- Theresa Johnson: [to Hillary] Honey, it's almost lunchtime. I'm gonna go get us some sandwiches. Do you think you can stay here and play by yourself for a little while?
- Hillary Johnson: Yeah, I wanna go on the swings.
- [as she runs towards them]
- Theresa Johnson: Good.
- [pause]
- Theresa Johnson: No, wait!
- [she beckons Hillary back over]
- Theresa Johnson: Don't forget Mary Beth!
- [hands Hillary her doll]
- Hillary Johnson: [happily] Okay.
- [she runs back to the swings, Theresa walks off to a large tree in the park and hides behind it, watching Hillary swing as Reed's van pulls up. He exits the vehicle with a social worker]
- Calvin Reed: Hillary!
- Hillary Johnson: [happy to see him] Hi!
- Calvin Reed: Hi! Could you come over here, please?
- Hillary Johnson: [getting off the swing and walks to him] Mom's gone. She went to get sandwiches.
- Calvin Reed: I know. She asked me to come get you, take you over to my house.
- Hillary Johnson: Why? Is she gonna be there?
- Calvin Reed: [patiently] Now Hillary, you and I are going to have to talk about some things.
- Hillary Johnson: [pointing to the social worker] Who's that?
- Calvin Reed: Her name is Mrs. McCurdy, and she's a very nice lady. She's going to come with me.
- Hillary Johnson: [protesting as Calvin leads her to his van] But I'm not supposed to go with anybody but my mommy.
- Calvin Reed: [as Theresa watches from behind the tree, crying] I know, sweetheart. But this time is different.
- Hillary Johnson: [frightened] My mommy told me to stay here.
- Calvin Reed: [soothingly] It's OK, we're just gonna go over to my house.
- Hillary Johnson: [crying] Why can't we wait for her?
- Calvin Reed: [opening his door] Mrs. Johnson!
- Theresa Johnson: I need to talk to you.
- Calvin Reed: Come in.
- [she enters]
- Theresa Johnson: I want you to take Hillary... I want you to find her a home.
- Calvin Reed: Are you sure about this?
- Theresa Johnson: We stay in places where you're afraid to fall asleep. We eat food that nobody else wants. We spend all day on the street, walking with no place to go. People look at us like we're trash. They don't want to stand next to us. They don't want to talk to us. They don't even want to know we're there. It's the loneliest kind of life. It's no way for a child to live... others can give her better.
- Calvin Reed: Can they love her? As much as you?
- Theresa Johnson: No, no. But she needs more than love. She needs other kids to play with... friends who aren't gonna be leaving every two weeks. She needs decent clothes, food that don't make her sick. She needs a roof over her head and a safe place to sleep. She needs a home.
- Calvin Reed: [sighs, getting up] Mrs. Johnson, please, sit down.
- [guides her to a chair, where she sits]
- Calvin Reed: The first thing we'll need to do is contact the juvenile court. They'll assign a counselor to see if there's any way you and Hillary can remain together. If that doesn't seem to be in her best interest, they'll begin court proceedings. And they'll need to talk to Hillary's father.
- Theresa Johnson: Father? I don't know where he is.
- Calvin Reed: Well, they'll try to track him down. In the meantime, you'll be assigned an attorney to help you with the hearings.
- Theresa Johnson: How long is all this gonna take?
- Calvin Reed: It could take six months, it could take longer.
- Theresa Johnson: Six months? That's too long. She can't live like this another six months. What if she gets sick again? What if she gets hurt?
- Calvin Reed: There's only one way they'll take a child immediately.
- Theresa Johnson: How?
- Calvin Reed: If she's been abused, or abandoned.
- Theresa Johnson: Abandoned?
- Calvin Reed: You tell me where, you tell me when.
- Theresa Johnson: [to Calvin] I can't think about me right now. I have to think about Hillary. I have to think about her future. My family has always been poor, Mr. Reed. My mother, and my grandmother, and her mother before that. We worked hard, and we'd sweat, but we ain't never been anything but poor. I don't know how to stop that... for Hillary. I don't know how... except to give her to somebody else.
- Hillary Johnson: What's the matter? Why'd you come to school?
- Theresa Johnson: I lost my job. I left early yesterday to line up for another shelter and they found out. When I came in today, they said I was fired.
- [begins to cry]
- Theresa Johnson: I can't do anything right! I can't keep a job, I can't keep a husband!
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