THE YOUNG SOPRANO PART 2--XXX (CONTINUED)
THE YOUNG SOPRANO
PART 2--XXX
By
J. BECK
2024
...
(CONTINUED)
XXX
Before A.J. can return to the locked funeral home office to check on his two cousins Tommy & Bobby who were counting all the envelopes of money collected that day from condolences & tributes Deanne Pontecorvo cornered him.
"Anthony--I apologize for insulting & disrespecting earlier in the funeral home office. I feel terrible & embrassed for my children & myself."
A.J. sincerely assured her that no apologies were needed. He understood her pain & grief as well as her resentments for his late father & the Family. "If anyone should apologize it should be myself for striking your face."
"OH--NO. I deserved that Anthony! I actually needed that to snap me out of the distorted past & to face the honest reality. Not to mention--I found the blood-rush arousing!" Deanne winks with a warm smile & a single tear running down her cakey make-up cheek which A.J. removed with the swip of his thumb.
"I was so angered when I stormed out of the office determined to immediately leave when your mother Carmela & your Aunt Janice caught me in the hallway. They both insisted that I stay & invited me to sit at their table. Then I spoke with my brother Jack Black & he informed me of all you have done for our drug-addict niece Rhiannon! Apparently you are the only one who she will listen to & can reach her."
With that--Deanne Pontecorvo took A.J. ring hand to kiss it undetected standing in the corner & declaring him as her Don Anthony John.
A.J. leaned forward to kiss her atop her head to excuse himself saying that he was glad she decided to stay after all.
Back inside the unlocked funeral home office A.J. found his two cousins finishing up the detail he left them with.
"So--How much do we have here?"
But before Bobby could answer Tommy elbowed him & handed A.J. a piece of paper with a breakdown of the final amount: 250K$. Tommy then tells Bobby that you should never announce amounts verbally.
Bobby excused himself to use the restroom leaving A.J. & Tommy alone to talk in private.
"Tell me Tommy--What are your thoughts concerning BITCOIN?!"
"What do I think or what do the brokers believe?" (Both.) "Well if you ask my oldman about it when he arrives tomorrow morning he will tell you it is a Sham!" (& You?) "I'm not so certain of that. I've been playing in BITCOIN Futures on the side with my own money." (&?!) " And--I have been making out." (BUT?!) "But I don't have the resources to actually generate substantial profits." (I See.)
A.J. pats Tommy on the back--"I'm curious to hear more cousin. We will have to continue this discussion once we are through with this funeral business!"
A.J. locks the counted money in the desk drawer as they depart the office together to find everyone socializing as if Junior wasn't laid-out there in the open silver casket in the same room.
A.J. meets Meadow & Franny returning back upstairs after ramsacking the kitchen for finger-foods & drip. Both had carried up trays with carrots & celery to dip as a meat cheese & cracker tray for the ladies' table.
Meadow leans over to inform A.J. in his ear that the small elderly gentleman enter the lobby was Neil Link--Their late father's lawyer who she went to meet & dicuss her latest client Michelle "Feech" La Mama who was serving out the temainder of his prison sentence after he violated his prior parole.
A.J. walked up to introduce himself to Mr. Link who insisted that he address him by his first name & the two men shake hands. A.J. escorts Neil towards the guest-book outside Junior's viewing parlor. A.J. assured Neil Link that the guest-book would be buried with him if he decided to sign--Which he did.
"This hardly feels like a funeral?!" Neil said covering his mouth with a half laugh. After momentarily viewing Junior's peaceful putty & powder made up face Neil turns to tell A.J. that Corrado defied the odds of their Thing by not being murdered or dying in jail. Unlike his father Tony who was gunned down in cold-blood in front of his family.
Neil Link can see a man approaching them from A.J. backside over his shoulder. "Here is my card Anthony--I'd like to talk to you sometime at my office in private. This is no place to discuss such trivial matters but if you can come after 4P--That's when I have my first "Belt" of the day!" With that Neil offers his hand to shake viewing A.J.'s pinky-ring: "Be well my Young Soprano."
As A.J. wonders what Neil Link would want to speak to him in private about as he watched Neil make his way over to the ladies' table to give Meadow & Carmela his condolences whena man's voice snap him back to reality.
"EXCUSE ME--Are you Anthony Soprano?" As A.J. turns to see who the person was he hears the man say:"My name is Harold Melvoin--My friends call me "Mel". I was your late uncle Corrado's defense lawyer."
"That was a clever idea to print the wrong obituary in the SUN to throw the FEDS off! Fortunate for me I still have deep ties & connections to learn the truth. "
A.J. remained silent & listened as the stranger continued. "Your late uncle here has died owing my legal firm over 1M$."
Then A.J. slowly grins before laughter escapes him to laugh directly in the lawyers face. Loud enough to draw everyone's quieted attention.
"GOOD LUCK WITH THAT!" A.J. slaps the man on the shoulder to dismiss their brief conversation. & To walk away before he grabbed the greedy bastard by the throat & strangled him with his own bare hands as Fury rushed over him.
Then as A.J. retreated to the funeral home office to to regather & compose himself Compagino informs A.J. that there was someone inside waiting for him. "Who is it?" Cork shrugs his shoulders.
A.J. enters the office to find a middle aged blonde with one leg in a wheel-chair with a very large young man with long blonde hair & a dark edge.
"Anthony Soprano!" The woman declares in a raspy Russian accent. "Do you know who I am after all of these years?!"
"Yes " A.J. sheepishly smiles warmly--Forgetting all about his prior encounter with Junior's Funeral chasing lawyer Melvoin. "You were my grandmother Livia's home-care giver."
"Yes. & I also took care of your Uncle Junior when he was under house-arrest. My name is Svetlana Kirilenko & this is my 15 year old son Vladimir Soprano!"
"EXCUSE ME?--SOPRANO?!"
"YES. SOPRANO. Vladimir is Corrado 's son."
A.J. begins to chuckle: "I apologize Svetlana but that is impossible." (Impossible?!) "YES. IMPOSSIBLE. Uncle June was sterile--He could never of fathered you son if you had sex with him!"
"OH. OH MY GOD!" Svetlana covers her mouth with both hands. Vladimir places his large hands on his tiny mother's shoulders sitting in her wheelchair while glaring at A.J.
...
(To Be Continued)
ALL
AI GENERATED IMAGES
CREATED BY
USING WORD PROMPTS
2024
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