| SCENE ONE: OUTSIDE TINA'S BEDROOM |
| SOUND: |
TINA'S LABOURED BREATHING. CONTINUES UNDER: |
| SANDRA: |
(OFF) Doug. (BEAT) Doug. (APPROACHING) Come to bed. |
| SOUND: |
TINA'S BREATHING RISES, THEN FADES. |
| SANDRA: |
This has become a regular habit, you know, you standing there, watching her like some faithful dog. (PAUSE) I can't remember the last time you came straight to bed. |
| SOUND: |
DOUG COUGHS. |
| SANDRA: |
Every night, the same detour. (PAUSE) Standing there isn't going to change a thing. (PAUSE) I'm going to bed. You coming? |
| SOUND: |
FAINT BREATHING: DOUG AND TINA |
| SANDRA: |
Good night. (OFF) Good night. |
| SOUND: |
(OFF) SANDRA CLOSES BEDROOM DOOR. |
| SOUND: |
TINA MOANS. DOUG EXHALES. |
SCENE TWO(A): COURTHOUSE STEPS |
| SOUND/BIZ: |
MEDIA FRENZY AS REPORTERS SWARM AROUND DOUG RAMSAY, SHOVING AND SHOUTING. CONTINUES UNDER: |
| REPORTER 1: |
Mr. Ramsay, how will you plead? |
| REPORTER 2: |
Did you talk it over with your wife? |
| REPORTER 3: |
Was it a question of mercy? |
| SOUND: |
"MERCY" REVERBERATES IN A RAPID SUCCESSION OF DIFFERENT INFLECTIONS: A STATEMENT, A PLEA, A QUESTION, A SNEER, AND FINALLY, A WHISPER. |
SCENE TWO (B): COURTROOM |
| COURT CLERK: |
Douglas J. Ramsay, would you stand up please. Indictment: Douglas J. Ramsay (born 7th of June 1953) in the Province of Alberta stands charged that on or about the 21st day of November, A.D. 1994 in the Province of Alberta he did unlawfully cause the death of Tina Catherine Ramsay and thereby commit first degree murder - |
| KEITH: |
(OFF) No. He didn't do it. Not Dougie. No,no. |
| SOUND/BIZ: |
MUMBLING AND RUMBLING AS COURT SPECTATORS REACT TO OUTBURST. |
| KEITH: |
Not Tina. Never, never. |
| JUDGE: |
Sit down or you will be escorted out of this courtroom. (BEAT) Continue. |
| CLERK: |
...he did unlawfully cause the death of Tina Catherine Ramsay and thereby commit first degree murder contrary to Section 235 (1) of the Criminal Code. Douglas J. Ramsay, do you understand this charge that has been read to you, sir? |
| DOUGLAS: |
Yes. |
| COURT CLERK: |
How do you plead? |
| DOUGLAS: |
Not guilty. |
SCENE THREE (A): DOCTOR'S EXAMINATION ROOM (FLASHBACK) |
| SOUND: |
TINA CRYING OUT IN PAIN AS SHE LIES ON TABLE. CONTINUES UNDER: |
| SANDRA: |
Okay, Tina, that's a girl. Dr.Kovacs is almost done. Almost. |
| DR. KOVACS: |
Her left hip has a nice range. The right hip concerns me. |
| DOUGLAS: |
She never lies down on her right side. |
| DR. KOVACS: |
You can see how the skin on the left side is starting to break down. |
| SANDRA: |
She favours that side. You know. It's more comfortable. |
| DR. KOVACS: |
I want to try and move her right hip. I'll need your help. |
| SANDRA: |
Daddy and I are going to turn you over, sweetheart. Okay? |
| DR. KOVACS: |
On the count of three. One. Two. Three. |
| SOUND/BIZ: |
TINA CRIES IN PAIN AS HER BODY IS SHIFTED. SANDRA WHISPERS WORDS OF COMFORT. |
| DR. KOVACS: |
Her right hip has no range. It's too - |
| DOUGLAS: |
It's too painful. |
| SOUND: |
A SHARP CRY FROM TINA. |
| DR. KOVACS: |
(BEAT) Yes. |
|
SCENE THREE (B): DOCTOR'S OFFICE |
| SOUND: |
(OFF) A BABY CRYING IN WAITING ROOM. |
| SOUND: |
(OFF) PHONE RINGING. |
| RECEPTIONIST: |
(OFF; INTO PHONE) Dr. Kovacs' office. |
| SOUND: |
DOOR CLOSING, MUFFLES WAITING ROOM SOUNDS. |
| DR. KOVACS: |
Tina is going to need another operation. |
| | A DISCOMFORTING SILENCE AS THE NEWS SINKS IN. WE CAN HEAR - FAINTLY - THE INFANT CRYING IN THE WAITING ROOM. |
| SANDRA: |
I remember what you did to her back. All those rods and wires. I don't want you drilling any more holes in my baby. |
| DR. KOVACS: |
I understand that, Mrs. Ramsay. But you've seen what Tina's hip is doing to her. The pain it's causing. |
| DOUGLAS: |
What about drugs? You know. Instead. |
| DR. KOVACS: |
I don't think so. We would have to use fairly powerful drugs. If they're taken with the medication she's using to control her seizures there could be some serious side effects. It could be even harder for her to swallow. Food could end up in her lungs. She could get very sick. |
| SANDRA: |
No more. (BEAT) No more. |
| DR. KOVACS: |
Tina's in too much pain to do nothing. Her hip is too far gone. |
| DOUGLAS: |
What does that mean? Too far gone. |
| DR. KOVACS: |
We have to do what we call a salvage procedure. |
| SANDRA: |
Salvage? |
| DR.KOVACS: |
Try and picture the ball at the top of Tina's thigh bone, and the hip socket it fits into. There's something called "articular cartilage", a tissue which allows this ball and socket to move freely. The trouble is, Tina's ball has been sitting out of its socket for too long. The ball is damaged and has lost its shape. The cartilage has worn away. We can't put the ball back into the socket. |
| SANDRA: |
Why not? |
| DR. KOVACS: |
It would be like putting an arthritic hip back together again. It's doomed to continue to be painful. |
| DOUGLAS: |
How are you going to do this salvage business? |
| DR. KOVACS: |
In simple terms, I have to take away the damaged part and cover the end of the bone with muscles, and hope - |
| DOUGLAS: |
What do you mean, "take away"? |
| DR.KOVACS: |
Remove. |
| DOUGLAS: |
You saw it off, don't you? You're gonna saw off the ball part. |
| DR. KOVACS: |
(PAUSE) The ball part and about the top quarter of the thigh bone. |
| SOUND: |
SANDRA REACTS. |
| DR. KOVACS: |
The surgery is necessary. We have no alternative. |
| DOUGLAS: |
That's not the end of it, is it? Half the kids with palsy they don't make it to their tenth birthday. You told us that. You showed us that study. |
| DR. KOVACS: |
Fifty percent survived past age ten. Tina is twelve. |
| DOUGLAS: |
No more operations? |
| DR. KOVACS: |
The chances of Tina's other hip dislocating is a real possibility. And because of her weight loss, I expect there may have to be more intervention. |
| DOUGLAS: |
Intervention. |
| DR. KOVACS: |
A feeding tube... |
| SOUND: |
A BEREFT SANDRA REACTS. |
| DR. KOVACS: |
Or another method of giving her nutrition that would bypass the mouth and swallowing mechanism. But let's not jump too far ahead. We have to schedule Tina's hip surgery. The sooner, the better. I have an opening in three weeks. Let's do it then. |
SCENE FOUR (A) : RAMSAYS' HOME - HALLWAY (FLASHBACK) |
| SOUND: |
TINA'S LABOURED BREATHING. CONTINUES UNDER: |
| SANDRA: |
(OFF) Doug. (APPROACHING) Doug. Come to bed. (PAUSE) We've got to get up early tomorrow. I don't want to be late for church. (BEAT) You look tired. You look terrible. You shouldn't have gone into the store today. Not after what the doctor told us yesterday. You should've taken the day off. You should get some sleep. |
| SOUND: |
TINA'S BREATHING. |
| SANDRA: |
I'm going to bed. Good night. (OFF) Good night. |
| SOUND: |
TINA'S BREATHING CONTINUES, CROSS-FADES WITH A TICKING CLOCK IN RAMSAYS' BEDROOM, WHICH CONTINUES UNDER: |
SCENE FOUR (B) : RAMSAYS' HOME - BEDROOM |
| SOUND/BIZ: |
DOUG CLIMBING INTO BED, SANDRA BEING ROUSED. |
| SANDRA: |
(GROGGY) I didn't think you were ever coming to bed. What time is it? |
| DOUGLAS: |
What's the colour of pain? |
| SANDRA: |
What? |
| DOUGLAS: |
Pain. You think it has a colour? |
| SANDRA: |
(FULLY AWAKE) What are you talking about? |
| DOUGLAS: |
Today, at the store. Keith comes up to me, he's all upset. A customer had come up to him and said he needed some paint for his pane. What colour would Keith suggest? |
| SANDRA: |
A window pane. |
| DOUGLAS: |
You know how Keith can scramble words. Like when he carved Tina the mourning dove. |
| KEITH: |
(REVERB) To wake her up in the morning. |
| SANDRA: |
What'd you tell him about the colour of pain? |
| DOUGLAS: |
I told him what the customer meant. But I've been thinking about it ever since. If Tina's pain had a colour, what colour do you think it would be? |
| SANDRA: |
Red pain. Blue pain. What does it matter? Pain is pain. |
| DOUGLAS: |
A colour might make things easier. |
| SANDRA: |
For who? |
| | AN UNCOMFORTABLE PAUSE |
| SANDRA: |
I don't think Tina can take much more. |
| | ANOTHER PAUSE |
| DOUGLAS: |
Today I picked up a 40-pound bag of gravel. You know what went through my mind? This bag of gravel weighs more than my daughter. |
| SANDRA: |
Some nights, I wish she would just go to sleep and not wake up. |
| | AN UNEARTHLY SILENCE AS BOTH SANDRA AND DOUG ABSORB SANDRA'S STATEMENT. |
