Hanna, who has just discovered that her son, Benny, has mortgaged her house, is sitting in the dark waiting for him to come home. When he walks through the door, she speaks quietly to him.
"I pride myself on being an independent woman. I bought this house when I was 21. I had you and your sister on my hip...three and four years old," she says. "I worked two jobs when your father walked out on me. I didn't crumble. I didn't cry. I didn't even complain."
Benny asks what's going on. Hanna tells him not to act like he doesn't know. "Is there something you want to tell me, Benny?" she says, handing him the notice of foreclosure.
Benny admits what he did, following his mother into her room after she storms out. "You were in the hospital, and Candace was in trouble," he says.
"I knew it was her," Hanna says about her estranged daughter. "That girl wasn't in no trouble. She was conning you."
Benny says no. "She called me to pick her up late one night. I went to get her and walked right past her. I didn't even recognize her. She was beat so bad," he says. "I took her to the same hospital you were in. She was one floor below you. She owed him money, and he told her if he didn't get it, he was going to kill her. Mama, he damn near did."
Hanna says it's the life Candace chose. "That child has been nothing but trouble. The day I got pregnant on through my labor. I was sick as a dog every day. That child flipped in my womb and almost killed me," Hanna says. "It's like she never wanted to be here. Maybe if she had gone on or passed on she would have found some peace. Put us both out of our misery."
"For someone who's always grabbing the Bible, that's some real Christian talk," Benny says. "I'm going to let you calm down, and I'm going to forget that you said that about Candace."
Hanna warns Benny that Candace doesn't care about anyone but herself. "It's not in her to love anybody or anything," she says. "She got a baby that she probably don't even know where he is. It's not in her to care."
Benny defends his decision that night and says he'll right the situation. "I'm going to go sell my truck and bring them as much as I can," he says. "I got to try something, Mama. I'm going to fix this."
The next day, Judge David Harrington stops by to see his friend—and running mate in the Georgia gubernatorial race—Judge Jim Cryer. The night before, David thought he settled things with Candace, Jim's mistress, who threatened to go to the press about the would-be governor's nocturnal activities.
However, things haven't gone according to David's plan. Candace has called a reporter by the name of Rose, who is now turning her attention to Jim. "She called my secretary and said she wanted to ask me some questions," Jim says. "Questions about how I feel about elected officials and prostitutes."
David never gave Candace the $100,000 or sports car she asked for. "I wanted her to know who was holding all the cards," he says.
"Well, clearly she's holding all the cards," Jim says. "I'm telling you, she's insane. Pay her."
"I'll call her now," David says.
Meanwhile, at the Cryer house, Jim's wife, Katheryn, is in the laundry room scrubbing a piece of clothing in the sink. Hanna, her housekeeper, offers to take over.
"I keep finding you in here when I come in," Hanna says. "Makes me think I'm not doing my job too well if you have to wash every day."
"You are doing a great job," Katheryn says. "Sometimes I wake up restless."
Instead, Katheryn asks Hanna to help her other housekeeper with breakfast. As she leaves, Katheryn turns back to the task at hand—getting blood out of her nightgown.
Over breakfast, Katheryn's friend Veronica Harrington stops by in a frenzy. "You're still in your bedclothes," Veronica says.
"Good morning," Katheryn says. "Good to see you too."
Katheryn asks what's wrong. "I think David is having an affair," she says.
Katheryn laughs. "Mr. Conservative, always-by-the-book David?" she says. "I don't think so."
Veronica is convinced something is going on. "For the past couple of weeks, he's been very distant," she says.
"He's trying to run for office," Katheryn says.
"No," Veronica says. "I know this man. I can set my watch by him. He is the epitome of predictability. Something is going on."
Katheryn says Veronica is overreacting. "Remember the last time you thought he was having an affair, and he was planning your surprise birthday party?" Katheryn says. "If there is something that you should know, time will reveal it."
Back at the chambers of Judge Jim Cryer, Candace is waiting for Jim. David walks in instead. "You again," she says. "What's the matter? He can't handle being alone with me?"
David throws a bag at her feet. Inside is $100,000. "Pick it up," she says forcefully. "You threw that bag at me like I'm a dog in the street you were throwing a bone to. If you disrespect me again, nothing in this bag will matter."
Candace looks in the bag and notices there are no car keys. "I said I wanted a convertible," she says. "You must think I'm kidding. Didn't Rose call Jim?"
"What did you have to do with that?" David asks.
"I didn't tell her anything...yet," she says. "I said that I may know someone who is dealing with prostitutes and she should ask Judge Cryer about it."
David says he thinks Candace is crazy but not that crazy. "Let me show you crazy," she says.
Candace messes up her clothes and hair, spins around and falls on the floor. "Stop hitting me," she starts yelling. "I'm going to scream. This hurts. Stop. Please, I promise I won't tell anybody. I won't. Just let me go. Please, just let me go."
Watch part of this scene unfold
David backs away and tells her to stop. "Why stop? You want to see how far this can go?" she says. "Maybe I want $100,000 from you too. You see how easy this is? You and your ivory tower—one word from me and it all comes crumbling down."
David says she will have her car that day. Candace fixes her appearance and gets up to leave. "You know what the difference is between you and the common street thug?" she says. "Not a damn thing."
As she leaves, David says to himself: "You want to play this from another level? Okay, I can go down there with you."
Back at the Cryer house, Hanna is cleaning in the master bedroom when she sees a pill bottle on the dresser. Katheryn walks in as she reads the label. "I'm sorry. I wasn't snooping," Hanna says.
"Good, because snooping will get you fired," Katheryn says.
Hanna tells Katheryn she knows what the pills are for. "I had breast cancer too," Hanna says. "I used to wake up washing the blood out of my nightgown just like you do."
Katheryn says Hanna has no idea what she's talking about. "Maybe I'm wrong," Hanna says. "If I am, it's a good thing."
As she turns to leave, Katheryn asks how she is now. "Fine," Hanna says. "Lots of chemo and a mastectomy, but, thank God, I'm cancer-free."
Katheryn asks Hanna more questions and slowly opens up. No one—not even Jim—knows about her condition or should know. "Well, you can't get through this alone," Hanna says. "I'm here if you need me."
Watch part of this scene unfold
Katheryn says doctors caught her cancer in time, and Hanna offers to help her find a wig and drive her to appointments. But there's one thing Katheryn really wants Hanna to do for her: "Would you pray for me?"
Hanna sits down next to Katheryn and takes her hands, and they begin to pray.
Later that day, Candace meets David in a parking lot at her college campus. David is standing next to a shiny red convertible. "Looks like Christmas has come," Candace says.
David hands her the keys and gets into his car. Candace jumps up and down and gets into her new car. All the while, a clandestine photographer has been snapping pictures of the scene.
David then picks up his phone and issues orders to an unknown person on the other line. "It's done," he says. "Make it happen."
Back at home, Benny is packing up his things. Candace walks into his room. "You're moving?" she asks.
"You know what's going on. Don't talk to me about us moving out unless you got the money," he says. "If you haven't noticed, Mama is sick."
Candace starts teasing her brother, which makes Benny more upset. "Maybe Mama was right about you," he says. "You have no respect. You don't care about nobody but yourself."
"She said that?" Candace says.
"Yes, she said it, and I'm starting to believe her. I took out a mortgage on Mama's house to get you out of trouble. Look at me," he says. "You swore up and down that you would pay it, and now we're a few days away from being set out on the street."
Candace sits next to her brother. "Benny, you're the only one who believes in me, and you're the only one who loves me," she says.
"Your baby loves you," Benny says.
"B., I know that," she says.
"And where is he?" Benny asks. "Where's my nephew?"
"With his father," she says. "I'm not talking about him."
"Mama loves you," Benny says.
"No, she doesn't," Candace says. "If I don't have you, I don't have anybody."
Benny says he loves his sister but that what she did hurt him. "You come in here telling me that you have some rich man that's in love with you and he's going to pay the mortgage, got my hopes up, and nothing."
"You call this nothing?" Candace says, throwing $50,000 in the air. "That's all of it."
Benny is overjoyed but skeptical. "Wait, is he a dope dealer? Is this dope money?"
Candace says the money is legit—and that she got a new car. "Come on," she says. "I'll drive you to the bank."
"I'm driving," Benny says.
Back at the Cryer house, Hanna helps Katheryn into bed. "Why do you want me to be comfortable?" Katheryn asks.
"'Cause you're one of God's children," Hanna says.
"Well, God must not be very pleased with me, or he wouldn't have given me cancer," Katheryn says.
"God didn't give you cancer," Hanna says, "but I do believe that holding on to bad things like unforgiveness and anger can lead to sickness in your body."
"Well, if that's the case, I'd be dead," Katheryn says, making Hanna laugh. "I believe that's the first time I've seen you laugh, Hanna. You don't laugh much. Are you happy?"
Hanna says she has tried to keep joy in her heart but that it's been difficult lately. Katheryn asks what's going on, but Hanna declines to say.
As Hanna gets ready to leave, Katheryn tells her how much she appreciates what Hanna has done. "You have been kinder to me today than my whole family or any of my friends have been," she says.
Later that night, Hanna is packing up her living room when Benny walks in. "I want to talk to you for a second," he says. "I just wanted to say 'I'm sorry' and ask you to forgive me."
"I forgave you before you did it. That's what unconditional love is," she says. "I love you, son. I really do. But this was one of the lowest things that anybody has ever done to me. I'm almost 50 years old and about to be homeless. I can't even begin to think about starting over. I intended to die in this house."
"Well, I'm hoping you get to live in it for at least another 50, 60, even 70 years," Benny says as he places the deed in front of her.
Watch part of this scene unfold
Hanna is stunned. Benny says Candace gave him the money. "How did she get $50,000?" Hanna asks. "I don't want that girl getting killed trying to save my house."
"I'm so glad you said that, which means you would have mortgaged this house to help her," Benny says. "I knew it!"
Hanna asks again where she got the money.
"She said she met a rich guy and he gave it to her," Benny says. "She said he's in the law business."
Benny also says the house has been put back in Hanna's name, and she breathes a sigh of relief. "Now, can we unpack?" Benny asks.
At the Cryer house, Katheryn is still asleep when Veronica stops by the house again. "Why are you in this bed every time I come over here?" Veronica asks.
"I've been up late nights," Katheryn says.
"Well, honey, get up," Veronica says. "I have a crisis."
Veronica, still feeling uneasy about David, says she hired a private investigator to follow David. She then shows Katheryn the photos he took of David giving Candace the car.
"Is this Candace?" Katheryn asks.
"I knew something was up with her," Veronica says. "He pretended to meet her for the first time here at your house. I'm so pissed."
Katheryn says this is odd behavior for David. "This can't be serious," she says.
"It's right there in the picture," Veronica says.
"What are you going to do," Katheryn asks.
"I'm going to pay the bitch a visit," Veronica replies.
