Road to Respect ~ Sopranos

Chapter 11

Joseph

The whistle blew and the match started. Joey sat in the bleachers with Tony, Carmela, and Silvio watching the girls' soccer match where Meadow was playing. She was playing goalkeeper and when the ball came close to her, she caught the ball, making their section of the bleachers cheer. She kicked the ball back and turned towards the crowd where she saw them all standing and clapping.

Joey got up to walk back to the school to piss. Once he was done, he decided to wander around the school where he found the large trophy cases filled with state trophies from a variety of sports. In the center of them all was a large all state varsity football trophy with a picture of his father and his team.

It terrified him just how much he looked like his father. Same eyes, same hair. His father was much larger than he was since he was a linebacker, but that didn't take away their similarities. He was smiling widely in the picture, Joey's never seen him smile before, not in person.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Joey asked softly.

After the game, Joey and the rest of the guys along with the coach were at Bada Bing to celebrate. Joey sat at the end of the bar with a glass of water while the others were working on their shots. "You did a hell of a job, Coach." Tony said as he walked over with a bottle of gin.

"Welcome to the Bada Bing." Silvio said while gesturing to the place with a light chuckle. "Everything's on the house."

Tony poured another shot for them before turning around. "Brandy! Come here! I want you to meet somebody." Joey looked up at the large stage and saw a pretty blond woman walking over. He knew most of the girls that worked there and was on good terms with them, most of them offered other services but Joey never liked paying for sex.

"This guy coached college." Artie told Silvio while pointing to the coach. "Division 1-A!"

"No. Get outta here." Tony said, not believing him.

"Nah, that's Boonie State." The coach corrected. "Besides, Art, the time has come to stop moving my wife and Deena like pawns every time somebody ups the ante. Anyway, how many chances does a man get to coach his own daughter? What do they say? 'Money isn't everything?'"

Joey snorted into his drink. He thought that type of thinking was ignorant since he probably never went hungry.

When he looked up he saw Brandy standing next to Tony with her breasts exposed and only wearing purple panties. "Brandy, why don't you give the coach here a deluxe tour of the VIP lounge?"

"What?" The coach asked, confused.

Artie gave an awkward chuckle. "Jesus, we said a beer." Brandy was already around the counter and rubbing the coaches shoulders.

"Woah. No, I... thank you but I don't think so." He said while gently pulling away from Brandy.

The door then opened and Tony's smile dropped. "Aw, Jesus Christ." Joey looked confused since he didn't know the guy who walked in. "Okay, Brandy, go sit on a tuffet." Tony snarked. She walked away and Joey followed her with his gaze. When she reached the door, she turned around and saw him staring at her. She smiled a little and waved him over with his finger.

Joey looked around and saw Tony talking to the stranger by the door and the rest of the guys were talking amongst themselves, allowing Joey to go to the back and get a private tour of the VIP lounge.

...

A few hours later Joey was in the park with Meadow and a few of her friends. They were passing around a bottle of Vodka in a paper bag just talking and gossiping. He wasn't sure why Meadow invited him there, but depending on the looks the other girls were giving him, it wasn't exactly Meadow's idea. Joey was sitting on the ground and leaning against a log while Meadow was leaning back into his chest.