Speaker 1: As the case bills momentum, so do Dana's doubts. Every
Speaker 1: piece of evidence paints a different picture than the one
Speaker 1: in her file, a mother who gave everything, who could
Speaker 1: have hidden her crime but didn't, who spent decades trying
Speaker 1: to protect her son from a system that repeatedly failed
Speaker 1: families like hers. Dana speaks with witnesses who've lived the
Speaker 1: same story, caregivers of disabled family members, experts who've seen
Speaker 1: institutional abuse firsthand. These aren't just character witnesses for Ada.
Speaker 1: They're witnesses to a broken system, a kind of system
Speaker 1: Ada feared would swallow her son the moment she was gone.
Speaker 1: Act three, Interior courtroom, Day Corta's in session. Ada on
Speaker 1: the stand to resume her testimony.
Speaker 2: Ada, in your own words, can you tell us what
Speaker 2: happened the night of April twenty fourth of this year.
Speaker 3: It had been a good day, as close to perfect
Speaker 3: a day as could get for us, no miltdowns, no outbursts.
Speaker 3: The rain had held off till evening, so Teddy was
Speaker 3: able to lie in the garden, feel the sun on
Speaker 3: his face.
Speaker 1: Insert flashback montage. Teddy lies on his back in the garden.
Speaker 1: Ada watches him from the doorway. Ada runs a bath
Speaker 1: for Teddy hours bubble bath into the tub. Teddy enters
Speaker 1: the bathroom. He wears a robe. Ada brings Teddy a
Speaker 1: dish of ice cream. Teddy gets into bed, Ada tucks
Speaker 1: him in, sits next to him, checks her watch. Ada
Speaker 1: picks up a cloth hood from the nightstand. Ada connects
Speaker 1: a tube to the helium tank, turns a valve on
Speaker 1: the tank. Ada sits on the bed with Teddy, holds
Speaker 1: his hand. Ada checks Teddy's pulse, strokes his hair, and
Speaker 1: kisses his cheek. Then lays her head on his chest
Speaker 1: and sobs. Ada removes the yellow balloon from a package
Speaker 1: and uses the tank to fill it. Back to scene.
Speaker 2: Ada, by your own admission, you're telling us you took
Speaker 2: your son's life.
Speaker 4: Why did you do it?
Speaker 3: About a year ago, I read an article about a
Speaker 3: woman who lived with her eighty four year old mother,
Speaker 3: just the two of them. The woman was deaf, blind,
Speaker 3: and mentally disabled. Her mother had taken care of her
Speaker 3: for so many years, just like Teddy and me. When
Speaker 3: the mother died at home, the woman crawled around on
Speaker 3: the floor over her mother's dead body, looking.
Speaker 4: For food and water.
Speaker 3: Before before she was finally found a week later. She
Speaker 3: was so traumatized they had to put her into the hospital.
Speaker 3: All I could think was that was that that could
Speaker 3: have been Teddy, all alone, unable to even walk out
Speaker 3: the front door for help.
Speaker 2: But Ada, there are State Hospital's residential living facilities. Why
Speaker 2: didn't you just find somewhere else for him to go?
Speaker 3: Sixty five years Teddy lived in that house with me.
Speaker 3: He knew every spot where the floor creaked, exactly how
Speaker 3: long it took the toaster to pop up when it
Speaker 3: was time to plant the strawberries. That was his home,
Speaker 3: his sanctuary. It was where he belonged, where he felt secure,
Speaker 3: even happy. How could I take all that away from him?
Speaker 1: Her voice breaks, but she keeps going.
Speaker 3: Where else in the world would they let him play
Speaker 3: piano at two o'clock in the morning if he woke
Speaker 3: up from a bad dream. Where would they let him
Speaker 3: lie in the dirt and take comfort from the earth.
Speaker 4: Where would they.
Speaker 3: Hold him and stroke his hair and tell him how
Speaker 3: beautiful he was, how truly beautiful?
Speaker 4: Where would he be safe?
Speaker 3: Where?
Speaker 1: Just where is that place? A jerror fumbles for a tissue.
Speaker 1: Alexis waits a moment before continuing.
Speaker 2: Ada, did you also plan to take your own life
Speaker 2: that day?
Speaker 3: I did.
Speaker 1: What stopped you.
Speaker 3: I had to tell our story.
Speaker 5: I couldn't bear.
Speaker 3: Anyone thinking I took my son's life because I didn't
Speaker 3: love him, or because I thought he was a burden,
Speaker 3: or I was tired of taking care of him, even
Speaker 3: when I was exhausted and sad and I couldn't understand
Speaker 3: what Teddy needed. Never, for a moment did I ever
Speaker 3: wish he wasn't my son.
Speaker 1: Tears fall freely down her face.
Speaker 3: I'm not saying I never wished he didn't have autism.
Speaker 3: I wish that a lot, especially when he was young.
Speaker 3: It's only human to feel that way. You never expect
Speaker 3: you to have a child with a disability. It catches
Speaker 3: you completely off guard, changes the way you think about everything.
Speaker 1: I hated watching Teddy's struggle.
Speaker 3: He had so much to offer the world and would
Speaker 3: never get the chance.
Speaker 4: It made me so angry.
Speaker 3: It was so unfair. But having Teddy in my life,
Speaker 3: even with autism, it's always what I would choose over
Speaker 3: never having had him at all. How empty my life
Speaker 3: would have been without him.
Speaker 1: Ada looks out into the gallery. In the front row,
Speaker 1: she sees her twenty four year old self with infant
Speaker 1: Teddy in her arms as she coos to him and
Speaker 1: lulls him to sleep and brings him to her chest,
Speaker 1: kisses the top of his head, breathes deep in contentment.
Speaker 1: Alexa steps closer to Ada, puts her hand on the
Speaker 1: rail of the witness box.
Speaker 2: Ada, On the day you took your son's life, did
Speaker 2: you believe at that moment what you were doing was wrong?
Speaker 6: No?
Speaker 1: Thank you, Ada, No more questions, your witness. She walks
Speaker 1: back to her seat. Dana stands, straightened her jacket, steps
Speaker 1: around to the front of the prosecution table.
Speaker 7: Just so we're perfectly clear, missus Wells, did you kill
Speaker 7: your son?
Speaker 3: Yes?
Speaker 5: And do you believe killing a person is wrong.
Speaker 3: Under most circumstances, Yes.
Speaker 7: But not in your circumstance because you didn't think your
Speaker 7: son could adapt to living anywhere else, a theory which you.
Speaker 5: Could have easily tested while he was still.
Speaker 7: Alive, but you chose not to without exploring any other options.
Speaker 7: You planned and carried out the manner of your son's death.
Speaker 7: You murdered your son because you alone decided that your
Speaker 7: son's life would be worthless without She.
Speaker 1: Exterior at his house day flashback nineteen ninety, Ada in
Speaker 1: her mid fifties, stands on the front porch, the door
Speaker 1: wide open in the early morning. The air is still,
Speaker 1: the street quiet. She motions with her hand, Oh.
Speaker 3: Come, come, look, Teddy, it's so beautiful after the rain.
Speaker 1: No movement from inside.
Speaker 3: Please, Teddy, I promise nothing bad will happen.
Speaker 4: You're all grown up now you can do it.
Speaker 1: Teddy, around thirty years old, appears in the doorframe.
Speaker 5: That's it.
Speaker 3: Come see the red bud tree. It's bursting with flowers.
Speaker 1: She points towards the front yard. Teddy peers out in curiosity,
Speaker 1: but does not step outside.
Speaker 3: Please Teddy, just one step. I promise you'll be safe.
Speaker 3: I'll be right here with you always.
Speaker 1: Teddy hesitates, slides one foot a few inches forward. Suddenly
Speaker 1: the stillness is broken by the thudt out of a
Speaker 1: newspaper against the wooden port railing. A boy on a
Speaker 1: bicycle whizzes down the sidewalk. A second later, an avalanche
Speaker 1: of sounds of irregular day, the wail of a siren,
Speaker 1: a barking dog, a door slams, a baby cries. Teddy
Speaker 1: lets a cry of distress, claps his hands over his ears.
Speaker 1: He sinks to the floor, rocks back and forth. Ada
Speaker 1: rushes inside interior Ada's front hallway continuous. Ada quickly but
Speaker 1: softly closes the door behind her. Teddy, still on the floor,
Speaker 1: hits the back of his head against the wall. His
Speaker 1: cries of distress continue. Ada, in tears, runs past him,
Speaker 1: returns a second later with a well worn but soft
Speaker 1: plush blanket. She slides down next to Teddy, rubs the
Speaker 1: blanket on his arm and cheek.
Speaker 3: I am so sorry. I'm so sorry.
Speaker 4: I won't ever ask.
Speaker 3: You that again. I'm so sorry, Teddy, I should have
Speaker 3: known better. Please forgive me. I'm sorry.
Speaker 1: Oh, I'm so sorry. She rocks with him as she
Speaker 1: soothes him with a blanket. Interior courtroom, day Ada looks out,
Speaker 1: lost in thought and turns directly to Dana.
Speaker 3: All I can say to you, who is Everything I've
Speaker 3: done in the past sixty five years was what I
Speaker 3: believed to be in the best interest of my son
Speaker 3: for our situation.
Speaker 4: No one in this room can truly know what that was.
Speaker 3: I realize, though, that you still have to judge me
Speaker 3: from a place of law or maybe your own personal feelings,
Speaker 3: because that's what keeps order and helps you make sense
Speaker 3: of something like this. I never thought Teddy's life had
Speaker 3: any less worth, any less meaning, because he had autism.
Speaker 3: What I it wounded me in a way I could
Speaker 3: never make you understand, but I wouldn't change it.
Speaker 4: It's all right.
Speaker 3: You do what you need to do. It doesn't matter
Speaker 3: what happens to me. I just want you to see
Speaker 3: we all have our own peace to make in this world,
Speaker 3: however we may find it.
Speaker 1: Dana is silent.
Speaker 5: Counselor no further questions.
Speaker 4: The defense rests, your honor.
Speaker 8: Does the prosecution wish to call any rebuttal witnesses, Yes,
Speaker 8: your honor.
Speaker 1: Then we'll resume after lunch. Dismissed. Raps are gavel.
Speaker 5: By the way I think.
Speaker 8: Them.
Speaker 9: When you're ready.
Speaker 3: I just didn't want to be discussing, okay.
Speaker 1: Interior Courthouse, Attorney conference room day. Gina opens a bag,
Speaker 1: takes out food. Alexa sits at the table, reviews notes.
Speaker 1: Ada stands at the window, looks down on the crowd
Speaker 1: of demonstrators below.
Speaker 3: All those years, barely anyone knew I even existed.
Speaker 4: Now, look at all the fuss you made people think, Ada,
Speaker 4: that's never a bad thing.
Speaker 3: Did I ever tell you about Teddy's art.
Speaker 4: The drawings in his room.
Speaker 3: Oh, to most people, they probably look like nonsense, but
Speaker 3: they were his way of expressing himself. They represent how
Speaker 3: he saw the world and how he saw himself in it.
Speaker 3: I understood that every time something upset him, he would draw.
Speaker 3: It's how he worked through it.
Speaker 1: The chance of the protests wafted up. Ada gazes out
Speaker 1: squints against the bright sun.
Speaker 3: But no amount of drawing could ever make the world
Speaker 3: a safe place for him. I did try, but I
Speaker 3: couldn't make it safe for him either. So making our
Speaker 3: home his sanctuary was all I could think to do.
Speaker 1: She coughs, gets louder and more insistent. Gina and Alexis
Speaker 1: exchange glances. Gina brings Ada a box of tissue.
Speaker 4: Here, Ada, why don't you come sit down, have something
Speaker 4: cold to drink.
Speaker 1: She ushers Ada over to the table in the courtroom.
Speaker 1: Day court is back in session.
Speaker 5: The state calls doctor Monique Ogden.
Speaker 1: Doctor Ogden late forties, stylish appearance, walks with authority, enters
Speaker 1: the courtroom, sits in the witness box. The bailiff approaches,
Speaker 1: Please raise your right hand, do you square refirm to
Speaker 1: tell the truth?
Speaker 4: The whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Speaker 7: I do your honor, Doctor Ogden is testifying.
Speaker 5: As an expert in the field of autism.
Speaker 8: Please state your qualifications, Doctor Ogden.
Speaker 5: Certainly your honor.
Speaker 6: I hold a PhD in childhood development with a postgraduate
Speaker 6: work at Harvard School of Medicine. My educational expertise is
Speaker 6: in the areas of developmental psychology and developmental psychopathology. I
Speaker 6: am the director of the Autism Clinic at the University
Speaker 6: of California, Santa Barbara and former co director of the
Speaker 6: Marcus Autism Neurodevelopment Center in Atlanta. Additionally, I am a
Speaker 6: professor of child in adolescent Psychiatry. I have worked with
Speaker 6: children with autism and their families for almost thirty years.
Speaker 8: The court is satisfied, doctor Ogden, has I've met the
Speaker 8: requirements of Rule seven two. Any objections from the defense, No,
Speaker 8: your honor, You may proceed.
Speaker 5: Doctor Ogden.
Speaker 7: Kid a person with severe autism, such as Theodore Wells,
Speaker 7: learn to adapt to a new environment after spending his
Speaker 7: entire life in the same house with the same caretaker.
Speaker 6: Yes he could, It would take some special consideration. Someone
Speaker 6: to get to know him and how he communicates. Before
Speaker 6: his mother was gone, along with recreating a similar environment
Speaker 6: and routine in his new living space. But it most
Speaker 6: certainly could be done. People with low functioning autism navigate
Speaker 6: their world almost like a movie with no sound trick.
Speaker 6: They don't want their routine broken because they are unsure
Speaker 6: how to restore the track. It would take some time,
Speaker 6: but with intense therapy, I'm sure it would not only
Speaker 6: be possible, but a highly successful transition in which he
Speaker 6: could thrive.
Speaker 5: Just so I have it straight.
Speaker 7: In your expert opinion as it relates to this case,
Speaker 7: Theodore Wells could have adjusted to living in a new
Speaker 7: home without his mother as this caretaker and lived in
Speaker 7: equally fulfilling.
Speaker 6: Life in my expert opinion, yes, thank you, doctor Ogden,
Speaker 6: your witness.
Speaker 1: Alexis smiles in anticipation. Dana returns to her table while
Speaker 1: Alexis remains seated.
Speaker 2: Doctor Ogden, do you work with many older autism patients?
Speaker 5: I have worked with them.
Speaker 2: Yes, the keyword there was many. Almost all of your
Speaker 2: work is with children, isn't that correct?
Speaker 5: Children and teenagers.
Speaker 4: Yes, you don't have a child with autism, do you?
Speaker 10: No?
Speaker 2: I do not have you personally as an autism expert. Ever,
Speaker 2: come across a case such as this, a man with
Speaker 2: severe autism being removed from his only home, his only
Speaker 2: family member, after six and a half decades and continuing
Speaker 2: to thrive.
Speaker 6: I don't have any personal experience with the case exactly
Speaker 6: like this.
Speaker 4: Have any of your colleagues, I'm not certain. I would
Speaker 4: have to check convenient.
Speaker 2: How about any case studies read any of those sixty
Speaker 2: five years, same home, same caretaker, moved him and he
Speaker 2: was fine, anything like that.
Speaker 6: There have been some similar situations.
Speaker 4: Really similar.
Speaker 6: How I've worked with adults with autism after they were
Speaker 6: removed from their family homes.
Speaker 4: You have how old were these adults?
Speaker 6: To my recollection, the oldest was twenty three.
Speaker 1: Dana bites the inside of her lip. A low murmur
Speaker 1: is heard through the courtroom.
Speaker 4: Twenty three. That's not quite sixty five, is it?
Speaker 2: Did these patients of yours still have living family members, parents, siblings,
Speaker 2: loved ones to visit, monitor their care, take them home
Speaker 2: for visits and holidays.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure.
Speaker 4: You're not sure. Weren't these your patients?
Speaker 5: Doctor objection asked and answered.
Speaker 4: I'll allow it.
Speaker 6: Please answer the question, doctor, reflecting back, Yes, they had
Speaker 6: family who visited, so.
Speaker 2: Even with all your expertise, you can't say with any
Speaker 2: degree of certainty that Teddy Wells would have been just fine.
Speaker 2: You can't say that he wouldn't have been utterly traumatized
Speaker 2: by the sudden upheaval in his life, unable to respond
Speaker 2: or communicate.
Speaker 4: In any meaningful way.
Speaker 2: You don't know, because you've never come across a single
Speaker 2: case study even remotely like Teddy's.
Speaker 4: Have you?
Speaker 6: I can't say definitively, but based.
Speaker 1: On Alexa stands, leans across the table and interrupts the
Speaker 1: doctor with force.
Speaker 4: Just answer the question yes or no?
Speaker 2: Doctor, do you have any actual experience with the case
Speaker 2: as extreme as this?
Speaker 1: No, Alexis gives a dismissive wave of her hand sits
Speaker 1: back in her seat.
Speaker 4: That's what I thought. I'm through with this witness redirect.
Speaker 8: No, your honor, you may step down, doctor Argudon.
Speaker 1: She quickly leaves the courtroom. Dana does not look at her.
Speaker 8: Does the State wish to call any further witnesses?
Speaker 5: The State rests, your honor.
Speaker 8: Courts journed. We will reconvene at nine am tomorrow for
Speaker 8: closing arguments.
Speaker 1: The judge wraps her gavel. People gather their belongings and
Speaker 1: file out. The noise level rises. Dana stays seated. Carter
Speaker 1: speaks to her, but she isn't listening. She notices Ada
Speaker 1: looking at her and holds her gaze and turns away
Speaker 1: when she realizes Carter is talking. Exterior Dana's car moving night.
Speaker 1: Dana drives slowly down a residential street. She stops in
Speaker 1: front of Ada's house turns off her lights. Interior Dana's
Speaker 1: car night. Dana stares at Ada's house. Light shines from
Speaker 1: a front window. Ada appears at the window, looks out
Speaker 1: into the night. The house goes dark. Dana sits for
Speaker 1: a moment and drives away. Interior cor day. The room
Speaker 1: is packed, everyone in position except the judge. People fan themselves.
Speaker 1: Dana dabs discreetly at her forehead and upper lip with
Speaker 1: a tissue. Ada does not look well. The judge enters
Speaker 1: takes her seat.
Speaker 4: All rise, the cord is noun such.
Speaker 1: Everyone rises.
Speaker 8: Good morning, he settled. As there are no more witnesses,
Speaker 8: we will proceed to closing statements, beginning with the prosecution.
Speaker 8: Are you ready to begin, missus jeffries.
Speaker 1: Dana remains standing as the rest of the room sits.
Speaker 5: Yes, Your honor.
Speaker 1: Dana turns to address the jury.
Speaker 7: Ada Wells committed murder. She told you so, right here
Speaker 7: in this very courtroom. She searched the internet, gathered the
Speaker 7: equipment she needed, selected the day, and killed her son.
Speaker 7: And no matter what the reasoning was behind it, no
Speaker 7: matter how sorry you may feel for her and what
Speaker 7: she has been through in her life, remember that she
Speaker 7: had a choice, and that choice was murder her. When
Speaker 7: you cut through all the emotion, all the heartbreak, you're
Speaker 7: still left with murder, plain and simple, and that is
Speaker 7: what you must find Ada Wells guilty of. Thank you.
Speaker 1: She steps back as Alexis comes around the defense table.
Speaker 2: Some Buddhist teachings justify taking human life on the grounds
Speaker 2: of compassion in dire circumstance. One text says taking life
Speaker 2: is unreprehensible when it develops from a virtuous thought.
Speaker 4: Ada's only thought was.
Speaker 2: That her son should die at peace, in the only
Speaker 2: place and what the only person he'd ever known, comforted
Speaker 2: and secured in her love, rather than lost and confused
Speaker 2: alone amongst strangers. There was no malice, no deceit, no
Speaker 2: attempt to cover up what she had done, because there
Speaker 2: was no crime committed on the day Ada took Teddy's life,
Speaker 2: she believed fully and completely that what she was doing
Speaker 2: was not wrong. In her mind, she was taking care
Speaker 2: of her son, just as she always had. John Steinbeck wrote,
Speaker 2: there are those among us who live in rooms of
Speaker 2: experience that you and I can never enter.
Speaker 4: Ada Wells lived with her son in such.
Speaker 2: A room, a room where none of us have ever been,
Speaker 2: for sixty five years, not because she had to, not
Speaker 2: out of obligation, but out of love. And her final
Speaker 2: act for her son was out of love too.
Speaker 1: She takes a moment to let that connect, returns to
Speaker 1: her seat.
Speaker 5: Ever rebuttal your honor, the.
Speaker 1: Judge nod Stana Stands steps right up to the journey.
Speaker 7: I don't think anyone here doubts that Ada Wells loved
Speaker 7: her son.
Speaker 5: That's not in question.
Speaker 7: But Ada Wells isn't on trial for loving her son.
Speaker 7: She is on trial for killing him. Ado Wells thought
Speaker 7: her son would be better off dead if she were
Speaker 7: not around to take care of him.
Speaker 5: But that was not her decision to make.
Speaker 1: Sorry, Ada Wells is on trial for not loving.
Speaker 7: For great I don't think anyone here doubts that Aida
Speaker 7: Wells loved her son.
Speaker 5: That is not in question.
Speaker 7: But Ada Wells isn't on trial for not loving her son.
Speaker 7: She's on trial.
Speaker 5: For killing him.
Speaker 7: Adowell thought her son would be better off dead if
Speaker 7: she were not around to take care of him, but
Speaker 7: that was not her decision to make. Missus Wells had
Speaker 7: cared for her son all by herself, and maybe that
Speaker 7: was part.
Speaker 5: Of the problem.
Speaker 7: Maybe by not seeking out others to share her burden,
Speaker 7: she in fact created the very situation she felt she
Speaker 7: only had one solution, killing her own son. Missus Wells
Speaker 7: told us that there was no one else, no family,
Speaker 7: no one who would care for Teddy as she did.
Speaker 7: And you know, and maybe in the first few years
Speaker 7: of Teddy's life that was true, But now there are
Speaker 7: numerous organizations, agencies, schools, therapy centers, assisted living facilities. Any
Speaker 7: number of these places would have taken Teddy in, given
Speaker 7: him the care and attention he needed, and even given
Speaker 7: her some of her life back in the process. Sadly,
Speaker 7: Ada Wells had no trust, no faith in these systems
Speaker 7: based on what her intuition.
Speaker 1: Sweeps her arm in AIDA's direction.
Speaker 7: And that gave her the right to decide her own
Speaker 7: child would be better off dead and perhaps if she
Speaker 7: had just let go of struggling alone and simply asked
Speaker 7: for help, none of us would.
Speaker 5: Be here today.
Speaker 7: I have no doubt it was frightening for missus Wells
Speaker 7: to think of leaving her son to the care of strangers.
Speaker 5: But where then, do we draw the line?
Speaker 7: At what point do we make the distinction of whether
Speaker 7: or not a life is worth living?
Speaker 5: Worth continuing?
Speaker 1: Takes a quick breath, keeps going.
Speaker 7: We talk about quality of life as though it takes
Speaker 7: a certain amount of it for life to be justified.
Speaker 7: Teddy Wells had music, he had art, he had his garden,
Speaker 7: and by AIDA's own account.
Speaker 5: He was happy.
Speaker 7: This is a life that had value. Don't you think
Speaker 7: if Teddy could have spoken, he would have said the same?
Speaker 5: Be his voice and return with the verdict of guilty.
Speaker 1: She sits down the judge's instructions to the jury. Drone
Speaker 1: in the background. Exterior Dana's office.
Speaker 4: Day.
Speaker 1: Dana stands on the doorway, glances around at her books,
Speaker 1: her degree, her pictures. She walks to her desk, opens
Speaker 1: a bottom drawer, sifts her hand through the collection of
Speaker 1: unopened letters. Interior Dana's home office.
Speaker 3: Night.
Speaker 1: Dana sits at her desk in near darkness, still in
Speaker 1: work clothes, but for once they are wrinkled and in disarray.
Speaker 1: A spot of light from a lamp illuminates one of
Speaker 1: the colored envelopes, open with a letter and small picture
Speaker 1: next to it. Ethan pokes his head in. It's late.
Speaker 1: Dana gathers up the letter and the picture. Yeah, I'll
Speaker 1: be there in a little bit.
Speaker 9: Okay, Dana, Yes, you could talk to me. There isn't
Speaker 9: anything you could tell me that will make me love
Speaker 9: you less. You're safe with me, you know that, right,
Speaker 9: Sometimes you just have to let go and trust someone.
Speaker 1: She does not respond. He waits, gives a small sigh,
Speaker 1: walks away. She lifts her hand off the picture, looks
Speaker 1: down at it. Interior Dana's home office day. Dana sits
Speaker 1: in the same spot as the sun comes up. Interior
Speaker 1: Ata's house, front hallway. A knock on the front door.
Speaker 1: Ada enters from the kitchen, her movements labored. She opens
Speaker 1: the door to find Dana on the porch, dressed us earlier.
Speaker 5: You don't have to speak with me.
Speaker 7: In fact, I shouldn't be here, and this will probably
Speaker 7: so likely get.
Speaker 4: Me dispar.
Speaker 3: Is the verdict in.
Speaker 5: No, this isn't about the case.
Speaker 4: Oh, come in.
Speaker 1: Ada unlocks the screen door, pushes it open. Interior Ada's
Speaker 1: kitchen day. Dana sits at the table. Ada pulls a
Speaker 1: whistling kettle off the stove, crosses to the table, and
Speaker 1: pours water for tea. Her hand shakes noticeably.
Speaker 3: You know, for years the medical community said I didn't
Speaker 3: love my son enough, and that's what caused his autism.
Speaker 3: You're the first person who ever accused me of loving
Speaker 3: him too much. I am. You may have been right
Speaker 3: in a way. I had held on for so long.
Speaker 3: I didn't know how to let go. Doctors always talked
Speaker 3: about Teddy like he was broken and needed to be fixed.
Speaker 3: I was afraid of what that meant. I really did
Speaker 3: believe I was the only one who could ever truly
Speaker 3: care for him and know what he needed.
Speaker 5: And so you just accepted it. It was it was
Speaker 5: just that easy.
Speaker 3: Oh No, it was never easy. I was depressed. I
Speaker 3: was angry. Sometimes, after Teddy would finally fall asleep, I
Speaker 3: would scream into a pillow until I had nothing left.
Speaker 3: I was angry at my husband for not even trying
Speaker 3: to understand, angry at my family for not being there
Speaker 3: for me. I wondered what I had done to deserve it.
Speaker 3: Then I used to feel guilty until I realized none
Speaker 3: if it was a reflection on who I was as
Speaker 3: a person or my ability to be a good mother.
Speaker 7: Did you ever have any doubts about your feelings for Teddy?
Speaker 3: My sister asked me once if I found it difficult
Speaker 3: to love Teddy. I told her, it's only the disability
Speaker 3: you struggle to embrace, not the child.
Speaker 1: Dana removes the colored envelope from her purse, opens it.
Speaker 7: I asked my parents never to send anything after I left,
Speaker 7: but they did frequently all these years.
Speaker 5: I never opened any of them, though I don't know why.
Speaker 3: I didn't know.
Speaker 1: Dana takes the picture out of the envelope.
Speaker 7: I told them after I left, I never wanted to
Speaker 7: talk about it.
Speaker 1: She pushes the picture across the table to Ada, picks
Speaker 1: it up close on a school picture of a little girl.
Speaker 1: She's about eight years old and has Down syndrome. Ada
Speaker 1: studies the picture, then looks at Dana, this is your child.
Speaker 7: I mean, I haven't seen her in almost eight years,
Speaker 7: since she was five months old. She was born with
Speaker 7: a hole in her heart. Was coming for babies with
Speaker 7: Down syndrome. The pregnancy wasn't planned. I was twenty nine
Speaker 7: and my fiancee, Chris had started his career, and I
Speaker 7: was just about done with law school.
Speaker 5: Those first few months were.
Speaker 7: Just a blur doctor's appointments and tests and people constantly
Speaker 7: in and out. I was still trying to study in
Speaker 7: the midst of all of it so I could graduate,
Speaker 7: pretending I could keep it all together and that was
Speaker 7: and that everything was just perfect.
Speaker 1: Danna takes a sip of tea.
Speaker 7: Chris was so thrilled to be a dad. He was
Speaker 7: an only child, adopted and a family was everything to him.
Speaker 7: He didn't seem at all concerned about her disability. She
Speaker 7: was just his beautiful little girl, and it made me
Speaker 7: feel like something was wrong with me for feeling so cheated.
Speaker 1: Insert hospital room flashback. Dana stands in a back corner
Speaker 1: of the room. Her fiancee, Chris early thirties, bends over
Speaker 1: the bed strokes the hair of a baby girl as
Speaker 1: a nurse removes wires and tubes from her. A doctor
Speaker 1: speaks to Dana and Chris. Chris nods at the doctor.
Speaker 1: Dana stares off into space. Choose a nail. The nurse
Speaker 1: smiles at Chris and wheels the baby out of the room.
Speaker 1: Chris and the doctor follow. Dana remains rooted. She looks
Speaker 1: around the room at all the cards, flowers, and stuffed animals.
Speaker 1: Her gaze lifts to a floating bouquet of get well balloons.
Speaker 1: Dana crosses over to the window, takes a small stuffed cat,
Speaker 1: and walks out back to scene. Dana stares into her cup.
Speaker 7: I sat there in the waiting room while she was
Speaker 7: having surgery and thought, maybe she'll die, Maybe she'd be
Speaker 7: better off, maybe I'd be better off. Like what kind
Speaker 7: of person has those thoughts about their own baby. I
Speaker 7: wasn't worthy of being a mother, and I felt guilty
Speaker 7: and ashamed and lost. I was angry at myself and
Speaker 7: angry at Chris because he seems so unaffected by it all,
Speaker 7: and I really needed someone to talk to, like someone
Speaker 7: it would tell me it was okay to feel this way, someone.
Speaker 5: Who went and judge me for wanting back the life
Speaker 5: i'd lost.
Speaker 1: Daniel looks up at Ada, but.
Speaker 5: I didn't have that, so I just walked out.
Speaker 7: I walked out of that hospital, and I never went back,
Speaker 7: not to see if my daughter survived, not even to
Speaker 7: see my parents again.
Speaker 5: I couldn't I couldn't face anyone.
Speaker 7: I was a coward of failure as a mother, and
Speaker 7: as far from perfect as I could possibly get. I
Speaker 7: didn't know how to love my own daughter. And here
Speaker 7: I've been in court trying to judge you. I'm so sorry, Ada,
Speaker 7: I don't know why I put you through this. I
Speaker 7: think I want it so desperately to prove leaving your
Speaker 7: child to someone else was the right thing to do,
Speaker 7: because because it meant that I made the right choice too.
Speaker 1: Ada closes her eyes. Insert continuous. Ada sees herself standing
Speaker 1: side by side with adult Teddy as he lets a
Speaker 1: yellow balloon drift up towards the shining sun. Back to scene,
Speaker 1: Ada opens her eyes looks closely at Dana.
Speaker 3: There is an enormous sense of loss that comes with
Speaker 3: being the parent of a child with a disability. It
Speaker 3: never fades, but in time you learn to live with it.
Speaker 3: Life grows in and up and around it, even though
Speaker 3: it waits below the surface and bubbles up just when
Speaker 3: you thank you for gotten it. But that part of
Speaker 3: you that feels that pain or confusion or resentment, that's
Speaker 3: the same part of you that feels love and tenderness
Speaker 3: and care.
Speaker 1: She picks up the picture, looks at it, and puts
Speaker 1: it back on the table and slides it over to Dana.
Speaker 3: Not all choices are permanent.
Speaker 1: She removes her hand from the picture and places it
Speaker 1: on top of one of Dana's.
Speaker 3: Do you realize in telling me your story? Not once
Speaker 3: did you ever speak your daughter's name.
Speaker 1: Dana looks at the picture.
Speaker 3: Maddie.
Speaker 1: Dana looks up at her.
Speaker 5: Her name is Mattie.
Speaker 1: Her eyes well with tears. Interior Dana's office Day. Dana
Speaker 1: reads at her desk. She is dressed in court attire.
Speaker 1: The desk phone rings. She picks it up, listens, I'm
Speaker 1: on my way down. She hangs up, grabs her briefcase,
Speaker 1: yells as she hurries out.
Speaker 5: Carter verdicts in.
Speaker 1: Her door slam shut. Exterior Ada's backyard Day. The sliding
Speaker 1: glass door opens from inside. Ada steps out into the
Speaker 1: brilliant sunshine. Teddy beckons to her from the garden. Interior
Speaker 1: courtroom day. Everyone is present except for Alexis and Ada.
Speaker 1: Dana glances over at the empty defence table and checks
Speaker 1: her watch. Alexis enters the courtroom, walks to the front.
Speaker 1: Her usual energy is missing.
Speaker 4: Permission to approach your honor, counselor's approach.
Speaker 1: Dana joins Alexis in front of the bench. Alexis speaks
Speaker 1: in a low voice. The judge nods. Dana and Alexis
Speaker 1: return to their seats. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
Speaker 1: thank you for your service. This case has been dismissed,
Speaker 1: and you are hereby released from duty. There's a murmur
Speaker 1: about the courtroom. The jurors look at one another, confused,
Speaker 1: gather themsels to leave. Dana approaches Alexis.
Speaker 4: When did she die sometime last night?
Speaker 2: An autopsy's pending, but she'd probably been built for several months.
Speaker 4: She knew it was her time.
Speaker 1: Was she alone?
Speaker 4: Not completely? She was in the garden.
Speaker 2: I'm glad she had just laid down and went to
Speaker 2: sleep in a big, hollowed out spot, a little bigger
Speaker 2: than she was where Teddy used to lay.
Speaker 1: I just saw her. Alexis gives her a questioning look.
Speaker 5: I'm sorry I didn't know for you a deal.
Speaker 1: Alexis nods and walks away. The last jury member steps
Speaker 1: down from the jury box. Dana calls out, oh wait,
Speaker 1: She rushes over what was the verdict? Exterior Adi's backyard Day,
Speaker 1: Ada and Teddy lie side by side in the dirt,
Speaker 1: hold hands. They watch a yellow balloon lift higher and
Speaker 1: higher into the blue sky. Exterior Cemetery Day, Alexis and
Speaker 1: Gina stand by Ada's graveside. A reverend reads from the Bible.
Speaker 1: Dana approaches, but keeps her distance, stands off to one side.
Speaker 1: The reverend finishes, the casket lowers into the ground. Alexis
Speaker 1: and Gina hug. Alexis notices Dana says something to Gina
Speaker 1: and breaks away. Dana watches as Alexis walks toward her.
Speaker 1: I was hoping you'd be here. She pulls an envelope
Speaker 1: out of her purse. She left this for you. Dana
Speaker 1: takes the envelope from her. Their eyes meet, Take care, Dana,
Speaker 1: Alexis rejoins Gina. They walk towards a waiting town car.
Speaker 1: Dana walks over to Ada's grave, takes a flower from
Speaker 1: a wreath.
Speaker 5: Best in Peace, Ada.
Speaker 1: She places the flower atop the casket. Interior Dana's car Day.
Speaker 1: Dana sits parked in front of Ada's house. There's a
Speaker 1: moving van in the driveway, A government car parked behind it.
Speaker 1: She watches mover's load furniture into the van. Interior Ada's
Speaker 1: living room day. Dana enters from the front hallway, looks
Speaker 1: around the room. Moving boxes are everywhere, laden with Ada's possessions.
Speaker 1: She crosses to the piano, picks up a framed photo,
Speaker 1: close on a photo of young Ada holding Teddy as
Speaker 1: a toddler, a rare photo of both of them smiling
Speaker 1: into the camera, sets the picture back on the piano.
Speaker 1: Walks over to the sliding glass door, looks out of
Speaker 1: the garden. She opens the door. Exterior backyard continuous. Dana
Speaker 1: steps out, glances around her eyes land on the hollowed
Speaker 1: out spot in the garden. She crosses to the spot,
Speaker 1: kneels down, presses her hand to the earth, closes her eyes.
Speaker 1: The court appointed administrator for Ada's estate appears in the doorway.
Speaker 4: Can I help you?
Speaker 1: Dana stands up, whorls around.
Speaker 5: I'm from the DA's office.
Speaker 1: The administrator just stares at Dana. Dana fishes in her purse,
Speaker 1: produces her credentials.
Speaker 7: I need to finish some paperwork in regards to the
Speaker 7: legal proceedings.
Speaker 5: I won't be long.
Speaker 1: The administrator a peers at Dana's identification.
Speaker 3: Take your time, we'll be sorting through this junk for
Speaker 3: a while.
Speaker 1: Disappears back inside, Dana follows. Interior living room continues. Dana
Speaker 1: re enters from the back yard. She takes the photo
Speaker 1: from the piano, looks at it, and brings it to
Speaker 1: her chest. She glances around the room one last time,
Speaker 1: walks to the front door, takes the photo with her.
Speaker 1: Interior Dana's Home Office Night. Dana sits at her desk,
Speaker 1: Ada's unopened letter and the framed photograph she took from
Speaker 1: Ada's house in front of her. She opens the letter
Speaker 1: and reads. A range of emotions play across her face.
Speaker 1: She struggles to rein them in. Finally, she can no
Speaker 1: longer hold back and breaks down sobs as she gets
Speaker 1: to the end of the letter. Interior Dana's House Foyer Night.
Speaker 1: The front door opens. Ethan enters, hangs up his jacket.
Speaker 1: He hears crying, calls out. Dana hurries towards the back
Speaker 1: of the house. Interior Dana's home office continues. Ethan rushes
Speaker 1: in kneels in front of Dana's chair, still clutching the letter.
Speaker 1: She dissolves in his arms. She clings to him. As
Speaker 1: they sink to the floor, he rocks her close On
Speaker 1: Dana's laptop screen open to a social media account for
Speaker 1: Christopher Moreland, there are multiple photos of a man with
Speaker 1: a young girl with down syndrome. Exterior airport day, Ethan's
Speaker 1: car pulls up in the departure lane, stops. Ethan exits
Speaker 1: the driver's side, steps back to the trunk, removes a suitcase.
Speaker 1: Dana exits the passenger side, stands on the curb. Her
Speaker 1: hair is loose, flowing, and she is dressed in a
Speaker 1: sun dressed and sandals. Ethan brings the suitcase to her.
Speaker 1: They kiss, I love you, I love you too. She
Speaker 1: takes the suitcase walks into the airport. Interior airplane day.
Speaker 1: Dana boards the plane, finds her seat, settles her. The
Speaker 1: flight crew prepares for takeoff. She leans back in her seat,
Speaker 1: pulls a small stuffed cat out of the pocket of
Speaker 1: her sweater, pulls it in her lap, closes her eyes
Speaker 1: as the plane shuttles down the runway. Montage during Ada's
Speaker 1: voiceover the plane lands. Dana walks through the airport. Dana
Speaker 1: reunts a car. Dana drives through the suburbs. Dana pulls
Speaker 1: into the parking lot of a ball field.
Speaker 3: When you're going to have a baby, It's like planning
Speaker 3: a fabulous trip to Italy. You buy a bunch of
Speaker 3: guide books and make your wonderful plans. After months of
Speaker 3: eager anticipation, the day arrives, you pack your bags and
Speaker 3: off you go. The stewardess comes in and says, welcome
Speaker 3: to Holland, Holland. Do you say, what do you mean Holland.
Speaker 3: I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've
Speaker 3: dreamed of going to Italy. But there's been a change
Speaker 3: in the flight. Place They've landed in Holland, and there
Speaker 3: you must stay. The important thing is they haven't taken
Speaker 3: you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place. It's just a
Speaker 3: different place. So you must go out and buy new
Speaker 3: guide books, and you must learn a whole new language,
Speaker 3: and you will meet a whole new group of people
Speaker 3: you would have never met. It's slower paces than Italy,
Speaker 3: less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for
Speaker 3: a while and you catch your breath, you look around
Speaker 3: and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills, and
Speaker 3: Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts. But everyone you
Speaker 3: know is busy coming and going from Italy, and for
Speaker 3: the rest of your life you will say, yes, that's
Speaker 3: where I was supposed to go, and the pain of
Speaker 3: that will never ever ever go away, because the loss
Speaker 3: of that tream is a very significant loss. But if
Speaker 3: you spend your life warning the fact you didn't get
Speaker 3: to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the
Speaker 3: very special, the very lovely things about.
Speaker 10: Holland exterior ballfield day softball game in progress, Challenger League
Speaker 10: for children with a range of special needs.
Speaker 1: Some kids are in wheelchairs, some cannot speak or see,
Speaker 1: but everyone is having a great time. Parents in the
Speaker 1: stands clap enthusiastically. Dana exits the rental car watches the game.
Speaker 1: A big cheer erupts as a child gets a hit
Speaker 1: and their buddy pushes the wheelchair to first base. He
Speaker 1: starts towards the stands behind the backstop. Chris kneels next
Speaker 1: to Mattie seven. He sees Dana approach, stands up. She
Speaker 1: gets closer. He puts a protective arm around Mattie. Dana
Speaker 1: stops a few feet away. Chris speaks to Mattie then
Speaker 1: walks forward to Dana.
Speaker 4: I didn't believe your mom when she said you were coming.
Speaker 4: You have no right to be here, not after all
Speaker 4: this time. What makes you think you can walk back
Speaker 4: in here like nothing happened?
Speaker 5: Something did happen?
Speaker 4: What does that mean?
Speaker 3: Why are you here? What do you want?
Speaker 1: I made a mistake.
Speaker 7: It's terrible a mistake because I didn't know who I was,
Speaker 7: and I didn't believe in myself. I didn't think I
Speaker 7: could be a mother or a good one anyway, so
Speaker 7: I did what I thought was best for everyone. I
Speaker 7: failed you, and I failed our daughter.
Speaker 5: I don't expect you.
Speaker 4: To forgive me.
Speaker 1: She spots Mattie running towards.
Speaker 5: Them, but maybe she can't.
Speaker 1: Mattie runs up to Chris. Daddy, it's almost my turn. Okay, sweetheart,
Speaker 1: I'll be right there. Mattie looks at Dana.
Speaker 6: Hi, who are you here to watch the game.
Speaker 1: Dana looks at Chris.
Speaker 4: Would that be all right?
Speaker 1: Sure?
Speaker 5: Are you for the home team or the away team?
Speaker 5: I think home?
Speaker 1: That's my team. She takes Dana's hand. Come on, I'll
Speaker 1: show you where to sit. She leans Dana towards the stands.
Speaker 1: Dana turns to look back at Chris, tears in her eyes.
Speaker 1: He puts up a hand and shakes his head as
Speaker 1: if to acquiesce. Makes no move to stop them. That's
Speaker 1: a really pretty dress.
Speaker 6: Your hair color is just like mine.
Speaker 5: Do you have any pets. We have two cats and
Speaker 5: a hamster.
Speaker 1: My name's Mattie.
Speaker 5: What's yours?
Speaker 1: Chris watches them walk away fade out the end. Yes, emotionals, guy, Yeah,
Speaker 1: you guys gon't me to.
Speaker 3: Thank you very much.
Speaker 7: M