All language subtitles for Bluff.City.Law.S01E09.WEBRip.x264-ION10

.

- When my son called,
he was panicked.

He just kept saying over
and over again that

whatever happened between him
and Tess was an accident,

and I believed him.

But even so, I knew that
my boy's life would be ruined.

So I gave him an alibi,

and I helped him
get rid of Tess's body.

[dramatic music]

♪

And when that teacher
got grabbed up,

I-I felt bad about that,
I really did,

but it was between him
and my son, and I chose my son.

♪

When you're a parent,
that's what you do.

- It's over.

- You protect your boy.

- It's really over.

- They protect their boy...

[voice breaking]
No matter what.

♪

[ship horn blows]

[car horn honking,
train bell ringing]

[indistinct chatter,
telephones ringing]

- Breakfast of champions.

- Long weekend
helping Mom pack for Somalia.

- About that,
we haven't had a chance to talk

since your mom was here.

I'm headed over
to St. Vincent's

to see Father Charles.

Why don't you walk with me?

- Yeah, um, I'm, like,
kind of an agnostic.

- A what?

- I mean, I-I believe in
a higher power and all that.

I'm just not really into
the whole church-going thing.

No offense.

- None taken.

You have anything to add
to this conversation?

- Amen.

- [snickers]

- I'll have Father Charles
pray for both your souls.

[both laughing]

- Bye, Dad.
- Thank you, Dad.

♪

- Thanks for coming by
on such short notice.

- Message sounded important.
Something about a teacher?

- Teacher I had to fire
last week.

- Um, yeah?
For what reason?

- She got pregnant through
in vitro fertilization.

Was hoping you'd represent her.

- Hold on now, Charles.

You fired someone,
and now you want me

to help her sue your parish?

- Ava and her husband

have struggled for years
to have a child.

Nothing worked.

That's when they turned
to IVF to get pregnant.

- She must've known
it was against church policy.

- She did.

But there's nothing
in the Bible that says

a couple can't turn
to a doctor for help.

Science is a part
of God's grand design.

As far as I'm concerned,
her child is a miracle.

- Still, suing your parish,
I don't know.

- She's a good Catholic,
Elijah.

A great teacher.

Only thing she's guilty of is

wanting to be a mother
to her own kids.

- So how many recruiters
we expecting today?

- At least three.

Memphis, Ole Miss,
even Vanderbilt.

- Vandy's in the house?
- Mm-hmm.

- [scoffs] Better tell
the rest of the recruiters

they're wasting their time.

- You know Maceo intends

on breaking your wrestling
record today.

How you feel about that?

- Great.

- Oh, my God.

You rooting
for my nephew to fail?

- Hey, it is my record.

- Uh, not for long.

[snickers]

- What are you talking about?

I've wrestled like this
all season.

- It doesn't matter.
- I'm not doing it.

I'm not cutting my hair.
Now it's a problem?

- No, it's always
been a problem.

- No, I'm not doing it, no.
- Maceo, what's going on?

- This ref says
I have to cut my locks

if I want to compete today.

- What? [scoffs]
Absolutely not.

- Those are the rules.

A player cannot have hair

below the ear lobes
or on the collar.

- What happened
to the bandanna he's worn

over his head all season?

- A bandanna is not considered
a legal hair cover

according to Tennessee
regulations.

Now, if I had been the ref
in his other matches,

there's no way
I would've allowed it.

- Coach, what are our choices?

- Ref says his hair
has to be short enough

to fit into a regulation cap,
or he forfeits the match.

- What?
Coach, but that's messed up.

- Okay,
so, if he forfeits today--

- He's our best wrestler.

If he doesn't compete today,

our undefeated season
is at risk.

- But he can still compete
at State.

- Yeah, he can compete.
- Let's be very clear.

I am the lead ref at State.

If he doesn't cut it,
he's not gonna be able to--

- This is total bull--
- Maceo.

- No--Whatever.
Just get it done.

- No, no, no.
No.

- Do not touch his hair.

- Who are you?

[dramatic music]

- I'm his attorney.

[upbeat country music]

♪

- You, uh--
you teach music, Ava?

- I lead the youth choir
and teach English Literature.

- Mm. Oh, I saw the go-bag
out there.

- Yeah, packing that bag
is nearly the last

of my pre-daddy chores.

All that's left is putting
together the baby's crib,

which will probably
take me a month

'cause the instructions
are in German.

[chuckles]
- Dad...

the morals clause
in Ava's employment contract,

is absurd and as expansive
as the Grand Canyon.

Look.

Any action deemed offensive
by the Catholic Church

is grounds for termination.

- Father Charles
told us the church felt

we had committed a grave...

[sniffles]
And offensive sin against God.

How is seeking help
to get pregnant

a sin against God?

- We knew t-the church's
stance on IVF.

That's why we agreed

to use every viable embryo

that resulted
from the procedure.

Even if that meant
having triplets,

then we were okay with that.

That right, hon?
- Mm-hmm.

- Ava,
the law is on your side here.

We can sue
for wrongful termination.

Also, as a pregnant woman,

you're part
of a protected class,

which means
we can sue the parish

for violating your civil rights
under Title VII.

- Wait. I love the church.

Going after them in court
is not what I want from this.

- What do you want, Ava?

- I want my job back
at St. Vincent's.

- I grew up in a parish similar
to St. Vincent's,

so I get why you might be
hesitant to bring an action.

But trust me when I say the
last thing the church wants

is a lawsuit like yours
going to trial.

Once they see
that we're serious,

they're gonna be much more
inclined to negotiate.

[dramatic music]

♪

[indistinct chatter]

- Did you see the way
my teammates looked at me?

Like it's my fault
we lost today.

So what happens now?

- Well,
we go to the school board,

and we get them
to let you compete at State

with your natural hair.

- The school board?
- Yeah.

- Man, that's too much.

I should just cut it.
I don't--

- Is that what you want, Maceo?
To cut your locks off?

- I mean, no.
It's my hair.

It's who I am.
It's like--

- Your identity?
I understand.

- Look, I'll cut them
if I have to, but--

- No, no, no, no, no buts.

You shouldn't have to lose
something that is part of you

just to conform to some
kind of arbitrary regulation.

- Yeah, a regulation
that was left over from a time

when only white kids
were allowed to wrestle.

[engine turning over]

- Mr. Strait, the Archdiocese
is prepared to offer

Mrs. Fullum
two years' worth of salary

as severance.

- With respect, our client's
not interested in a settlement.

Um...

she just wants
to go back to teaching.

- That's never going to happen.

Mrs. Fullum
committed a travesty.

- The only travesty
that was committed here, sir,

was the wrongful termination
of our client.

Despite the religious
protections

afforded the church
by the state,

it's a clear-cut case
of discrimination.

- Good luck
proving that in court.

Mr. Strait,
you and I both know

this is going to be
a case about morality.

And on that issue,
we hold the high ground.

- Really?

Have you read the papers
in the last 10 years?

Waging war against our client
is a monumental mistake,

one that shows
just how out of step

and arrogant
the church really is.

- Syd--
- You know, we asked for this

friendly negotiation
because my father

has respect for the church,

but if you
come after our client,

I will come after the church,

and mark my words,
it will not be pretty.

.

- If Ava decides to sue,

we got to take the gloves off--

- And expose
the Catholic Church

for the hypocritical and
archaic institution that it is.

Dad, come on, the Church--

they protect priests for
committing unspeakable crimes--

- I applaud the way the Church
continues to handle

that horrific situation.

- You can't condemn
an entire religion

because of the behavior
of a few bad priests.

- Watch me.

- If the Church can evolve
on things like divorce,

why can't it evolve when it
comes to science, like IVF,

or allowing women
to use birth control?

- Exactly, Emerson.

Good point.
- A very good point.

But there is the matter
of Ava's employment contract.

She agreed to the terms
of the morals clause.

- An overly ambiguous clause.

- Ambiguous or not, Ava signed
on the dotted line.

She knew
what she was getting into,

just like I knew
what I was getting into

when I came out
in my family's church.

Once that cat
was out of the bag,

I was not welcome.

- What did you do?

- Well, I found a new
church that welcomed me,

that had a more equitable
view of morality,

and they didn't rank one sin
being worse than another.

- Okay, that's how you
attack this case.

You argue that if no sin
is worse than another,

why is Ava's sin
being used against her?

- But then you have to dig
up dirt on all the people

employed by
St. Vincent's Academy.

- That's an ugly way
to do business.

- Ugly but effective.
- We're not that kind of firm.

- Well, maybe we should be.

- We can't win by demeaning
the Catholic Church.

- Dad, I get that you have
this loyalty to the Church,

but we're not gonna
win unless you go dirty.

- If Ava
wants to sue the parish,

we're not going dirty.

We win this case
by showing the jury...

what a good teacher Ava is.

- She tutored me every day
after school

for a whole semester.

Thanks to her,

I got a full-ride scholarship
to college.

- We win by showing
what a great Catholic she is.

- Mrs. Fullum started
this soup kitchen,

worked night and day to sign
kids up to work here

after school
and on the weekends.

- We win by showing what
a great mother Ava will be.

- Ava convinced the Diocese
to open this pre-school

for working mothers.

Most days,
she spends her lunch hour

down here
playing with the kids.

- We win by showing that
the kids of St. Vincent Academy

will be harmed
if they lose their teacher.

[doorbell rings]
- So your strategy

is that we go high,
even when the Church goes low

and attacks Ava on the stand?
- Especially then.

See, I don't think we can lose

if we make Ava
the face of this case.

Hey, Ava.
- Hi, come in.

- Oh, we skipping school now?
Huh?

Maceo.

Coach says you quit the team.
You just giving up? Huh?

- Bri, Bri, Bri.

I got this.

You know,
I used to play a little bit.

High-school ball.
Yeah, I was all right.

You know getting kicked off the
team isn't gonna fix things.

- I'm a 16-year-old black kid
from North Memphis.

If I do wrestle or don't
wrestle, what does it matter?

- Matters to you teammates.

Should matter to you.

You can be the kid who quits.

Or you can be the man
who stands up

for what he believes in...

stands up for his truth.

[dramatic music]

♪

- I just want to get
to State and win...

without losing the stuff
I care about.

♪

- We can help you
get what you want.

- Just got to let us try.

♪

- We spoke to your former
students and colleagues.

- They have all agreed
to testify on your behalf

if we file against the church.

- Honey, what do you think?

- I think suing the parish
is a big deal.

- That's our family.

I mean, it's who we are.

- Yeah.

choir:
♪ We shall overcome

♪ We shall overcome

- Ava,
I think you need to see this.

♪

choir:
♪ Someday

♪ We shall...

♪ We shall overcome

- Ava,
when they heard you were fired,

they staged a walkout.

- We support you, Mrs. Fullum.

- Thank you.

But ditching school
is not going to help me

get my job back, okay?

Let's go back and finish
the good work that we started.

Okay?

You responsible for this?
Right?

[laughter]

- The face of our lawsuit.

- If she wants to be.

- Thank you, guys.

We prayed that God
would send us a sign

about suing the parish.

- I can't imagine
a better sign than those kids.

- Let's go forward.

♪

- Okay.

.

[upbeat music]

♪

- I'm worried
that we're gonna lose

if Dad doesn't try
this case right.

- Hmm. You know what I think?
- What?

- You got an issue
with the Catholic Church.

- They just fired a woman
for getting pregnant with IVF.

Yes, I have a problem with
organized religion in general.

- Oh, so, uh,
you're an atheist now?

- Look, when I would go
to Mass on Sunday,

I would see Sunny Jenkins
and Janice Hunt

sitting in their pews,
reading their missals, praying,

only to find out that they
were both sleeping with my dad.

The Church is just
a sanctuary for hypocrites.

Also, when I asked that deacon
if I could be a priest

and he said no
because I'm a girl,

so add misogyny
to the list of grievances

I've got with the Church.
- Okay, Syd, Syd, be real.

- Well, Bri--
- Be real.

Look, the Church
isn't about a few individuals.

It's about having faith in God.

- I'm just not sure
that I can have faith

in a system that's so flawed.

- You have faith
in our justice system.

- That's different, you know,
because the justice system,

it relies on laws
and precedent, you know?

It's flawed,
but it's always evolving.

And it's tangible.

- If you can't see God
or touch Him,

you're trying to tell me
He doesn't exist?

'Cause when I look around,
I see God weaving His wonders

everywhere,
not just at church.

At work, with my nephew--

- Oh. Maceo.

How is that going,
by the way?

- Anthony appealed
to the school board,

and, uh, we're just waiting
to hear back.

- Well, at least
he's got his Auntie Bri.

And the king
Anthony Little on his side.

Do not tell Anthony
that I said that.

- King? I'm so telling him.
I am so--

- [laughs]
- Oh, God.

- Mrs. Lambert,
your daughter was in

Mrs. Fullum's English class,
was she not?

- Until I had her transferred
to a different class.

- Why did you
have her transferred?

- The last thing we need
is for Abigail to be

exposed to a teacher
who was of...

questionable
moral character.

- Hold on.
Mrs. Lambert is an accountant.

That hardly makes her
an authority

on good moral character.

- Mrs. Lambert was a friend
of Mrs. Fullum's.

- We were friends,

until her behavior became
erratic the last few years.

And it wasn't
because of the hormones

that the IVF doctors
had her on.

It was because
she was on drugs.

I found a bottle of pills
in her bathroom

when I was
at her house one day.

- You've heard Mrs. Lambert's
previous testimony?

- Yes.

- Have you ever been on drugs,
Mrs. Fullum?

- For a short time, my doctor
prescribed me antidepressants.

- Why were you depressed?

- I had--I just gone
through my third miscarriage.

And I was ready to give up
on my dream of being a mom.

- Thank you, Mrs. Fullum.

- Mrs. Fullum,
are you aware

of the Catholic Church's
stance

against
in vitro fertilization?

- I was, but...

it was the only way
I was able to get pregnant.

- Well, you sure have
a history of violating

the school's policies,
don't you?

- I'm not sure what you mean.

[briefcase unlocks]

- You made this play available
to your English students,

even though it's not

on the preapproved
school's reading list.

As well as these books--

Walt Whitman,
"Leaves of Grass,"

"Madame Bovary,"

"A Portrait of the Artist
As a Young Man."

- These books are
on a supplemental reading list

for my honor students preparing
for advanced-placement tests.

I give them copies only after
I've met with their parents

to explain to them
that there may be material

in the books some people find--

- Offensive?

- Sophisticated
for the young mind.

[briefcase unlocks]

- This is a copy
of your employment contract.

Could you please
read section 12.4

of the morals clause?

- "No teacher is allowed
to provide a student

"with books not listed

on St. Vincent Academy's
preapproved reading list."

- You recommend
banned books...

take banned pills...

and undergo banned procedures.

How many offenses
do you have to commit...

before the school
has the right to fire you?

[dramatic music]

♪

- That church lawyer
is just warming up, okay?

The second
that we get into court,

he's going to dig up anything
he can find on Ava

and smear her with it.

- If we go low

and there's one Catholic
on that jury, we lose.

There's a right way
to win this and a wrong way.

- I'm sorry.
I just--I don't get it.

I don't--
I-I do not understand

how you can believe in an
organization that is so flawed.

- You used to ask your mom
the same thing about me.

She had so much faith
in people...

in me.

Her optimism
just poured out to everyone.

Ava's got that same
kind of optimism, Syd.

She's got that
same kind of faith.

She loves the Church.

Last thing I want to do
is win this case

and send her back
to some church

that's a little more broken.

- Okay, well,
thank you for letting me know.

- Hey.
- Okay, I'll speak to you soon.

- You got a sec?
- Okay, bye.

- You got a second?
- Yeah, what's up?

- Um, I was thinking...

as soon as the settlement
comes from the city,

I'd like to set up
a scholarship in Tess's name.

And that way, she'll--
she'll live on,

and, uh--and a few years from
now, like, 20 years from now,

there will be 20 people
that she saved.

You know?
- [scoffs]

I think that's
a great idea, George.

I think that's great.

Ah...

- Hey, what's up?

- Um...

yeah, I just--I got off
the phone with Robbie.

Tess's mother--

the news hit her pretty bad.

She just got
picked up for a DUI.

She's okay, but...

- That poor woman.

I think I should talk to her.

- No. I-I don't think
that's a good idea.

- Yeah, you know, she's--
she's a victim, too, Jake.

I mean, right now
she's all alone in the world.

I mean, that's not right.

That's not right.

[dramatic music]

♪

- And so, Father Charles,
although you fired Mrs. Fullum,

you've been testifying
here today on her behalf.

Can you tell us why?

- I believe the Church
has it wrong..

Science isn't some
abstract thing

created outside
of the realm of God.

The child that Ava
is carrying is a miracle,

assisted by science,
but divined by God.

- Thank you, Father.

Your witness.

- We have no questions
for Father Charles.

- Uh...
- We should rest.

- Yeah.

Plaintiff rests.

- The witness is excused.

- Instead, Your Honor,
the defense calls

Dr. Miles Jones to the stand.

- Objection.
Uh, objection, Your Honor.

Uh, Dr. Jones is not
on the defense witness list.

- Your Honor, we're calling
the witness to testify--

- Testify? Dr. Jones was
Mrs. Fullum's former doctor.

Given the confidentiality

of the patient-doctor
relationship,

there's no way that...
- Ava...

- This doctor should be allowed
to testify, Your Honor.

- The plaintiffs put
Mrs. Fullum's health in issue.

We have the right
to call a witness

to speak to her
state of health.

- I'll allow the witness.

- Thank you, Your Honor.

Dr. Jones, could you briefly
tell the court

how in vitro fertilization
works?

- Simply put,
I extract an egg from a woman,

fertilize it
with a man's sperm,

and then insert the embryo
into a woman's uterus.

If all goes well, the viable
embryo attaches to the uterus,

and 40 weeks later,
a child is born.

- And the embryo you implanted
in Mrs. Fullum's uterus,

is...is that
the only viable embryo?

- No.

There was another.

♪

- What'd you do
with the second embryo?

- Mrs. Fullum gave us
permission to destroy it.

♪

- [sniffles]

- Mrs. Fullum allowed you

to destroy a viable embryo?

- That's correct.

♪

- No further questions.

- Dr. Jones...

given Mrs. Fullum's
medical history,

had she carried
both viable embryos,

what were the chances that she
would've been able to carry

both of those to full term?

- Less than 5%.

- Less than 5%.

And if she'd carried just one?

- She'd have greater than
50% success rate

of giving birth to the one.

- Wow.

Thank you.

Nothing further.

♪

.

- You know,
I made Tess and her classmates

come down to this cemetery once

for a paper
they were working on.

- "Hamlet."
I remember.

Thought it was a morbid choice.

- [laughs]
Yeah, yeah, probably was.

- Tess loved it.

You inspired her,
made her love school.

- Students like her
inspired me.

- Can you forgive me?

Can you ever
possibly forgive me?

- There's nothing to forgive.

- I stole your life.

I...

- Oh.

It's not your fault.

Not one bit of it
is your fault.

[poignant music]

You know, Tess loved you.

♪

We're free now.

And so is she.

♪

- I don't know how
he does it, man.

If I were George, I'd...

want to strangle everyone
who had anything to do

with putting me prison.

Do you know that this, uh--

this--this all started
with a Post-it note?

Led me to the best
man I've ever met.

♪

[indistinct chatter]

- I just can't get over
the fact that she lied to me...

For all those months.

[siren wailing in the distance]

- In my job, I find myself
facing lots of decisions

about what's wrong,
what's right,

should I, shouldn't I.

Where I landed,
I asked myself...

do I have the right intentions?

If my motivations are good,
then...

I believe that's
the best criteria

to decide hard questions.

I believe Ava
was trying to protect you.

I think if you
can get to that...

you'll find a way
to work through your anger.

- Ava...

If we lose this case,
you're gonna find another job

at a school
with students that adore you

and a community
that appreciates you--

- This is my community.

Win or lose...

this is where Blake and I
will raise our daughter.

- After everything
that's happened,

you still have faith?

- My faith isn't about a...

parish or a building.

It's...it's about knowing

that I don't have to walk alone
through this life.

- My dad's always
felt that way...

that God was present
in his life,

looking after him.

- And you?

- Uh, honestly?

- Mm-hmm.
- [chuckles]

Uh...

I don't know.

- You're not someone
who thinks they have faith.

But...

you are a woman determined...

to leave this world a little
better than you found it.

[chuckles] And if you think
about it, that...

that is the most powerful
act of faith of all.

- [sniffles]

- [groans]

- Oh, you okay?
- [exhales deeply]

She's active today.

[both laughing]

- May I?
- Yeah.

- Okay.

- Right...
- Where?

- There.

- Oh, oh.

[both laughing]
Oh, that's wild.

[heartfelt music]

♪

- This is an emergency
board meeting

requested
by Attorney Anthony Little

on behalf of Hilltop High--

- Everyone's looking at me
like this is my fault.

- Everyone is here
to support you.

- It doesn't look
that way to me.

- In attendance,
we have the full board

and two representatives from
the Tennessee Athletics League.

Mr. Little, the mic is yours.

[indistinct chatter]

- Thank you.
- Yeah.

- Good afternoon.

- I'm sorry.
I'm out.

- Maceo.
- No.

- I would--
[indistinct chatter]

[clears throat]

I come today
not as an attorney

but as a father...

to talk about
the responsibility

we have as parents,

teachers,
and coaches...

to our youth.

Maceo Johnson has done
everything that society

has asked him to do
in order to succeed.

He is an incredible student...

an excellent athlete...

and yet, here we are...

At a meeting where this young
man's future is on the line.

Over what?

Haircut?

I mean, we can blame
Maceo's haircut.

We can even blame
the referee who made the call,

or...

we could address
the real problem.

It's a problem
that is rooted in a system

where black children
are prevented from realizing

their full potential...

simply because the thought
of them succeeding

makes some folks uncomfortable.

So I stand before the board

and the state's athletic league
with a proposal...

an opportunity...

for everyone to do what's right
and change the rule

so that athletes
who look like Maceo Johnson

can keep their hair
and their identity...

And compete at the state level.

Because the future is now...

and Maceo Johnson is...

an integral part
of what that future looks like.

Thank you.

[crowd applauding rhythmically]

[knock at door]

- Hey.

Mom just called.
Said to, uh, say hello, so...

- She got in okay?

- Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, she's good.

You know, um...

when I was a kid,

I used to really wonder
what it would be like...

you know,
having you two together...

under the same roof,
like a...

like a regular family.

- I'm sorry I wasn't able
to give you

that kind of experience
growing up.

- No, it's, um...

it's okay, you know?

Now I have you and Sydney...

which is cool.

- Got our first
Thanksgiving coming up...

our first Christmas.

- Yeah.

- Hey, Dad.
[knock at door] Hey.

- Hey.
- I think, uh...

you were right--
staying positive,

making Ava the face
of the case,

that was the right call.

It was.

And I'd like to close tomorrow,
if that's okay with you.

- You agree
with my strategy decision,

and you want to close?

Did hell free over
and I didn't notice?

- [laughs] Look, the jury knows
that you believe in Ava,

and I just want them to know
that I believe in her, too.

Okay.

.

- This is case isn't about
in vitro fertilization.

It's about religious freedom...

and the Church's right
to set its own rules

for its clergy and employees.

Mrs. Fullum's attorneys
would like you

to think that
St. Vincent Academy

discriminated against her
because she's a woman...

a pregnant woman...

part of a protected class.

That is categorically false.

This is a contractual issue.

Mrs. Fullum was fired
because she violated

the morals clause
of her employment contract

when she underwent
IVF treatment.

That violation is the reason,

the only reason...

she was fired
from her position as a teacher

at St. Vincent Academy.

Period.

- I grew up
in the Catholic Church,

listening to God's teachings
of love and faith

and...forgiveness.

The one concept I could never
wrap my head around

was blind faith.

How can someone just
believe without seeing,

without feeling,
without touching?

And then I met Ava Fullum,

a woman...

with unshakable
faith in God.

Ever since Ava
was a little girl, she knew.

She knew that God wanted her

to be a teacher and a mother.

So, despite the Church's rules
against IVF,

her allegiance
belonged to a higher power...

to God and the plan
that he had for her.

Ava's faith
is--is why we're here today,

just weeks
before she has a child,

a child that
is a blessing from God...

a miracle that...
[sighs]

She shouldn't be punished
for by the Church...

let alone by this court.

Thank you.

[uplifting music]

♪

[indistinct chatter]

Hey.

- Hey.
- [chuckles]

- Uh...how's your, uh--
how's your case going?

You're suing the parish?
- Mm-hmm. Yes, I am.

[cell phone chimes]
- Mm.

- [chuckles] Um, we're just
waiting on the verdict.

- Mm-hmm.

- How's Lauren?

- I don't know.

- What do you mean
you don't know?

She's your--
your girlfriend.

- Not anymore.

- What? Why?

- She broke up with me.

- Oh, Robbie, I'm...

- She said I was still
in love with you.

And I guess I didn't deny it
fast enough, so...

There's that.

[bittersweet music]

♪

- All wrestlers
must weigh in by 3:35

in order to compete
in today's State Finals.

- Is Anthony
gonna make it on time?

- I hope so.

[dramatic music]

♪

- We're running
out of time, Maceo.

It's either now or never.

♪

- You know
where I stand, Coach.

It's all good, Aunt Bri.

I stood up for myself.

I can live with that.

- About time.

- Can I wrestle?
- Yeah, you can wrestle.

- Without cutting my hair?
- That's right.

- The Tennessee
Athletics League

is allowing you to wrestle
as you have all season.

- But next season,
they'll supply all wrestlers

with the appropriate headgear
that will adjust

to all students, regardless
of hair length and style.

- Go, go, go, go, go, go, go.
- Yes.

- [sighs]

Did I say thank you?

- About 100 times.

You ready to see
your nephew wrestle?

- I'm ready to see him win.

What you talking about wrestle?

- Ladies and gentlemen
of the jury,

have you reached a verdict?

- We have, Your Honor.

We find in favor
of the defendant,

St. Vincent Parish.

[crowd murmurs]

[melancholy music]

♪

- Tried calling, but I...

I think he turned
his phone off.

- Oh, he just needs some time.

- Here, Dad.
- Thanks.

- [groaning]
- You okay?

- No, no, no, no, no.
She's too early.

- Okay.
- [screams]

- Ava!

[indistinct chatter
over radio]

- Breathing.
- [breathes deeply]

- I got you.
- Thank you.

- It's okay.
Hey, all right.

She's fine, but I'm still gonna
go with Ava to the hospital.

- I locked up. You go on,
and I'll meet you there.

[tires screeching]
- What happened?

Is Ava okay?
- She's in labor.

- Ava?

- It's okay. She's coming.
- No.

- You're about
to have that family

that you and Ava
always dreamed of.

- [scoffs] I am.

[chuckles] I am.

- Go-bag.

- Yeah. Congratulations.
Okay?

both: Go, go, go.
[laugh]

- Hi.
- Hi.

[heartfelt music]

- All right. Let's roll.
- Go.

- [chuckles]

[ambulance doors open, close]

♪

- But as we learned
in today's reading

from 1 Corinthians,

love never fails us.

It always protects,
always trusts.

- We're gathered here today

to apologize
to an innocent man.

- When is all this
gonna end, Jake?

- It won't take long.
Just a quick speech.

- Always hopes,
and it always perseveres.

- A man whose life
and reputation was unfairly--

- When this is over, you know,
we can go and get some lunch

or, uh, maybe even jump
in a fountain?

- Mr. Bell...

on behalf of the city
of Memphis,

I want to offer you
public apology.

But we hope this check
helps as you move forward

in life toward bigger
and brighter days.

[camera shutters clicking,
reporters shouting]

- Faith, hope, and love...

these are integral parts
of our relationship with God

and our fellow man.

But of all of these...

♪

[camera shutters clicking,
reporters shouting]

♪ I need to find
a way to carry on ♪

- God told us
in today's readings

that the greatest
of these is love.

- ♪ Salvation