Hey, Ma… Ma!”
Vincent bumps into her as he turns through the kitchen door.
“Whaddya yelling for?”
“Nothing, I just was looking for you.”
“Don’t yell in my house.”
“Alright, jeez. Hey, listen, have you talked to Rina lately? I went by the store to say hello to her and Papa Tony. She looks really depressed, Ma, and so does Papa Tony. Do you know what’s going on?”
She does, but Teri cannot discuss it with her son, at least not yet.
“They both just miss Paulie,” she says truthfully. “Sometimes it hurts them more than other times.”
“Alright, Ma,” Vincent says, not entirely convinced.
“And maybe they don’t understand why he was so obsessed with becoming an FBI agent in the first place,” she offers. “To be honest, I don’t either. Did you boys ever discuss it?”
Her arms across her chest—a signal to Vincent that she means business—Teri waits for his reply.
“Not much. He constantly got ragged about it by the guys in the Neighborhood, so I didn’t press him. It was like he had this dream and wanted it to become reality. As close as we are, I have no clue. Anyway, when I see him next Tuesday, I’ll get everything resolved, believe me.”
His mother stares him down.
“Are you going to tell Rina and Papa Tony that you’re going out there?”
“Yes, I’m going to see them now. But I won’t tell them the reason why. In any event, I’m not coming home until he finds a way to settle things with Papa Tony. This has gone on too long.”
“They’re both stubborn.”
Vincent begins to pace.
“I think he will listen to me and reach out for his Nonno. Believe me, I will make his life miserable if he does not.”
“Good luck with that,” his mother says.
Vincent heads out. He leaves the car and walks to the grocery store. He needs time to think about how he’ll approach the old man. On his walk, Vincent hears his name called. He turns and sees Shoes outside the barber shop waving him over.
“Hey kid, I’m glad I saw ya. I was actually thinking about you.”
“What’s up?” asks Vincent.
“Did you get your license yet?”
“No, but I should in a couple of days.”
“Come and see me the moment you get it. I want you to meet a couple of people, okay?”
“You bet. I will let you know.”
Rina is at the counter when he gets to the grocery store. “Hi, honey,” she says, as he gives her a kiss.
“Hey, you know I’m going to see Paulie next Tuesday.”
“You’re what?” Rina looks overjoyed at first, but then she frowns. “Are you going to tell my father?”
“Yes, I’m going to see him right now. Is he in the back?”
Rina bites her lip.
“He’s got a lot on his mind right now, Vinny. Just tell him you’re going out there but try not to get into any discussion about it. He’s in a nasty mood.”
So, what else is new? Vincent thinks as he walks to the loading area.
Vincent sees Papa Tony talking to a truck driver, waving his hands around. Rina was right about his mood. He sees Vincent and abruptly waves off the driver. Then he brushes past Vincent without a word and goes inside.
The new guy, Peter Dante, is unloading boxes of canned tomatoes from the truck and setting them against the wall. Vincent looks at him with sympathy. Then he thinks about the question Paulie asked him, about what happens to the thousands of cans of tomatoes they used to stack up right there.
“You ever think about why we never bring those cans inside?” Vincent asks Dante. “Someone might take them out here.”
Not that they ever would, considering the respect Tuff Tony commands in the Neighborhood. But then again, why is it only the canned tomatoes that are stored out on the loading dock and nothing else? The new guy looks at Vincent, surprised to be spoken to.
“I dunno. Someone will come with another truck and pick them up later.”
“Oh yeah, obviously.”
Vincent turns and goes back inside. Papa Tony in his office, looking intently at a photo of a young Paulie sitting on his lap. Vincent has seen it a hundred times—little chunky Paulie, with a big grin on his face.
“Papa, what if someone in the grocery business wanted to hide or launder money without risking the withdrawal of cash? In other words, how could a grocery owner secretly hide his profits—or lack thereof—from his store?”
Papa Tony scowls at Vincent before answering.
“Why you asking?”
“Just curious,” says Vincent.
“You can leave out the produce, bread, meat, and all the other things, but the only way to get cash in and out is to rotate the canned goods stock.”
Of course.
Then Tony looks over, placing the photo face down on his desk.
“Why do you ask?”
“Like I said, just curious.”
“This is what you think about? Get out of here, I’m busy.”
“Wait, I gotta tell you something. There’s a reason I came over here. I want to let you know that I am going out to see Paulie next Tuesday.”
Tony looks Vincent in the eye but says nothing. He stands up and pushes Vincent out of the office and closes the door. Vincent walks back over to Rina.
“What’s wrong with him?”
Rina wrings her hands together and tears up.
“He’s got a lot on his mind, honey. You go and give my son a big kiss from me. And get him to call me more often.”
Vincent heads home even more confused than before. He needs to talk to his mother about this. But, on the bright side, he might have just solved Paulie’s money laundering problem.
At the end of the day, Rina locks the door to the store and walks back to her father’s office. She knocks lightly on the door.
“Papa, it’s Rina. Can I come in?”
A moment later, the door slowly opens. Tony takes her arm gently and sits her down. They look at each other for a moment. Then Tony breaks the silence.
“I just heard for sure. He’s getting released in two weeks.”
Tony watches her reaction. She doesn’t reveal much.
“Papa, he kept his word and did not interfere in any way. But he’s going to want to see Paulie, I have no doubt. And he should.”
“No,” Tony says, anger in his voice. “He should not, and I will not allow it. Paulie is an FBI agent now, for God’s sake, not an accountant or a banker. An FBI agent. I will meet with Carmine and explain all of this to him. I will make him understand!”
Rina shakes her head and begins to cry. Her father’s anger frightens her. But enough is enough. He cannot control her life forever.
“I should have never agreed to this, Papa. He is Paulie’s father.”
“Rina, he is a made man and may become even more powerful after he gets released.”
“I understand why you made me do what you did. But I felt it was wrong then, and I still do.”
“Paulie cannot ever know that his father is an Organized Crime boss. He’d lose his job. He’ll be ruined.”
“I cannot believe that I kept his son from him. I feel horrible. I’ve felt horrible every day for twenty-five years.”
“Let this be for now. I will talk to Carmine.”
He embraces her. They both weep. In his arms, Rina feels like she’s suffocating. But what can she do?