Touched by an Angel

( light, graceful theme playing )

Hey, Ms. Perkins?

Mutiny on the Bounty still checked out?

Let's see.

No. It came back yesterday.

Check the third aisle, one, two, four shelves down and two over.

Okay. Thanks.

Aye, aye, sir.

You know, Tess,

if I could be anything besides an angel,

I think I'd like to be a librarian.

Well, why would you want to be anything other than an angel?

Well, of course I wouldn't,

but if I were anything besides an angel,

wouldn't it be wonderful to be a human

teaching other wee humans to read?

It's like giving a child a key to her future.

And look at that lady, how she does it

with such style and creativity.

That's Charlotte.

She should be a fun assignment.

Well, I wouldn't exactly say "fun."

And I wouldn't say she's your assignment,

because she's not.

She's the mother of your assignment.

Well, why am I meeting my assignment's mother?

Because you've got to know where you're coming from

in order to understand where you're going, angel girl.

Parents and children think about the past very differently.

There's a whole section about it over there in aisle seven.

Never mind.

That's your assignment.

: Hi, Sara.

What are you doing?

I am posting an ad

for a new assistant in the studio.

Oh.

What did I do now?

Oh, come on, Mother. We have talked about this.

I'm trying to make plans for the future,

my own plans.

I...

I really appreciate everything that you have done for me.

But... Oh?

But I...

I don't want your help anymore.

This is my studio, my career,

and I would really like to do it myself.

That was the first sentence you ever said as a baby.

"Do it myself."

Yeah, well, maybe it's time you started listening.

Oh, Sara.

Mother.

Believe me, this is the right thing to do for the both of us.

I am not firing you. I am just...

You are firing me.

But, hey, it'll leave me more time here at the library.

Hi, Ms. Perkins.

Hi, Julie!

You are the very first one for story time.

And you know what that means. You get to wear the hat.

Oh!

You know, our story this week

is all about the American Revolution.

Mother? It... Yeah?

I really need to go. I have six rolls I need to develop.

But I would like to discuss this later.

Sure, sweetheart.

We'll discuss it when you are swamped,

have nobody to turn to, nobody to trust,

and you realize you shouldn't have fired your mother.

This is my daughter.

She's just declared her independence.

Come on. Let's get a good seat. Say goodbye...

Do you remember what happened

when the colonists declared their independence

from the king?

There was a war.

Mm-hm.

( Della Reese & The Verity All-Stars' "Walk With You" playing )

Yeah.

Come on, don't go limp on me now.

Give me perky, sexy, perky.

Maybe a little sassy.

Hi. Can I help you?

Hello. I'm Monica.

I'm answering the ad for the assistant's job.

Wow, that was quick.

Okay, well, um, I'm Sara.

What kind of experience have you had?

Uh, well, none, you know, with a camera,

but I'm a really good organizer:

Uh, phones, coffee,

filing, bookkeeping,

coffee...

I'm a very quick learner.

Well, I don't mind that

you haven't had any experience

with the camera.

See, my last assistant thought

that she knew everything, so...

Do you mind if I continue?

She started out as my silent partner,

but before I knew it, she was here all the time,

you know, negotiating with clients

and demanding payments

before they were even due.

Generally just driving me crazy.

So finally I just had to let her go.

But there are other things that she's better at.

Like being a librarian?

Oh, you met my mum, then.

Aye.

Aye, she, uh...

She saw me looking at the flier on the bulletin board

and gave me, uh, kind of a pre-interview.

Actually, she told me to tell you that she approved.

You wanna know something crazy?

She's probably right.

When can you start?

When do you need me?

Immediately.

You see, I am taking a break

from the unspeakable glamour of print advertising

and I'm... I'm going to Bosnia soon

to work for a journalist friend of mine.

He, uh...

Well, Jeff works for most of the major magazines,

and he's working on the International Rescue Committee

and wants me on this assignment with him.

He's been after me for years to get into the real world,

and it's what I've always wanted to do, so...

Why did you wait until now?

Uh... Do me a favour.

Don't tell anyone about this trip.

Anyone.

And remember.

I'm the one you work for.

Not my mother.

Come on. I got some film in the soup.

I had the inclination and the time to volunteer.

It's sort of like a calling.

Yes, exactly like one.

Timmy!

Ugh!

Timmy!

Oh.

Now, how many times have I told you,

if you can't reach something, use the encyclopedias.

They're so much sturdier.

These little books are gonna fall right over.

Which was it, this one?

Okay.

Here. You check it out and be on your way.

Thank you.

You have quite a way with children, Charlotte.

Your daughter must have had a wonderful childhood.

That's exactly what I keep trying to tell her.

So your mother brought you up alone?

Oh. Yeah. Yeah.

Things changed pretty much after Dad left.

Mom just kind of flipped out.

I mean, she never even had a job in her life.

She did manage to get this dead-end job

answering phones for a portrait photographer.

I have these memories of doing my homework in the waiting room.

I can never smell developing fluid

without thinking of English papers or algebra.

But the good news is that

that's what got me interested in photography

in the first place.

Mother even bought me a little camera

just to keep out of her hair.

I don't think she flipped out at all.

Huh.

How about this one?

Oh. Perky and sexy industrial tape.

Did your mother ever work when you were a kid, Monica?

I don't have a mother.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Ah, no. It's okay.

I do have someone who looks after me.

It's very nice.

Oh, nice, huh?

They must live in another state.

Ah, yes. A totally different state altogether.

Oh, well, you see, that's the key.

You keep the people that you love

as far away from you as possible.

This was Sara's first camera.

It's just like the one my father gave me.

I bought it for her

by saving up the change I would have used at the Laundromat.

I washed clothes by hand for a year.

Oh, my.