Bless the Child

- [ Bell Ringing ]|- ~ 'Tis the season to be jolly~

~Fa la, la, la, la, la, la~

~Don we now our gay apparel~

~~[Continues, Indistinct]

- [Woman]Did you see it, darling?|- Excuse me?

- [Woman]Did you see it, darling?|- Excuse me?

Star of Yacov, what they be calling|the Christmas star.

Ain't been seen since Bethlehem.|And now it's here.

- That's nice.|- Oh, yes. Very nice.

It's a good sign|for all good people.

Means someone special|come from God.

What do you think about that?

I don't know. I'm not sure|I believe in that kind of thing.

Oh, that don't matter. It's there|if you believe or not believe.

It don't care.

[Coughing]

Merry Christmas.

I don't have any change.

If you need a place to stay, there's|a shelter right down on Nassau.

-Jenna?|- Say hello to your Aunt Maggie.

I don't even know|where to start,Jenna.

It's been two years.

- [ Crying ]|- And a baby. What's his name?

- Her name is Cody.|- Cody.

She's eight-- Oh, no.

She's nine days old.

- Can I pick her up?|- She doesn't like to be held,

but do what you want.

She's soaking wet.|Are you breast feeding?

- Who's the father?|- [ Chuckles ] Beats me.

- Beats you?|- It means I don't know.

It could have been a couple of guys.|I didn't get a name and a number.

-Do you have any diapers or formula?|-In the bag.

You gave birth on drugs?

Are you insane?

- Answer me!|- [Cody Crying]

What?

What do you want me to say?|That I'm not perfect, like you?

- I'm not.|- I didn't say I was perfect.

But if I had a daughter, I wouldn't|let her be born a drug addict.

She's not strung out, okay?

I--|[ Sniffles ]

I took her to the clinic and|they said it was something else.

- What something else?|- I don't know.

You have a child. If you don't|give a damn about yourself,

at least|you have to care about her!

- Why?|- Because you're her mother!

Gee.

What's wrong, Mags?

Are you a little pissed|that maybe there is one thing...

I can do better than you after all?

- What are you talking about?|- You know. ''Mommy hood.''

Maybe if you could|have carried a kid,

that piece-of-sh*t husband of yours|wouldn't have run out on you.

What was it,|two miscarriages, three?

[ Sobbing ]

Why do you do this,|Jenna?

I'm the only family|you've got left.

I am the one that|is in trouble here, okay?

I came to you for a little help|and all you can do is give me sh*t!

I made a mistake coming here.|I'm leaving.

No,Jenna.

Don't run away again.

I'm so scared, Mags.

I don't know|what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna help you,

but first you have|to get off the drugs.

Okay?

[Cody Crying]

Hi, you.

Where are you going?

To take a bath.

That's what you always say, right?|''A hot bath will cure anything.''

Why don't we|change your socks?

[Clattering]

Jenna?

Jenna!Jenna!

[Cody Crying]

Okay, okay.

[Continues Crying]

Okay. It's okay.

[ Laughs ]|Hi.

Hi.

[ No Audible Dialog ]

You're a psychiatric nurse,|Maggie.

You know the diagnosis|as well as I do--

the arching back, the repetitive|behavior and the attention deficit.

I used to think|it was autism too,

but I'm not so sure anymore.

It's as if she's listening|to something we can't hear or see.

It's a difficult diagnosis|to accept. I know that.

But there are a wide range|of degrees of autism.

Cody may well be|one of the lucky ones.

Reading, writing,|language skills.

She may even be able|to express basic emotions.

She does.|I know she's a little withdrawn,

but she smiles and hugs me and|kisses me just like any little girl.

There's a special-needs school|in Brooklyn-- pre through six.

They've had great results|with kids like Cody.

It's Catholic. I don't know whether|that's any problem for you.

No. I was brought up|a Catholic.

Just so it's not|too religious.

And later, if her condition|gets more severe--

[Woman On TV]|I welcome you with open arms.

- It gets better every time.|- I've sponsored your appointment,

because I feel you are the most|able statesman in all Freedonia.

[Man] That covers a lot of ground.|You cover a lot of ground yourself.

Leave in a taxi. If you can't get|a taxi, you can leave in a huff.

If that's too soon, you can|leave in a minute and a huff.

You haven't stopped talking|since I came here.

You must have been vaccinated|with a phonograph needle.

[Thudding]

- [TV Shuts Off]|- What is it?

Cody! Cody!

Cody, Cody.

It's okay, baby girl.|It's okay, baby girl.

It's all right.|It's okay.

Just relax.|Take a big, deep breath.

Go--|[ Inhales ]

- Is she okay?|- Yes. She does this sometimes.

Look, I gotta get going.|I've gotta be up early tomorrow.

-All right.|-I got a pretty busy week this week,

but I'll--|I'll call you... soon.

That would be nice.

[ Murmuring ]|Don't leave in a huff.

- [Door Closes]|- Leave in a minute and a huff.

Now where is that mouse?

Right here?

Is that him?

I want you to get|some sleep, okay?

Okay?

Good night, sweetheart.

Time to work|on the picture board, Cody.

Cody. Cody.

- Don't you want to work?|- Please, Sister, after you.

Well, thank you, but we're|not working on our manners today.

Maybe we should.

No work.|Sister Rosa go work. Good-bye.

Cody, your aunt is here for you.

[ Voice Whispers, Indistinct]

[ Voice Whispers, Indistinct]

Martin?

- Martin Casillas?|- Yeah?

Martin, you remember me.|I'm a friend of your father's.

You were at my house last year.

- You're six, aren't you?|- Yeah.

- Good. You like dogs?|- Sure.

Well, I found a puppy and I bet he|needs someone to take care of him.

Oh, you're probably|too young to have a puppy.

- No, I could take care of a dog.|- Yeah?

Excellent. Well, he's right|over here in my van.

- Wow. Can I have him?|- Maybe.

We're looking for a very|special little boy, Martin.

If you're the one,|you can have the puppy.

- But first you have to pass a test.|- Like what?

The boy that we're looking for can|do things that nobody else can do,

sort of like magic tricks.

- Do you know any tricks, Martin?|- I don't know.

Well, maybe we can|help you find out.

Bet you that puppy's hungry.|Voila! Here.

Why don't you see if he'll|take that from you. Go on.

What's the matter?|It's only garbage, honey. Come on.

- [Clattering]|- [ Squeaking ]

Hey. Hey!

It's just little mice,

like Mickey Mouse.

It's no big deal.

[Woman On TV] The body|of six-year-old Tania Riley,

the fourth victim|in a series of kidnap murders,

was discovered last night near|a residential area in Queens.

A statewide search is now|in progress for the killer.

Police have yet|to name a suspect...

and have opened a 24-hour|hot line for any information...

regarding this or any|of the other murders.

- [Continues, Indistinct]|- Hey. Hey, hey.

Let's put the dolly|in the car.

Hi, Maria. I'm really late.|I've gotta run to work.

Okay. It's bedtime,|mi angelito.

On. For Teddy.

Oh, okay.|But just for Teddy.

Your mommy's|very pretty, yes?

Did you pray for her?

Oh, Cody.

You know this.|I tell you this.

You pray to the baby Jesus|for your mommy,

and one day she will|come back to you.

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