The Waiting City

[first lines]

Rashda:
[on the phone] Fiona? Fiona...

Fiona Simmons:
Rashda?

Rashda:
Can you hear me?

Fiona Simmons:
Yeah.

Rashda:
Do you have a minute?

Fiona Simmons:
I have the documents with me.

Rashda:
I hope you know what you're doing.

Fiona Simmons:
Absolutely. I'm fine taking them with me.

Krishna:
He says not today, it's a Muslim holiday.

Fiona Simmons:
Isn't he Catholic?

Krishna:
Yes, but... we all celebrate no matter what religion.

Krishna:
She wants to know into what age you are turning.

Fiona Simmons:
Tell her a woman never reveals her age.

Krishna's Mother:
[in Bengali] She must be getting old. Do they have children?

Krishna:
[in Bengali] No ma.

Krishna's Mother:
[in Bengali] Is he supporting her enough for children? How much does he earn?

Krishna:
[to the Simmons] She's saying, she likes your hair.

Fiona Simmons:
[reading literature] It says here that adoptive parents must prepare initially for punishing behavior, insults, cruelty, and abuse.

Ben Simmons:
Sounds like a marriage.

Krishna:
Mrs. Bens, it is very important not to indulge in excessive lamentations. It will effect the full transitions of your daughter into the heavens worlds.

[last lines]

Krishna:
The baby always belongs to the mother, even in death. To every ox, and cow, and calf. You are mother, Mrs. Bens.