Original subtitles

You know, Tess, there's one thing that I don't like about being an angel.

Well, I got bad news for you, Miss Wayne.

There have been no plans to put up a suggestion.

But go ahead. What is your complaint?

It's not really a complaint. It's just, you know, have you noticed that angels

never get any mail?

Yes, and there's a good reason for that.

All the mails will be great to the Father.

Special delivery.

It's called prayer.

And people aren't supposed to pray to angels.

I know, but sometimes it would be nice to get a real letter, you know?

An envelope with a pretty stamp on it.

A swan or an astronaut or something.

And an exotic postmark. And a letter folded inside catching you up with all

latest news.

The latest news from where?

I haven't worked that out yet.

Well, the thing about the latest news, baby, is sometimes it's not good.

Morning. Hi.

Her name is Gracie Behringer. She's always trying to fix things by herself.

Behringer.

Mrs. Lipton. I heard that banging again in your place yesterday.

Old pipes in an old building. Not much I can do about it. It didn't sound like

old pipes to me.

Maybe I should have my plumber take a look at it.

Why don't you give me a chance to look at it first? Maybe I could save you a

of money on a big plumbing bill.

Well, fine.

Just don't expect me to take it off the rent.

Oh, my God.

You don't have to read it to tell that it's not good news.

People get letters like this every day. One piece of paper and everything

changes. My life didn't change today. It changed a long time ago.

This is a girl that never expected anybody to care enough to help her with

truck.

So her troubles just get worse. And now she's a desperate woman, and desperate

women make desperate choices.

When you walk down the road,

heavy burden...

I will rise and I will walk with you.

I'll walk with you till the sun don't even shine.

Walk with you every time I tell you I'll walk

with you.

Believe me, I'll walk with you.

Well, right now I'm working part -time as a mechanic, but, um, look, I could

a second job.

Yeah.

Right. Yeah.

Hey, Trace, what's the big deal with all the money all of a sudden?

I just found out some good news.

Yeah, I can tell. You look really happy.

Don, do you know where I could get $20 ,000 really quick?

$5 ,000 for what?

I just found out I got accepted into college, the Rhode Island School of

Is that all?

I thought it was an emergency or something. It is an emergency.

If I don't get them their money in the next few weeks, I mean, that's it. That

could be the last chance I get.

I've just never heard of a college needing that much money up front before.

Yeah, well, you've never heard of a college, period.

Figure something else out.

Do you have any loaded relatives or anything?

I don't have any relatives at all.

Hey, hey, Trace, here you go.

They say strippers make a lot of money.

I found you. I couldn't have made it another block.

What seems to be the problem?

Well, that's what I thought you'd tell me, Don.

It goes chug, chug, chug, and clang, clang, clang, and then every so often

there's a... Maybe I should take a look at it. That's exactly what I thought.

Oh, looky there.

Women's Support Center.

I know Monica personally. She's wonderful. Oh, no, no, right here.

Miss Colorado State will be crowned next week as women from all over the state

compete for $25 ,000 and a new car.

Did I mention that I know Monica personally?

You should enter. Got the looks for it. Don't you have work to do?

Well, she needs some money fast. She's going to college.

College! Don, can I take an hour for lunch?

Yeah, sure.

Fix my car.

Now!

Deliveries are in the back.

Actually, I want to sign up.

Sorry, women only.

Is there any kind of law that says I can't sign up?

Are you single, never married, no children?

Yes. 18 to 24?

I'm 22.

High school graduate?

I have a GED, high school equivalent.

Of course you do.

Name of your sponsor.

Name of the city, corporation, business that sponsors your competition?

Uh, I don't. Every contestant must be sponsored by a corporation or local

business. They pay the entrance fees and expenses, hair, makeup, dresses.

Take Chloe, for example. She's Miss Aspen Snowflake, formerly Miss Pioneer

Colorado, and Miss Aspen Downhill.

And her sponsor is the First National Bank.

So, how do I get a sponsor?

Sponsors sponsor winners.

Do you have a title?

Have you ever won anything?

Besides Miss Grease Monkey?

I'm sorry I wasted your time.

It's a demon, but you can't find anything wrong with it.

Hey, how'd it go?

It didn't.

It's a whole complicated thing. You can't just sign up. You need a sponsor

everything. Well, beauty contests are not for everyone.

Did you notice the ad from the Women's Center?

I was even thinking. Never win a beauty pageant. Why would you say that?

Story of my life.

I'll never win anything.

Oh, baby, you'd be amazed what you could do with a little faith. You just have

to put your faith on the right thing.

You're right. Stripping was a much better idea.

All right.

I got your first dollar right here.

You know, a beauty pageant can be an educational experience.

And I can probably get you a sponsor if that's what you really want to do.

Really?

Why would you do that?

Well, you seem like a hardworking person. And I like to help people with

potential.

I got potential.

Oh, sure, baby.

There's a lot ahead of you.

Trust me.

Now, this is my address.

Meet me there in about an hour, okay?

Thank you.

Shut that down.

But it's not... Put it down.

Hello, Tess.

Well, there's been a change in plans.

What do you mean?

Well, the bad news is she wouldn't even consider the support group idea.

And what's the good news?

Well, she's not going to become a stripper.

Well, that's encouraging at least.

So, what's the new plan?

Tracy just keeps making things worse for herself.

She needs the money, and she's lying about why she needs the money.

And now she's going to enter a beauty pageant, try to win.

That's not exactly the road we wanted her to take, but we're going to have to

down that road with her until she's ready to make the right choice.

We're going to need some help.

Looking good, Raphael.

Huh?

So, uh, what's the scoop with this girl, huh?

I don't know exactly.

She has a lot of problems, and she's looking in the wrong place for the

solution.

Well, I gotta warn you, I don't know much about beauty contests.

Tracy doesn't know much about angels, so just go with the flow.

Right on time.

And that's a very good sign.

So this is it? Welcome, baby.

To where?

Well, over that hill is Golden. And that way is Boulder.

But this little corner of heaven I like to refer to as Unincorporated Area

Number 579. And you are its queen.

Your sash... Ta -da!

Your crown.

Bling.

This is Monica and Raphael. Congratulations.

It's very becoming.

I don't understand what's happening.

Well, this might look like a few acres of nothing to you, but it's what we call

unimproved. And we think it deserves a little attention.

Maybe if it had somebody to speak up for it, it could find out what it's

supposed to be.

I got a lot of promise, baby.

Just like you.

You know, there is something about this place.

Maybe I've got a chance after all.

Well, you got three sponsors who believe in you.

What about him?

Hi, Tracy.

I'm Andrew.

Andrew?

We weren't expecting you.

Yes.

We were.

Any luck finding a sponsor?

Luck had nothing to do with it.

This is our paperwork.

She has a sponsor. We have our registration forms filled out.

And she has a title.

Fine.

You'll have to sign a release form. We'd be happy to.

Would you mind moving your ass, Finn Snowflake?

So, um, what is she using this money for? I don't know. Tess knows, but she's

not telling.

We thought you knew.

Me? No.

I just got a call that Tess requested me, and here I am.

Hello, babies.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you Miss Unincorporated Area Number

579 and the next Miss Colorado State.

Don't worry about it. We'll work on it.

Let's sit down and get started, shall we?

Now, there are four categories and four sponsors.

Monica? Yes, ma 'am. You find the dress for evening wear and get something with

an attitude.

Attitude? Yes.

Raphael, they are going to ask Tracy a question at random.

About the world. So we need you to prepare her for current events. But be

careful, because they might ask a philosophical question about the meaning

life. Well, that sounds like my department.

No, baby, we need you to prepare her talent.

You do have a talent, don't you, honey?

I can rotate tires.

You're going to have to dig real deep, baby.

Tess, who's going to teach her how to walk?

Well, that's my job, baby.

Tess doesn't only talk to talk. She walks to walk.

Thanks, all. I hope I don't disappoint you.

Oh, no.

It's late. I gotta go.

Laundry. Okay. Three o 'clock tomorrow afternoon.

And read these.

Okay. Thanks.

Bye.

Bye.

Hey, Tess.

You really think you can win? Who said this was about winning?

Now I really have to win that new car.

I'll drive you home, Tracy.

Ah, mail.

You must love it.

That's right.

I already got it today.

Tracy, I heard that noise in your apartment again. Oh, the old pipes.

You know, I turned the water off and I still heard that noise.

Well, I'll check on it.

See you tomorrow, Monica.

I'll help you up with these.

Oh, no, it's okay.

Oh, really? It's no bother. No.

Thanks.

You know, she never let anyone in that apartment.

Never.

Long as we got our love to fly.

Danger, boy. We'll find something.

If she doesn't kill herself first.

Accordion? No.

Ballet?

No.

Tracy, come on. You gotta think. Everybody, everybody has a gift.

Everybody's good at something.

I'm not.

Nothing's ever come easy to me.

It's... It's what?

Just what?

It's just this time, I can't afford to lose. I just can't.

Tracy, this money... It isn't for college, is it?

No.

But it really matters.

I'll do anything.

Okay, then think.

Well, um... I...

I took a few piano lessons when I was a kid. Piano?

But I don't play anymore.

Why not?

Well, because it reminds me of my parents, and they died in a boating

Looks like we found our talent.

Yeah, but she said she couldn't play the piano.

Well, she's hitting all the right notes, but she's not striking any emotional

chords. You're right, Tess.

There's something missing.

Passion. You can't play with all your heart if your heart is hiding something.

Hey, uh, were you there when Tracy Price died?

The boating accident just doesn't... just doesn't ring a bell.

I'm gonna go see what I can find out.

Thank you, Tracy.

Honey, you got a real talent.

Really? You think so? Nobody ever told you that before?

My parents, but you know, parents always say things they don't mean.

This pageant has filled me with a spirit that will always be with me through

whatever the future brings.

Thank you very much, Ashley. Thank you.

That was Ashley Fitzgerald, Miss Telluride.

Our next contestant is Tracy Barringer.

Miss unincorporated area number 579.

Hi. Hi.

Miss Behringer, tell us what it means to you to represent unincorporated area

number 579.

Unincorporated area number 579 may seem a little silly to people. I know it did

to me at first.

But now I believe it's one of the most beautiful places in all of Colorado.

Have you ever heard that expression, God's little acre?

This is the place they're talking about.

And I've found some very good friends there who really care.

And I'm proud to represent them and this small but very worthy place in our home

state. Very nice.

Do you have family that will be coming to the pageant?

No, I don't have any family.

My parents passed away when I was a child in a plane crash.

She's pretty good, huh?

She could be better if she'd let herself.

She's getting high scores.

Good chance of making it into the semifinals.

You've got your eye on the wrong prize, Angel Girl.

Thank you, Tracy.

Ladies and gentlemen, this next... Your contestant just got a call from her

landlady. There's an emergency. Something about a plumbing problem.

How long before we have to continue?

Less than an hour.

You better take care of this yourself, baby.

Now, I don't normally pry into the lives of my renters, but that noise I was

hearing just kept getting worse.

I let myself in, and I found it.

She's been keeping a kid in here.

All alone?

Who's been watching him?

I'm going to call the police. Oh, no, please.

Don't do that.

I'll take care of him.

Hello.

Shh. You have to be real quiet.

Ladies and gentlemen, this afternoon in the preliminary competition, the judges

chose ten semifinalists in this array of talented beauties you see here tonight.

Let's hear it for them.

judges' choices, please.

Our first semifinalist is Karen Gutierrez, Miss Grand Junction.

Our second finalist, Robin Bertholdt, Miss Quinn Lake.

John Reinecker, Miss Powderhorn.

Carla Ann Brothers, Miss Fort Collins.

Missy Valentine, Miss Steamboat Springs.

Stephanie Carlton, Miss Silver Creek.

Ashley Fitzgerald, Miss Telluride.

Chloe Sommer, Ms. Aspen Snowflake.

And our tenth and last finalist is Tracy Barringer, Ms. Unimportant Lady, number

579.

Let's hear it for our semifinalists.

can't be here. What's going on? Your landlady called.

A plumbing problem.

Monica took care of it.

Why'd you bring him here?

He's too young to be left alone.

And Mrs. Lupton was going to call the police.

Unincorporated area.

You'll follow Aspen Snowflake.

I have to go. Please take care of him. I'll explain later.

Do you ever do any babysitting?

Oh, yeah, sure.

It's my favorite job.

Let's go up to the audience, kid.

Cool.

Cute kid, huh?

He's my nephew. He likes to hang out with me. I know exactly who that little

is. And he is not your nephew.

He told me he was your son, Tracy.

And you've been leaving him home alone, haven't you?

You lecture me.

I'm a single mother doing the best I can.

I can't afford a babysitter.

Look, I can hardly afford to keep a roof over our heads.

What am I supposed to do?

If I stay home with him...

I can't afford to feed him. And if I go to work, I leave him home alone with

lunch by the phone.

And if anyone finds out that he's there, they'll take him away from me.

Tracy Berringer on stage.

Place is for your talent.

But there's help available, Tracy. What about a government agency?

Oh, yeah, right.

And I've gone to some of those government agencies and they've sent me

another one and another one and another one until finally they sent me to one

that wanted to take Nick away from me.

Look, please, don't tell them the truth.

Otherwise, they'll kick me out of the pageant.

On stage now. You're up next.

And now, our next contestant in the talent portion,

Tracy Barringer playing a Tchaikovsky piano concerto.

Well, one thing I can say, she's finally putting something into it.

You must be pretty proud of your mom, huh?

Yeah.

Do you ever get lonely living by yourself?

No, because I get tired and I sleep a lot anyway.

I didn't think kids your age got tired.

Didn't she tell you?

Tell me what?

You know Andrew?

Yeah, because I'm dying.

And now Karen Gutierrez will play her role.

Thanks.

Yeah, I first met Nick in the ER last year. I haven't kept an eye on him ever

since. Why didn't you tell me, Tess? Because that little boy has all kinds of

angels looking in on him.

And somebody's been praying for a long time for an angel to watch over their

little girl.

That's our job.

Ladies, if you've already done your talent, you should be getting into your

evening gowns.

Is Nick the reason you need this money?

He needs surgery.

Really expensive surgery.

He has what you call a large...

ventricular septal defect, which is a fancy way of saying he's got a hole in

heart. I'm so sorry.

I understand that you need to take care of your little boy, but you can't take

care of him with lies.

Don't throw this morality stuff at me, okay?

I've got to take care of my kid any way that I can.

If you walk out of here tonight with that $25 ,000... You're going to spend

rest of your life looking over your shoulder, wondering when the truth will

catch up to you.

Aren't you tired of running?

I don't know what you're talking about.

I know that your name isn't Tracy.

I know that you ran away from home seven years ago.

And I know that $25 ,000 is not what you need.

That money may repair the hole in one heart.

But there is a way to repair many hearts.

Yours, Nick's, your whole family's.

How? Don't trust the money.

Trust God.

God is a luxury that I can't afford. No.

God is a necessity that you truly cannot live without.

Derringer, move it.

Please, Tracy.

Stop running.

I don't know how.

Miss Aspen Snowflake, Chloe Summers.

Our final contestant in the easy down competition is Tracy Barringer, Miss

Unincorporated Area Number 579.

Great Barron surface unincorporated area number 579

Ladies and gentlemen, let's

have a round of applause Well,

ladies

and gentlemen, it looks like the judges have made their decision

Our five finalists will compete in one final category to determine who will be

this year's Miss Colorado State.

Our first finalist, Ashley Fitzgerald, Miss Telluride.

Our second finalist, Chloe Silver, Miss Aspen Snowflake.

Our third finalist is Taryn Gutierrez, Miss Grand Junction.

Our fourth finalist is Jody Matheson, Miss Field Retreat.

And our fifth and last finalist is

Tracy Barringer, Miss Unincorporated Area

Number 579.

Ladies and gentlemen, our five beautiful finalists.

Congratulations ladies.

Our final competition to determine the new Miss Colorado State will begin in

just a few minutes.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Congratulations, ladies.

All right, ladies.

You've got five minutes to touch up your makeup or to gather your thoughts for

the interviews.

Good luck.

Tess! Monica!

Monica! Tess!

Where are you?

Fine.

You're not alone, Tracy.

You're never alone.

What?

What's going on? We're here to bring you a message from your sponsor.

What? We're not actually your sponsors. We represent your sponsor.

We're angels sent by God.

Angels from God?

What's he going to do to me?

He's going to keep on loving you like he's always done.

God doesn't love me.

Oh, yes, he does.

He loves you very much.

Why would you think that he doesn't?

Well, let's see.

I got pregnant at 16.

I ran away from home.

I had to beg, borrow, and steal to keep us alive.

I've been a terrible mother and a lousy daughter and not even a very good

mechanic.

So I think that's reason enough for God to put me on the unlovable list, don't

you think?

Exactly what do you think it would take to make you lovable, honey?

It's too late.

I made a mistake.

Just one, but it was a big one.

That's all it takes.

For what?

For God to give up on you?

One mistake didn't bring you here, Tracy.

It's all the lies that happened afterward.

And you got lost in all those lies.

When you played the piano tonight, for the first time since we've known you,

did something truthful, honest.

Didn't you feel that?

It was almost perfect.

Almost.

But it wasn't.

Perfect is perfect, always.

Every moment, every day.

Human beings can never be that.

Everyone makes mistakes, Tracy.

And God understands that.

You remember that unimproved piece of land, Tracy?

Well, that's what you are, honey.

A whole garden of potential.

And God wants to move in and make some improvements.

What does he want me to do? Walk away from the pageant?

What God wants is to work wonderful things in your life.

But there's a lie in his way.

A big lie.

You've done some things wrong, maybe for the right reasons.

But wrong never does.

God is truth, baby.

And anything that is not truth is not of him.

He wants to help you a lot more than $25 ,000 and a new car.

But you've got to get the lies out of the way first, baby.

I never told my parents about Nick because I was afraid that if I told

then they wouldn't love me in the same way.

God has always known about Nick, and it has not changed how much he loves you.

And whatever you decide to do tonight, he will still love you just as much,

the same.

The only thing that will be different, Tracy,

is that you will never know how much he loves you until you let him show you.

And that is going to take faith.

And people need to realize that it's our earth and we need to take care of it.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ashley Fitzgerald. Miss Telluride.

Next is Tracy Barringer, Miss Unincorporated Area Number 579.

Tracy, what would you do to improve the education system in this country?

Well, the education system in this country...

the education system in this country.

The education system in this country is not perfect.

And what I realize tonight is that nothing is.

Nothing except for God's love.

I've always strived to be perfect.

And not because I needed to be, but because

I was scared not to be.

I thought that perfection was the only way that I could get love.

And I thought that it didn't matter what the truth was as long as it looked and

it sounded right.

I was wrong.

The truth does matter.

And a lie is a lie even if it's told for the right reason.

And the truth is

That I'm an unwed mother.

And that's my son, Nick, right there.

Nick was born with a hole in his heart.

And he needs an operation.

And I thought that the prize money from this crown could pay for it.

But nothing good comes from a lie.

And this boy, deserves nothing but goodness.

Tomorrow, I won't be Miss Colorado State,

but I will be Nick's mom.

And there's no better title that I could imagine.

This is a letter from a doctor who says they're going to do Nick's operation for

free. Dear Nick, tell your mom to hang in there. We're praying for you.

God speaks to every heart. Looks like a few of them were listening.

Here's 25 more dollars.

I can't believe this.

Well, now this one doesn't have any money in it at all, but it's the most

valuable.

It's addressed to Sarah Cummings.

It's my real name.

It's from my parents.

They said they've been searching for me everywhere.

And that they, uh, they read about me and Nick in the paper.

They want us to come home.

I'm sure they'd love to hear you play the piano again.

Thank you, baby.

What a wonderful story.

A healthy child, a family reunited, and lots of mail.

Oh, did I mention there's another piece of mail? A letter from me?

Oh,

that is what I call a special delivery.

What does he say?

He says he loves my home.

And he says...

The rest of you are okay, too.

Oh, you never said that.