That evening, Paulie cannot sleep. He tosses and turns with guilt and anxiety. He’s borne his grandfather’s name proudly since birth, but now he is an Andriano no longer. He needs to call his “Nonno” and let him know. He also needs to tell his mother.
At seven the next morning, he groggily gets out of bed and calls the store, knowing that his grandfather will be there. When Papa Tony comes to the phone, he is excited as always to hear from his grandson. Paulie clears his throat, trying not to choke on his words. He tells his grandfather of his name change.
Tony pulls the phone handset from his ear and stares at it in utter disbelief. His hand begins to shake as he slowly places the handset back against his ear and quietly says, “Paulie, why? Why?”
Paulie swallows hard, holding down the bile that begins to erupt from his stomach and says, “Nonno, I want to advance within the Bureau, and they have always had an attitude against Italians, thinking that we are all part of organized crime. I want to succeed as an FBI agent without having to justify my heritage.”
“Paul Andrews.” Tony repeats the name with sorrow in his voice. “So, I no longer have a grandson named Andriano—my name, my honor, my family.”
“I am so sorry if this hurts you, Nonno. That is not my intention.”
“I will miss my grandson and I will grieve,” responds Tony before hanging up. He walks out to the alley behind the store to hide his anguish.
Paulie thinks his heart will break, but he’s not finished. He calls his mother.
After he stops speaking, she remains silent. She finally says, “You’re your own man now, Paulie. The choices you make are yours and yours alone. I will always love you. I don’t know what to do about your grandfather’s hurt and pain, but I know he loves you. I think that time will tell. In the meantime, just succeed. That success will help heal the wounds, my son. Have you told Vincent?”
“I dread that, but I will, today. I love you, mom. Please try to understand and tell Nonno I love him and will always honor him no matter what my name is.”
Paulie hangs up. He has one more call to make. He waits a while, recovering himself, then dials Vincent’s number.
“Hey, Paulie the G, did they teach you how to shoot yet?” Vincent jokes before his friend can speak. “Tell them to run for cover when they do because you may shoot them. You’re fucking cockeyed, could never hit a fast ball.”
There is silence on the line, before Vincent asks, “What’s going on?”
Paulie hesitates for another moment, then shares his news with Vincent. Now it is Paulie’s turn to hear silence at the other end.
“Paulie, you are so incredibly stupid,” Vincent finally erupts. “Why in the world would you do such a stupid thing knowing it would hurt everyone? Papa Tony must be devastated.”
“Vincent, please try to understand. I truly believe that if I have to constantly defend my name and ethnicity, it will become even harder to become the best FBI agent I can. Please try to understand and support me.”
“Paulie, you are like my brother and I love you, but this was a very serious mistake. You could have kept your name and continued to be proud of being Italian. You could have fought for to keep your good name and birthright, but you bowed to them, Paulie. That I cannot forgive. But I will always be there for you. You are who you are. Go on, be Paulie the G. That is what you always wanted and now you will get your wish.”
Vincent hangs up, thinking If the neighborhood ever hears about this…
“What a fucking nightmare!” he yells at the ceiling of his mother’s kitchen.
Paulie, alone at school, stares at the ceiling, too. Guilt-ridden, he tries not to hate himself.