Transcribed by Kathy

Carmen- I'm glad Ray was called to the phone. It give us time to discuss business.

Danny- Oh, come on… I was hoping we'd get through one meal without arguing.

Carmen- I don't want to argue with you, Daniel. But I am curious as to what happened between you and Mrs. Silva the other day.

Danny- What?

Carmen- Deitz told me she came to see you.

Danny- Yeah, so, Mrs. Silva came to see me. So what?

Carmen- Well?

Danny- What?

Carmen- Did you help her?

Danny- No, No…. I felt sorry for her. But I told her a deals a deal and that she had to pay us on time. You know… You can ask Dietz if you don't believe me okay?

Carmen- I believe you. I just don't understand how she got the money so quickly.

Danny- What do you mean? She paid up?

Carmen- That day… yes.

Danny- Well….Okay….So what's the problem?

Carmen- The point is strange things have been happening, the least of which the FBI showing up at our door with a search warrant just hours after wedding with Michelle. Someone is trying to make trouble for this family, Daniel.

Danny- What… We…

Carmen- The question is who?

Danny- We agree it's not Michelle, didn't we?

Carmen- I didn't want to argue with you in front of our family lawyer. But it's clear to me things started happening the day you brought Michelle Bauer into our home.

Danny- Her name is Michelle Santos.

Carmen- Even worse… The fact that she is a Santos means a member of our family is working against us.

Danny- Fine… It's not Michelle.

Carmen- You're wrong, Daniel. I'd bet my life on it.

Scene 2-At the Church (Michelle is in the church kneeling in front of the candles. She sees Mrs. Silva come in)

Michelle- Mrs. Silva

Mrs. Silva- Si.

Michelle- Hi. So, this is your church.

Mrs. Silva- Si… It is a small parish but it is very strong. My husband and I were married here. We had so many dreams then. So much hope… and now…

Michelle- Um…I'm really glad that you decided to meet me.

Mrs. Silva- I'm grateful for the money that you leant us… so that I could pay the debt to the Santos family, but I ah… talked it over with my husband and ah…

Michelle- And what? Please tell me.

Mrs. Silva- We think it was a mistake to take anything from you.

Michelle- Oh, no, Mrs. Silva…

Mrs. Silva- No, my husband feels that we should talk to Danny and tell him that we took the money from you.

Michelle- No, you can't do that!

Scene 3- In the restaurant

Danny- Look…Michelle did not turn us into the FBI, okay? She's not going to either.

Carmen- Your being naïve.

Danny- And your being paranoid. I trust Michelle. I trust her with my life.

Carmen- Oh, really?

Danny- Yeah

Carmen- Should I remind you that she cost your brother his life.

Danny- Look. How many times do we have to do this? She was defending herself.

Carmen- And I'm defending what's left of this family. I lost one son already…. I'll be damned if I'm going to let this girl take the rest of us down.

Danny- This girl is my wife. She is the future of this family. Her children….Our children ware the next Santos generation….and don't you ever…don't you ever forget that!

Scene 4- In the church.

Mrs. Silva- I appreciate what you did for us, Mrs. Santos, but my husband and I are afraid. We don't want to get any more involved with your family than we already are.

Michelle- Okay, I don't blame you…. I don't blame you.

Mrs. Silva- Well, then why don't you want Danny to know the truth?

Michelle- Honestly? See Danny and I haven't um… haven't been married all that long and um…there's a lot of things about him that I don't understand, a lot of things he says and a lot of things he does and until I do understand him, I would rather there not be any problems between us.

Mrs. Silva- Well, I see you have a very difficult situation.

Michelle- You have no idea.

Mrs. Silva- And I wish I could help you, but I don't know Danny very well…except for the few times when he came into our store. He seemed nice…warm hearted, not like the others. But, then again, it's hard to know the truth about a family that has so much to hide.

Michelle- That's exactly how I feel. They…They have so many secrets…they just…they keep them all to themselves.

Mrs. Silva- Not all of them.

Michelle- What do you mean?

Mrs. Silva- Well, it's no secret how they run their protection business.

Michelle- It is to me.

Mrs. Silva- Your Danny's wife and you still don't know how they work?

Michelle- Well, he doesn't really talk about it that much. You know, I mean, I told you he's really quiet, he doesn't…. I really think it would help me understand Danny better if you could tell me about the family and how their protection business works.

Mrs. Silva- No, I couldn't.

Michelle- Mrs. Silva, please. I wanna be a better wife to Danny. I really do. But I can't do that unless you help me. I need to know everything about him.

Mrs. Silva- Alright…I'll tell you. My husband and I own a small bodaga. For years, everything was fine and all of a sudden we're robbed 5 times in less that a month. That is when Mick Santos comes into our store and he tell us his family can protect us for a price. We have no choice. We either pay up or we lose everything.

Michelle- So you paid.

Mrs. Silva- We didn't want to, but then it became a way of life. That is until my husband fell and hurt his back.

Michelle- Oh. And then you couldn't care for him and take care of the store at the same time.

Mrs. Silva- Well, the business fell off and there was no money. We couldn't meet our payment. That's when you helped us, Michelle. But there are many others who are at the mercy of your family.

Michelle- Well? Who? Can you… Can you give me any names?

Mrs. Silva- I can… but that's not going to help your marriage. If you love Danny the way you say you do… knowing too much can only hurt you.

Michelle- No, Mrs. Silva…. I promise. Look…I think that I can help Danny get out of the business that he's in. But I need you to help me first.

Scene 5- In the restaurant

Carmen- You think you're the only one with dreams? Your grandfather came her with nothing. His dream was to have his son, your father, turn this family into a force to be reckoned with. And he did. It wasn't easy being a Santos in a city filled with Bauers and Chamberlains, Spauldings. But you father, he never gave up and he never let anyone else in this family give up either. Even as he lay dying in my arms, cut down by ruthless men, he told me to do whatever… whatever it took to survive. And that's what I did. I swore to him that I would. I made a vow to him to keep this family as strong as he did. I made a life for you, your brother, your sister and all your cousins. It's what good families do for one another.

Danny- I know… I know, Mama… I know. And I can be ruthless for this family. I can be ruthless…but only if I do it my way… Legitimately…within the law.

Carmen- Do me one favor….just one.

Danny- What….What? What is it?

Carmen- I'll accept Michelle as your wife if you give her one final test to prove here worthiness.

Carmen- The best way to test Michelle is to let her think that she knows something that could hurt us.

Danny- You mean set her up.

Carmen- It wont be a set up unless the information gets somewhere….like the FBI. If it doesn't, then we'll know that Michelle is fit to be a true Santos.

Danny- Mama…..Over my dead body! You will do nothing against my wife, do you understand me? If you do, you will lose the only son you have left!

Scene 7- In the church

Mrs. Silva- Julio Rojas… Herman Rosenberg…Mr. and Mrs. Lee at the chinese laundry…All of these people pay protection money to the Santos family.

Michelle- Gracias, Mrs. Silva. You have been a huge help. And you know what? You can tell your husband not to worry because nothing bad is going to happen to your family again.

Mrs. Silva- Oh, I hope I did the right thing.

Michelle- You did, you have… I mean thanks to you, I can help… I can help Danny get his family into legitimate business. I mean, that's really what he wants to do. It's just… It's Carmen and Dietz that want to keep everything the way they are.

Mrs. Silva- I admire you Michelle… It takes a lot of love to do what you are doing.

Michelle- The man I love is more that worth it. Just promise me your not going to tell anyone what I am trying to do.

Mrs. Silva- You have my word.

Michelle- Okay.

Mrs. Silva- Thank you for lending us the money. There is a special place in heaven for you my dear. Vaya con Dios. (She leaves) Good evening Father.

Ray- How are you doing, Mrs. Silva? It's good to see you.

Michelle- Hi Ray.

Ray- Hello Michelle. You know Mrs. Silva is one of our most devout parishoners. I didn't realize the two of you knew each other so well.

Michelle- We don't, um…..I just sort of bumped into her when I came her to pray.

Ray- Your not ah…Your not Catholic.

Michelle- No, I'm not, ah….I just…The church looked really inviting when I came by so I just thought I'd stop in and meditate, you know?

Ray- Look, Michelle… I'm not going to lie to you, I heard Mrs. Silva thank you for the money.

Michelle- Okay, well see…. She…

Ray- Listen…Listen… You… you didn't just bump into Mrs. Silva and you didn't just stop in to meditate. Now you can tell me the truth or not, its up to you.

Michelle- Well…I met her at the house, you know…She was in a bind, so I decided to help out. It's what we're supposed to do for people right?

Ray- Yes.

Michelle- Right.

Ray- Why do you feel so guilty about it?

Michelle- I don't feel guilty about it, dammit. I'm sorry, I don't mean to curse in church. Um… honestly, I'm a little worried that ah…if Danny finds out about this he's going to get really upset.

Scene 8- In the restaurant

Danny- Mother, Michelle is my wife. We were married in front of you and God and what we have is sacred and I demand that you respect that.

Carmen- You demand?

Danny- We may live under your roof but this is our home too and I will not have anyone in my home try to sabotage my wife or my marriage. Is that clear?

Carmen- It's clear to me that Michelle has affected your judgment.

Danny- No Mama, no. I am as loyal to you as I ever was. I understand the importance of family. I am not blinded by love, but I am not heartless either. I believed Michelle when she told me what happened with Mick. I believe that he attacked her and I believe that she was defending herself and If I thought for one moment that she was lying and that she murdered Mick, well… then I would have done what needed to be done. But, that's not how it was.

Carmen- Well, we'll never know, will we?

Danny- I know… I know!

Carmen- You're confusing feelings with facts.

Danny- No, not this time. Believe me, if I thought anyone, including my wife, betrayed our family, then I would take the same revenge as you or Papa would. (snaps finger) Like that.

Carmen- Very well, then Daniel. Forget what I said. We'll do it your way, for now.

Danny- Okay. ( He leaves)

Ray- Look, Michelle…I've known my cousin since we were kids. You don't have to worry about him. Listen, you don't have to worry about Danny at all.

Danny- Whose worried about Danny?

Ray- Danny boy, Hey…

Danny- How are you?

Ray- You really lucked out when you married Michelle. You found yourself a very kind and generous girl.

Danny- Well, yeah. I know.

Michelle- Ha

Danny- Where exactly is all this ah…praise coming from, Ray?

Michelle- I was actually telling Ray about…ah…the other week….when uh…hmmm

Danny- That's okay, Michelle. Let him finish. I love to hear good things about my wife.

Ray- Good?

Danny- Yeah…

Ray- What she did was incredible.

Michelle- Ray, please stop. You're embarrassing me.

Ray- Listen… She was afraid when you found out you'd be upset. But I told her not to worry.

Michelle- Ray… I'm really, really begging here.

Danny- Michelle?

Ray- A member of our parish was is desperate need of money. Michelle helped her out. She gave her her own money. Danny, isn't that something?

Danny- Well……That's something.