At the YMCA, Carmine gestures for Vincent to sit, and with a motion of his head towards the door signals his two guys to leave. They shut the door behind them.
“Vincent, do you know who I am?”
“I guess I do. You’re Carmine Commaretta.”
Carmine nods and sits back in his chair. He studies Vincent. “I hear that you are very close to Paulie Andriano. Is that true?”
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful,” Vincent replies, his head still throbbing, “but why am I here? What’s Paulie to you”
Carmine’s face shows disapproval. But then he stands up, walks over to Vincent, leans over his shoulder, and whispers into Vincent’s ear.
“Paulie is my son.”
Vincent looks up at him, his mouth agape. He swallows and shakes his head from side to side, absorbing what he’s just heard.
“Only Tony and Rina know this, Vincent,” Carmine continues. “And maybe your mom,” he adds as an afterthought. “I want to keep it that way. Do you understand me?”
Vincent slowly shakes his head and says nothing.
“Yesterday, I met with Tony and he told me all about Paulie,” Carmine says, “every thing.” He moves toward the window, hands clasped behind his back, like an actor embarking on a grand soliloquy. But this is no play, and Carmine isn’t acting.
“They told me that Paulie does not know I’m his father. And they kept the fact that he wanted to be an FBI agent from me. At first it made me angry—and I mean really, fucking angry—that they waited this long to share such news. I wanted to pound Tony’s fucking head into the ground when he told me. But, after I had time to think about it, I reconsidered.”
Carmine pauses, still staring out the window.
“I wanted to see Paulie as soon as I got out. But knowing that he is an FBI agent really fucking changes things. Just a few days ago, Rina sent word to me that she wants to see me. I want to do that right away as well, but my head is still swimming. I have the FBI up my ass, and now this? Fuck!”
Throughout Carmine’s speech, Vincent sits still. His loyalty is to Paulie, no doubt, but he’s puzzled. Carmine sounds so sincere.
“They tell me that you are like Paulie’s brother, thick as thieves,” Carmines says, turning to face Vincent. “If you are like his brother, and you two are that close, then I need you to help me through this, Vincent. Are you willing to do that?”
“I love Paulie,” Vincent says. “He is my brother, and I will do anything I can to keep him from harm. But I have to tell you, I have no idea what he’ll do if he learns the truth, I really don’t. If this is a surprise to me, can you imagine the shock to him?”
At that, Carmine puts his head into his hands, shaking it from side to side. For Vincent, it’s actually sad to see this gangster—this feared mob boss—so perplexed and confused.
“Why did you all keep this secret from Paulie in the first place?” Vincent asks.
Carmine tells Vincent everything.