Meadow: A Sopranos Fanfic

The Lady From Caserta

Jennifer was born in North Caldwell in a quaint little part of the borough near the municipal town pool. Her father, Joseph, had purchased their home at a bargain back in 1952, renovated it, gotten it ready for sale, and then took it off the market as soon as her mother, Aida, became pregnant with her in 54'. Jennifer had been an unexpected birth, but they had luckily been ready for it without even knowing they were. Although she lived clear on the other side of the city, Jennifer occasionally found herself visiting the area, more frequently ever since her parents had passed, in order to pick up stuffed zucchini from the Essex Falls market she and her father had frequented when she was younger.
Younger, can you even remember what that means? she thought while leaving the parking lot. She didn't feel 65, but she wasn't ready to prove otherwise either, as the aches and pains in her joints would surely sink any case trying to disclaim what she could clearly see in the mirror. Instinctively, Jennifer turned her head to make sure no one was following her, gripping her phone tightly, an instinctual byproduct of a rape she had endured in her younger days. There's that word again, younger. The rather large Huawei had a new toy installed that her son had downloaded for her; an app that would call 5 different numbers, including the police, if she let go of the 'Home' button before getting in her car. Even at 65, her fear of rape was just as strong as it had been when she had been 45. Deep down inside however, she knew the chances of it were slimmer, and she scoffed at her own unwanted, incredibly ridiculous thought. What the fuck Jennifer, are you envying a younger woman's higher chances of being raped?!
"Excuse me, are you by any chance Dr. Jennifer Melfi?" a voice came from behind and she nearly jumped out of her bones, letting out a half scream in the process.
Jennifer turned to face her attacker and realized it was a man in his 50's wearing a tan business suit and sporting real concern on his face over her actions.
"Oh my... oh my god...," she said between breaths, "you... you scared me I'm so sorry."
The man had a hand out as if ready to hold her if she needed it, but in his face she could tell he was too bewildered to actually get anywhere near her. This made her smile nervously and she quickly quelled her fear and put her hand on his to relieve his worry. The action did the trick and the notch between his eyes smoothed out.
"I am so sorry, I really didn't mean to...," he began, but she waved him off and smiled even bigger. Come on big boy, settle down. As if on cue, the man straightened up and accepted her words as true.
"You are Dr. Jennifer Melfi aren't you? The psychiatrist that treated the mob boss in the early 2000's Tony Soprano?"
"Yes, do I...?"
"Oh no, no, forgive me, I'm just a local fan and realized who you were and thought I'd say hello," he was smiling now too and she could see he was a harmless nerd disguised as a middle-aged balding man in a suit.
"Thank you very much, I'm guessing you're a fan of the book? Or the tv series?" she entered the code in her phone so as to shut down the app and slowly searched her bag for her keys so as to subconsciously indicate that this wouldn't be a long talk.
"Both!" the man admitted enthusiastically, "I know 'The Couch' was very short lived..."
"Just one season," Jennifer confirmed with a nod.
"Yes, right, but I still own the season on dvd," he said proudly with a laugh/snort.
"Do you have the book or the dvd that I can sign?" she asked.
"Ohhh nooo, that woulda been great! I sincerely had no idea I'd be meeting the Dr. Melfi in the flesh today," he fake bopped his head as to indicate he was a bozo.
"Well you're too kind," she said, finally bringing out the keys from her bag. As expected he hurried up his immediate question upon seeing them.
"Dr. Melfi," he began but she interrupted, "Jennifer, please. I haven't practiced psychiatry since..."
"Oh of course, of course," he nodded profusely, "actually I have a little homemade podcast that I produce called 'Sleuth' and getting a sound bite from you would, oh my god, would so totally get my listens up in the thousands. You wouldn't mind sparing a minute of your time would you?" he took out his phone and motioned for her acceptance.
After an awkward moment, she finally nodded yes while clearly knowing she might regret it; still, she couldn't resist as it had been ages since a fan had harassed her on the street. When we get home, you and I are having a serious talk about your self esteem issues. Maybe over a bottle of 'Élysées du Paradis.'
The man opened up a recording app and tried to shift his demeanor with a bit of a comic result.
"Dr. Melfi," he began.
"Jennifer, please," she corrected him.
"Jennifer, would you mind explaining, in your own words, why you thought writing a tell-all book after the death of reputed mob boss Tony Soprano in which you violated your patient's privilege to confidentiality was worth losing your entire practice over. I mean, your reputation, your license to practice, all of it was lost once you published the book and was further exacerbated with the creation of a tv show."