia added.

  After a light breakfast in the restaurant, they found another minivan cab and hopped in. The museum was in the opposite direction of the other sites they’d visited so far—on the edge of the Schuylkill River. Alfie was excited. They hadn’t visited a museum on any of their other Zia adventures.

  They arrived in front of a tan brick building with tall Greek columns and wide steps leading up to it.

  “I recognize these steps!” Dad said.

  “You do?” Alfie asked. “I thought you’d never been to Philly before?”

  “I haven’t, but I’ve seen them in Rocky,” Dad explained.

  “They’re very famous because of that,” Emma said as they climbed out of the taxi. “There’s a statue of Rocky right over here. I’ll show you!”

  “Who’s Rocky?” Alfie asked, still confused.

  Dad put his arm around Alfie’s shoulder. “He’s a boxer played by the actor Sylvester Stallone in a series of movies. The original movie was way before your time, but it’s a classic.”

  The family stood in front of the bronze statue of a man in boxing shorts and gloves holding his arms in the air in victory. Dad mimicked the pose, and everybody laughed. Zia snapped a picture with her phone.

  “Come on,” Dad said to Alfie. “Let’s race to the top of the steps!”

  Alfie laughed again, thinking Dad was joking, but then he took off at a run. Alfie exchanged a surprised look with Emilia and then hurried to catch up, a big grin on his face. He hadn’t seen Dad act this silly in a long time!

  Dad beat Alfie to the top, but Alfie was right behind him. Alfie doubled over, trying to catch his breath as Mom, Zia, Emilia, and Emma walked up behind them, still laughing.

  “There are seventy-two steps,” Emma said.

  “That’s . . . a lot,” Dad wheezed.

  Once Alfie and Dad were able to breathe again, they all walked past the fountain in the center of the courtyard and into the museum. Mom went to pay for their tickets.

  “I’ll go with you,” Emma told her. “We get a discount here, too.”

  Mom and Emma went to the ticket counter while the rest of the family grabbed museum guides. When they came back, Emma was beaming.

  “They agreed to hang up our flyers,” Emma said. “Now everyone who visits the museum will know about our fund-raiser!”

  “And we got discounts,” Mom said, smiling. She passed out the tickets, and they all stopped to look at the map. Everybody wanted to see something different. Alfie wanted to go to the modern art rooms and galleries. Emilia decided to see the Impressionists collection. Emma and Zia headed off to a special pottery exhibit, and Mom and Dad wanted to check out the photography collection. They all agreed to meet back in the lobby an hour and a half later.

  Alfie wandered through the wide-open gallery rooms, looking at the modern art paintings and sculptures. He liked the splatter-and-drip paintings of Jackson Pollock. They reminded him of some of his art projects from second grade! When the time was up, everybody gathered again and talked about what they’d seen.

  “The Claude Monet paintings were my favorite,” Emilia said. “I wish we had visited his gardens in France. His water lilies are so beautiful.”

  “Maybe one day, bambina,” Mom said, winking at Dad.

  “I liked the pieces that looked like comics,” Alfie said. “Those were cool!”

  “I thought the Wedgwood collection from England was really impressive,” Zia said. “All those old plates and dishes are beautiful.”

  They walked outside and took in the view of the city from the top of the steps. The river looked beautiful from so high up. Then they wandered around the grounds a bit, looking at various statues. “I love it here!” Emilia gushed. “I would come here every day if we lived in Philadelphia.”

  “It’s one of my favorite places,” Emma agreed.

  “But what should we do with the rest of our flyers?” Alfie asked.

  “We can head down to Fairmount Avenue,” Emma said. “There are lots of restaurants and shops that wil
l probably let us hang flyers and leave postcards.”

  “And maybe eat lunch,” Alfie added, making everyone laugh as usual.

  Once they’d finished advertising the fund-raiser, Emma took them to a sandwich shop that served traditional Italian hoagies. Alfie got one with ham, salami, and provolone. It was drizzled with an Italian dressing and had shredded lettuce and tomato on it. The roll was similar to the bread from yesterday’s cheesesteak: slightly chewy and very delicious. They also each picked out a bottle of old-fashioned soda. Alfie chose root beer, while Emilia chose black cherry, and Emma picked ginger ale. Mom and Dad both had vanilla cream, and Zia had orange cream.

  “Philadelphia is the birthplace of soda, too,” Zia said. “I learned that from my friends last time I visited.”

  “So many good things originated here!” Alfie said. “Pretzels and soda. This is my kind of city!”

  “Don’t forget marshmallow Peeps and Peanut Chews. Those are made here in Pennsylvania, too,” Mom said.

  “I love Peeps!” Alfie said.

  “Gross,” Emilia responded, making a face.

  “There’s also a brand of snack cakes and doughnuts called Tastykakes,” Emma added. “They’re so good.”

  “That does sound tasty!” Alfie said.

  “And my favorite: Hershey’s chocolate,” Mom chimed in. “That’s made in Pennsylvania as well.”

  “That’s another place I wouldn’t mind touring,” Emilia said. “A chocolate factory!”

  “We’ll have to do that next time,” Mom said. “For now, I think we should head back to the hotel and help Ann and John with party plans!”

  “Good idea,” Zia said. “There’s still so much to do.”

  “I hope we can sell enough tickets,” Emma said as they looked for a cab. “We’ve already bought all the food and everything.”

  “Everyone we’ve talked to has been really excited about it,” Alfie said. “I think we’ll sell plenty of tickets.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Emma responded.

  As soon as Emma and the Bertolizzis stepped into the hotel, Ann and John rushed to them.

  “You’re not going to believe it!” Ann said, smiling. “Tickets for the fund-raiser are completely sold out!”

  “How do I look?” Dad asked Mom.

  Mom hurried over and straightened his tie. “Very sharp,” she said.

  “Everyone looks so nice,” Zia added.

  They were all gathered in Mom and Dad’s room, getting ready for the fund-raiser party. Mom and Zia had taken Alfie and Emilia shopping earlier that day to get new clothes for the big night. Emilia turned in a circle, admiring her new red dress.

  “We should get downstairs,” Zia said. “I want to make sure Ann doesn’t feel too overwhelmed in the kitchen.”

  “Yes, let’s,” Mom agreed, heading for the door.

  “We’re helping Emma check names off the list and do the coat check,” Alfie said. “But after that, we’ll come help in the kitchen.”

  “Great!” Zia said.

  As soon as they made it downstairs, a few early guests arrived. Emilia and Emma checked the guests in while Alfie hung coats behind the reception desk. Everyone was dressed in fancy cocktail attire, and some of them looked very important.

  When the arrivals slowed down, Alfie peeked around the hotel. Ann, Mom, and Zia had done a fantastic job decorating the space. Small twinkle lights hung around the dining room with candles flickering on all the tables. The vases from the seller at the Italian Market had arrived, and fresh flowers were sprinkled around the room. Some of the bigger dining tables had been replaced with high standing tables where guests gathered with their drinks and appetizers. Waiters and waitresses in matching shirts who were hired for the event circulated through the space, passing out the delicious-looking bites. Alfie couldn’t wait to try everything they’d made!

  Once most of the guests had arrived, Emma’s dad took over the ticket table so that Emma, Emilia, and Alfie could go help in the kitchen. They darted through the crowd and opened the kitchen door, eager to see how things were going.

  Zia, Mom, and Ann rushed around. There were several other people from the waitstaff company helping fill trays and serving platters.

  “What can we do to help?” Emma asked, slipping an apron over her head. Alfie and Emilia washed their hands at the sink.

  Zia pointed to an empty tray. “We need another vegetable tray. Alfie and Emilia, can you fill the tray with veggies while Emma dishes up more spinach dip?”

  “Sure!” Alfie and Emilia said together. They also put on aprons to keep their clothes clean, and then got to work on the tray.

  Mom wiped her hands on a towel and came over to see how things were going. “You two look like complete pros in the kitchen!”

  “We’ve had lots of practice,” Emilia said.

  “Yep,” Alfie agreed. “We helped throw a party in New Orleans and another one in Maui. And we passed out samples at a food festival in Miami. It’s so much fun!”

  “I’m so impressed,” Mom said.

  With all of them working in the kitchen, it didn’t take long to get ahead on preparations. Soon there was enough food ready for the servers to bring out so they could take a break and join the party.

  Alfie, Emilia, and Emma took off their aprons and headed eagerly into the dining room. Alfie’s breath caught in his throat when he opened the door. The hotel dining room was full of people! He knew they’d sold all the tickets, but he’d had a hard time imagining that the space would be totally full. Everybody looked like they were having a great time. Music played over the sound system, and people mingled and laughed and, most important, ate lots of food!

  “I’m going to find the woman from the historical society,” Emilia said, disappearing into the crowd. “I want to see if the society has made a final decision.”

  “And I see a couple of friends,” Emma said. “I’ll be back.”

  Alfie moved through the crowd, accepting appetizers from every tray that passed. Before long, he had a cocktail napkin piled with goodies. Dad emerged holding a similarly loaded napkin. He and Alfie laughed when they saw each other.

  “I think things are going well,” Dad said, popping a pretzel bite into his mouth.

  Alfie nodded, his mouth too full of spinach dip to respond.

  John made his way through the guests and over to Alfie and Dad. “Mauricio, I wanted to introduce you to Tom Larsen. He’s a contractor, and he’s offered to take a look at the building free of charge and then give an estimate on the work that needs to be done.”

  “Nice to meet you, Tom,” Dad said, shaking his hand.

  Tom nodded. “My wife is on the board for the historical society. After she told me the story about John’s building and I read the newspaper article, I knew I wanted to get involved. I specialize in old buildings like this one, so I know I’m up for the challenge.”

  “That’s fantastic,” Dad said. “John and his family care so much about the Liberty Hotel. It’s a beautiful building.”

  “My wife and I have always admired the Liberty from afar. We’ll do everything we can!” Tom said.

  “The newspaper article is the talk of the party!” John told Alfie and Dad. “No one can believe Ray Stevens got away with what he did for so long.”

  “Well, not anymore,” Dad said. “Alfie made sure of that!”

  Alfie beamed.

  “That reminds me,” John said. “I think it’s time for me to make a toast!”

  John made his way to the front of the restaurant and switched on a microphone. The room fell silent. “Excuse me, everyone,” he said. “I just wanted to thank you all for gathering to celebrate our historic hotel. Your support means the world to me and my family. And I want to give special thanks to our new friends, the Bertolizzis. None of this would have been possible without them.” John r
aised his glass in the air. “Cheers to friends, old and new, and to our wonderful historical community!”

  “Cheers!” the party replied.

  Emilia cut through the crowd and stood next to Alfie. “Pretty fun party, huh?”

  “Yeah!”

  “Have you tried the mini cheesecakes Emma made?” Emilia asked.

  “There’s mini cheesecake?” Alfie asked, looking around.

  Emilia laughed and extended her napkin. “Don’t worry. I got an extra one. It’s so good!”

  Alfie took a bite of the rich dessert with a glazed strawberry on top. It was the perfect mix of sweet and creamy. “I’m going to need another one of those!”

  Emilia giggled again. “Follow me.”

  Once Alfie had his fill of cheesecake, he and Emilia found Zia talking to an older couple. “These are my Italian friends who live here!” Zia said, introducing them.

  “It’s so nice to meet Donatella’s family,” they said. “We’re glad you’re enjoying our adopted city.”

  “We love it here!” Alfie replied. “It’s been a really fun trip.”

  When the party started to wind down, Alfie and Emilia went back to the lobby to help with the coat check. Alfie was surprised by how many people gave them tips. He wasn’t expecting that. Sometimes people handed them a five- or ten-dollar bill! Emma found a big glass jar to put all the money in.

  “We’re raising even more money for the hotel!” Alfie said.

  When the last coat was taken from the rack, Alfie, Emma, and Emilia went back into the dining room. Alfie expected to see plates and cups and leftover food everywhere, but the waitstaff was moving quickly through the space, clearing and cleaning as they went. Back in the kitchen, it didn’t look too bad, either.

  “We planned so well with the food that we really don’t have that many leftovers,” Ann said. “Thanks to Zia’s expert party-planning skills.”

  Zia smiled. “I’ve had years of experience throwing parties. I’m so glad nothing was wasted.”