HOUSE OF MEADOW
Sopranos Fan Fiction
E5-RETRACING HER STEPS
By Sopranos Blueprint
Retracing Her Steps
Doctor: If we can, I wanted to go back to something that you told me about at a previous appointment. When your supervisor let you go at your law office, you said he mentioned that it was only a matter of time until you did something that he “couldn’t fix.” Do you know what he meant by that?
[Flashback to Meadow’s therapy appointment in S4, E2, “No Show,” with Dr. Wendi Kobler.]
Dr. Kobler: When I asked you earlier what dad does for a living, you said “Waste management, wink wink.”
Doctor (present time}: I’m not exactly an expert, but from what I’ve seen on TV and in movies, just because one person in the household might be involved in…something…that doesn’t mean it extends to the entire family. Did you have any sort of personal connection with this firm or any of the attorneys prior to working there?
Flashback to Appointment with Dr. Wendi Kobler
"It's Patrick Parisi, Okay?"
Meadow: Well, yes. That’s the part I was going to mention next. My husband, Patrick, used to work there as an attorney, too. Our families have known each other for like ever. They used to be really close.
Doctor: They used to be close? They’re not close anymore?
Meadow: Long story. My college boyfriend and I had actually gotten engaged a couple years earlier, and I moved out to California with him. I should have known it was over when I saw that damn suitcase again. Patrick and I kind of dated on and off in high school, but I didn’t see myself ending up with someone like him. But once I was back in New Jersey after California, I guess I started to see him in a different light. He’d passed the New Jersey Bar Exam the year before and had a good job working as an associate at a local law firm, and things seemed to be really going down the right path for him. And at the time, I was still going back and forth between med school and law school, and Patrick was so supportive.
Then, after I got accepted to Columbia Law School, Patrick told me that they’d already set aside a spot for me to work as a summer associate after my 1L year. And eventually that led to their offering me a job as an associate upon graduation.
Doctor: So when you first started working there were things good? Or was there trouble from the beginning?
Meadow: At first, it was good. But then things started piling up. You know how it gets.
Doctor: I’ve heard that junior associates at law firms can have particularly grueling schedules.
Meadow Runs into Her Uncle & Learns About Caputo's Poulty
Meadow: But I wasn’t looking for time off. I was more bored than anything else. So about a year ago, I was grabbing coffee on the other side of town. I ran into someone I hadn’t seen in years. It was an old friend of my father’s. I almost didn’t recognize him at first. He was really sweet and gave me a big hug and kiss and he was just very warm and friendly. Honestly, if it were anyone else, I would have just said, “Gotta go, let’s catch up soon,” but I just didn’t have the heart to say no to him. I don’t know. He looked, like, lonely.Â
He tells me, “Listen before you go, no pressure cause you’re probably way too busy, but if you’re interested in making a few extra bucks…” I replied, “What kind of help are you looking for?” My father’s friend says, “Legal work! What do you think? You remember those fat cats that first came around back when Caputo Live Poultry was still here?”
Meadow: Caputo what?
Father’s friend: Caputo’s Live Poultry. You know, the chickens and the eggs? Your father owned it. Well, until he sold it. Felt kind of bad for the guy, you know, Caputo. Hey, what are you gonna do?
Meadow: Well, guess you learn something new every day.
Father’s friend: Anyway, once Caputo’s went, the rest of the block knew it was just a matter of time.
Now they’re coming for me! Everyone was all excited about the new mixed-use development and construction. Build, build build. That’s all they do these days. I just want them to leave me alone. I’m not interested in selling or leaving this property. So you think you can help me?
Meadow (to herself): Well, it’s true. A small single family home stands in the middle of a huge construction project slated to bring hundreds of jobs to the area. I respond to my father’s friend, “I’ll see what I can do.”
Doctor: Let’s talk about them.
