Orphan

JOHN:

Hang on. I know.

KATE:

Mm.

You're doing so good.

JOHN:
You're doing so good.

You all right?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

WOMAN [ OVER PA ]:

Dr. Matthews to the nurses' station.

JOHN:

Excuse me.

My wife's in labor.

We called ahead for Dr. Wheeler.

MAN:

I just need you to fill this out, please.

- Thank you.

- Have a seat, hon.

[ GROANING ]

- I'll be right up.

KATE:
Yeah.

- Okay?

- Okay.

- Is this your first?

- No, no, it's our third.

MAN:

Sir, can you sign here?

We're gonna name her Jessica.

[ GROANING ]

WOMAN:

Vitals look good.

KATE:

Where's John?

- Where's my husband?

MAN:
Just relax now.

Everything's gonna be okay.

What's happening?

What are you doing?

I'm so sorry for your loss.

- What?

- Your baby's dead.

No, it's not dead. It's alive.

What are you talking about?

It's moving.

It's a terrible loss. We're so sorry.

- Just relax.

- No!

What? No, no, no. Put me to sleep.

I wanna be asleep.

MAN:
It's too late for that.

- No!

It's okay, you're doing great.

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

MAN:

You might feel some tugging.

[ SCREAMING ]

Oh, my God. This isn't happening.

[ BABY CRYING ]

Congratulations, Mrs. Coleman.

It's a girl.

[ SCREAMING ]

WOMAN:
Yes, Kate, your dreams can be

a manifestation of your emotions.

It's your body and mind's way

of dealing...

...with the stress and grief

of what happened.

What if this has nothing to do

with the stillbirth?

What do you think it's about?

We're seeing kids

for the first time this weekend.

And maybe the nightmares...

Maybe I'm just not ready to adopt yet.

I drove by the wine shop

on the way home the other night.

Did you stop?

No. Wanted to. The thought

went through my brain, you know?

It wasn't for myself. It wasn't...

I just thought it would be nice to have

a bottle handy, in case we had guests.

But you didn't go in.

Mm-mm.

The key, to me...

...is not that you had the urge...

...but that you resisted it.

You wouldn't have made it through

the home study if you weren't ready.

But, ultimately...

...you have to decide.

Hi.

Honey, hello.

Let me see. Ooh. Did you paint this?

[ SIGNING ]

It's a beautiful butterfly.

It's fantastic.

Really wonderful. Good.

Let's go. I'm cold.

[ CAR HORN HONKING ]

[ TRUCK HORN HONKING ]

Are you okay?

[ THUDS ]

[ HUMMING ]

[ THUDDING ]

Ah!

Max!

Max!

Stop throwing!

I'm working.

KATE:

No, honey, I'm sorry.

Just take a break

for a little while, okay?

Because Mommy's trying

to play. Okay?

Daddy's here.

- Mine.

- Hey.

- Hi.

JOHN:
Sorry, practice went a little late.

KATE:
It's all right.

DANIEL:
Whoa.

JOHN:
Okay, tough guy. Give me that.

DANIEL:
Wicked.

No, no.

JOHN:

Shoot it, shoot it. Go, go, go, go.

DANIEL:
No.

JOHN:
Yes! Give me five.

Hey, how did it go? Daniel.

Fine.

JOHN:

Hey.

Okay.

DANIEL:

Five minutes. I'm at the last level.

JOHN:

No more video games. Brush your teeth.

DANIEL:
That's no fair. It won't save.

Come on, Dad, please?

[ HEARING AID BEEPS ]

[ MUTED SOUND ]

[ SIGNING ]

[ SIGNING ]

[ GASPS ]

Sorry.

Sorry, sorry, sorry.

God.

[ INHALES DEEPLY ]

You smell good.

Okay.

All right.

I have to stop being like this.

JOHN:

I get it.

I'm very excited, I'm happy.

I get nervous.

I'm really scared.

Last time I felt all of this

was right before I lost the baby.

I don't want you to feel like we have

to go through with this for my sake.

It's not just... It's not for you.

I wanna take the love

we felt for Jessica...

...and I wanna give it to somebody

who really needs it.

Are you sure, hon?

Yes.

GIRL 1:
Wanna make a snowman?

GIRL 2:
Sure.

GIRL 3:

It's really cold out here.

GIRL 4:

Hey, stop it.

[ GIRL 5 GASPS ]

WOMAN:
Hi.

KATE:
Hi.

So glad you could make it.

- So are we.

- Yeah, finally, right?

- So good to see you.

ABIGAIL:
Thank you for coming.

- This is really something.

ABIGAIL:
So go take a look around.

- Stay out of trouble.

JOHN:
Yeah, yeah.

Look at the snow orphan.

KATE:

Snow orphan?

Uh, snorphan?

[ CHATTERING AND LAUGHING ]

GIRL:
Hey.

WOMAN:
No, show it to Sister Mary.

[ GIRL SINGING "GLORY OF LOVE" ]

[ GIRLS LAUGHING ]

WOMAN:
Slow down, slow down.

GIRL 1:
You can't catch me.

GIRL 2:

Yes, I can.

ESTHER:

Hello?

Hi.

[ ESTHER SINGING "GLORY OF LOVE" ]

Are all these paintings yours?

- Yes. Do you like them?

- They're remarkable.

Thank you.

My name is Esther. What's yours?

John. Nice to meet you.

- Can I take a seat?

- Of course.

I never get tired of watching

these kids enjoy the party.

It really is. I'm so sorry

we didn't do this sooner.

Don't be. It's a big leap.

Adopting an older child

is not an easy decision to make.

KATE:

John's in the bathroom.

ABIGAIL:
Think he'll find us?

Do you wanna go look for him?

- Where did you get the idea for this one?

- My paintings always tell stories.

This one's about a sad mother lion

who can't find her cubs.

- She's smiling.

- She's dreaming about her babies.

It's the only thing

that makes her happy.

- I hope she finds them.

- She will. Look.

They were lost in the jungle,

and they were so scared...

...because they didn't have a mother.

Just when they thought

they'd be alone forever...

...they found their mother asleep

under this tree.

Now when she wakes up,

her dream will have come true.

- She'll have her family again.

- Amazing. You came up with that story?

KATE:
I think I hear his voice down here.

- Yes.

Hey. I want to introduce you.

This is my wife, Kate.

Kate, this is Esther.

Hello.

How are you? Nice to meet you.

She painted all these.

- Really?

- Yeah.

These are fantastic.

These are really wonderful.

- Thank you.

- Where did you learn how to do this?

I've just had lots of time to practice,

I guess.

It's really boring here.

It's boring here?

If you're so bored,

why aren't you down at the party?

I've never really seen the point of it.

Nobody's ever talked to me before.

I guess I'm different.

There's nothing wrong

with being different.

JOHN:

Well, you two have a lot in common.

[ LAUGHING ]

ESTHER:

I think people should always...

...try to take the bad things

that happen to them...

...and turn them into something good.

- Don't you?

- Yeah.

Absolutely.

ABIGAIL:
She's originally from Russia, but

it's amazing how strong her English is.

She's only been in the country

a few years.

You get children from other countries?

It's rare. But when we do,

it's sometimes difficult to place them.

The family that brought her to America

died in a house fire.

In a fire?

My God.

Esther barely got out.

She's been through a lot,

but this is an extraordinary little girl.

She's very bright.

She's very mature for her age.

And she's very well-mannered.

She's a bit of a princess, actually.

She wears those ribbons on her wrists

and her neck all the time.

Mine too.

We had trouble with her

when we tried to take them off.

How does she get along

with other kids?

Oh, when she has to interact,

she's great.

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