Chapter 11: You Shouldn't Of Said That
It's later in the day and Vinny just came home with Matt from his baseball game. They walk into the house.
"How did you do?" Lorraine asked Matt.
"I did okay." Matt said to her.
"You did great today." Vinny told him.
"I didn't get a hit at all today." Matt said to him.
"But, you played great on defense today. Matt even the pros go hitless in a game." Vinny told him.
"I know." Matt told him.
"So why are you mad that you didn't get a hit today?" Vinny asked him.
"We lost. I couldn't even hit the ball with a runner on third and one out." Matt told him.
"How much did you lose by?" Danny asked him.
"A run." Matt told him.
"Matt I didn't get a sack every game I played in college." Vinny explained.
"Really?" Matt asked him.
"Yeah. But, I made up for that by occuping blockers so my other teammates could make the play." Vinny then explained.
"Did you ever have a bad game in college?" Matt asked him.
"Of course. As a matter of fact my junior year when my coach first started me I had three bad games in a row." Vinny told him.
"Three?" Matt asked him.
"Yeah. I couldn't make a tackle or a sack and I was blown off the line." Vinny then told him.
"Man dad you sucked in college." Danny said to him.
"I didn't suck in college I was just nervous. After those three games I tried harder in practice, corrected my mistakes and watched film of those games until my eyes hurt from watching them so much." Vinny told him.
"I'll do my best to correct my mistakes and try harder in the next game." Matt said to Vinny as he went upstairs to change out of his uniform.
"Vinny you never told me that story." Lorraine said to him.
"That's because it never happened to me. It happened to the guy who was ahead of me on the depth chart. He was moved down to second defensive tackle and I was bumped up to first defensive tackle." Vinny told her.
"You lied to Matt dad?" Danny asked him.
"I didn't lie exactlly. I told him a true story only it didn't happen to me." Vinny explained to him.
"You still lied to him." Lorraine said to him.
"I did try harder in practice, corrected my mistakes that keep me from becoming a starter and I did watch film until my eyes hurt." Vinny said to them.
"But, you didn't have three bad games in a row." Danny told him.
"I did in high school." Vinny told them.
"You still lied to Matt." Danny said to him.
"I know that, you know that and your mother knows that but, Matt doesn't know that." Vinny told him.
"That doesn't matter. You need to go up there and tell Matt the truth." Lorraine told him.
"Okay. I'll go tell him the truth." Vinny told her as he went upstairs.
Vinny knocks on Matt's door. "You changed yet?" Vinny asked Matt from outside his room.
"Yeah." Matt replied.
Vinny walks into his room.
"Hey dad." Matt said to him.
"Matt I need to tell you something." Vinny said to him.
"That story about you having three bad games in a row in college isn't true?" Matt asked him.
"How did you find out?" Vinny then asked him.
"I heard you, mom and Danny talking about it." Matt replied.
"I'm sorry Matt." Vinny said apologizing to him.
"Don't worry dad. I know that you just told me that story so I wouldn't feel bad about not getting a hit today." Matt said to him.
"That's a true story I had three bad games in high school. Everything else I told you happened also. I tried harder in practice corrected my mistakes and I did watch game film until my eyes hurt." Vinny told him.
"In college or high school?" Matt asked him.
"College and high school." Vinny told him.
"I'm glad you told the truth dad. It shows that you're growing up." Matt told him sarcastically.
"Matt you're eight. You don't know what it means to act grown up yet." Vinny told him.
"You don't know what it means to act grown up either." Matt told him.
"But, I can fake it at my age. I might act like I'm ten but, I'm making more money then a ten year old could only dream of making at my age." Vinny told him.
"That's not fair." Matt said to him.
"You know what's not fair?" Vinny asked him.
"What?" Matt replied.
"You get away with acting like a kid. I can't, if I act like a kid people look at me like I'm an idiot." Vinny told him.
"I still don't think it's fair that you didn't have to grow up but, I'm going to have to." Matt said to him.
"Matt if you make as much money as I did when you're the age I was when my company took off you can act anyway you want." Vinny told him.
"How old were you when your company took off?" Matt asked him.
"I was twenty three. So I wasn't that grown up yet. After I made my first two million I could do whatever I wanted as long as I didn't act too much like a kid." Vinny explained to him.
"You think I can make two million dollars when I'm twenty three?" Matt asked him.
"If you take over DiMiranda's when you're twenty three you'll make over one hundred million in your first three months." Vinny told him.
"Wow." Matt said to him.
"Yeah, wow." Vinny then said to him.
"Can I have DiMiranda's now?" Matt asked him.
"You have to graduate from elementary school, middle school and high school first." Vinny told him.
"Okay. I can do that." Matt said to him.
"Then you have to graduate from college with a Masters in Business Management like I did." Vinny told him.
"That's going to take forever." Matt then said to him.
"It will only take you fourteen more years." Vinny said to him.
"I'll be ancient by then." Matt told him.
"I'll be ancient by then. You'll be a young man." Vinny told him with a laugh.
"It still feels like forever." Matt said to him again.
"That day will be sooner then you think." Vinny told him.
"Really?" Matt then asked him.
"Yeah. It feels like it was just yesterday that I held Danny and Kate in my arms for the first time ever. And that was sixteen years ago." Vinny explained.
"You must be really old then." Matt said to him.
"I'm forty three. And I'm not getting any younger." Vinny told him.
"How old is mom?" Matt asked him.
"She'll tell you she's thirty but, she's really thirty seven." Vinny told him.
"Wow that's old too." Matt said to him.
"Don't say that to your mother." Vinny told him.
"Why?" Matt asked him.
"Your mother doesn't like people to know her real age." Vinny explained.
"Why?" Matt asked him again.
"No women really like to tell people their real ages." Vinny explained.
"Why?" Matt asked him once more.
"I don't know. I'm not a woman." Vinny told him.
"I'll go ask mom then." Matt said as he went to go ask Lorraine.
"I told you not to tell your mother about this." Vinny said as he went to stop Matt from asking Lorraine why women don't like to reveal their real ages.