Road to Respect ~ Sopranos

Chapter 29

Joseph

"You don't have any stories?" Jon Favreau asked from across the table of the shitty hotel restaurant. It was supposed to be some high class five-star sort of place, but it was too rich for Joey's taste buds. "I mean come on, there was that whole investigation thing, what was it, two years ago?"

"Last year." Joey corrected.

"Jeez, man." Jon said, taking a bite out of his food. "So young and you're already being investigated by the FBI."

"Wrongfully investigated." Joey said with a wink before he took a sip of his martini. He tried his best not to cringe at the taste. "But yeah. It was all bull shit, ya know. They just tore my place up, spoke to my girl. They did steal my ma's necklace though." Joey was still pissed about that. "Fuckers."

"Yeah..." Jon seemed a little unsettled by Joey's burning scowl towards his rubbery steak. "Um, I wanted to ask, how did you get involved in... the life."

"Junkie whore mom, junkie abusive dad." Joey shrugged. "You know the guy they arrested, Corado Soprano?"

"Yeah."

"His nephew took me in." Joey said with a tight smile. "Nothing left to say."

"Oh, I bet there is." Jon chuckled. "But I won't pry. But if they ever make a movie..."

"I'll write in my will that you will get my diary."

"Really?"

"No, Jon." Joey chuckled and looked at the source of the high heel clicking that was making their way towards them. "Aw, fuck."

"Joseph." Amy greeted with a grin. "How are you doing?"

"Fine." Joey said with a polite smile. He took a sip of his drink and looked at Jon. "Thank you for inviting me, man, but I gotta go. Besides, you had a late-night meeting last night." Joey added when he saw Jon about to argue. "You should get some sleep."

"I-I thought you wanted to run a business proposition by me." Jon pointed out.

"It can wait." Joey kept walking out the door, much to the dismay of Amy and Jon, for entirely different reasons.

As Joey walked down the street towards his car, he thought back to his mother's necklace and then eventually his mother. Times between them weren't as bad as Joey always told people. There were definitely times where he wished he ran away sooner, but there were small moments where she made it worth staying. He always wondered what happened to her, what caused her to become a junkie. Was it just fun that got out of hand? Were her parents unkind? She never spoke about her half-brother, Jimmy, but he wondered if they ever did have a relationship.

He got in his car and looked to the passenger seat and saw the files he picked up from the hospital. They were just copies of Mateo's medical records Angie needed for some reason. Then an idea formed in his head.

...

"Hello sir, how can I help you?" The secretary with the kind smile asked as Joey walked up to the counter.

"Hi, I was wondering what your policy is on accessing medical records." Joey answered. "You see, my mother died a few years ago and we weren't exactly... close. I have a kid on the way, two actually and another two already born. Umm.." He took pause at the slightly judgmental look he received from the woman. He didn't blame her, he was young and about to have four kids. "I need to know if I am able to see if she had any hereditary illnesses."

"Okay, was she a patient here?" She asked.

"Uh, yes, I was born here. Her name is Charlotte LaRocca. But she may have gone by her maiden name Altieri."