The day after Vincent’s conversation with Paulie in California, he goes to see Papa Tony. They sit down at a table outside the grocery store and sip lemonade that Paulie’s mother brings them. Tony looks at Vincent with envy. He has not spoken to his grandson since Paulie told him about his name change.
Vincent senses that Tony wants to talk. Otherwise, he’d be barking at him to get to work. So, Vincent shares everything that’s going on with Paulie. Rina comes in and sits next to Vincent as he speaks. She has spoken to Paulie a couple of times since he moved out to L.A. and knows most of what’s going on. But she still misses him and wants to talk.
“I will wait until he gets settled out there and then go pay him a visit,” Vincent says. “I’ll make sure that he’s okay.”
Papa Tony looks away as the tears well in his eyes. He gets up and goes back inside to his office.
“I will make this better, Rina,” Vincent assures her. “First, I need to go out there and look him in the eye. He needs to mend this rift with Papa Tony. I will make sure that happens, Rina, I promise.”
Rina bows her head, then says, “Vincent, that would mean the world to me.” She tousles his hair and lets him kiss her cheek.
Just then they hear Papa Tony’s voice boom from inside. “Vincent! Get over here.”
Vincent gets up and goes.
“Go see that lawyer at three o’clock this afternoon,” Tony says. “Take your birth certificate, discharge papers, your GED, and anything else official. Do you have your social security card?”
“Yes. Can you tell me what’s happening?”
Tony shrugs his shoulders and walks back into his office.
Vincent goes home to shave and take a shower. When he gets out of the shower his mother is not home, and he wonders where she is. He looks out at the street and sees that his car is gone, too.
He gets dressed and goes into the kitchen where he notices an old manila folder sitting on the table. He opens it up and finds copies of his birth certificate, his Army discharge papers, his GED scores, and other documents. In fact, it’s everything that he needs. He hears the front door shut, and his mother approach from the hall. He kisses her.
“Did Papa Tony ask you to do this, Ma?” He nods toward the folder.
“Yes, this morning.”
“Really? Because he went all through this with me a little while ago.”
His mother shrugs and says, “Me too. So, I went to my friend Joyce’s office, and she let me photocopy everything. I put the originals back in your dresser drawer, along with two other sets of copies in case you need them.”
“Papa Tony told me I had to go see that lawyer this afternoon.”
“So, what are you talking to me for? Go see him. Now you have everything you need, I think.”
Something doesn’t seem right. Vincent takes his car keys, kisses her goodbye, and sets off to see the attorney.