Sickness House

In New York City, José works as a cook in a Mexican restaurant owned by his stern chef brother, Manny. When the establishment is getting ready to open, Nina, a waitress, arrives late for the second day in a row and Manny fires her on the spot. As Nina leaves, she drops a teddy bear. José retrieves it and chases her into the subway to hand it back. When asked why she was late, she tells him she is pregnant and was ill from morning sickness. José offers her a stroll around the city, which she accepts. He takes Nina to Manny's colleague's restaurant to recommend her for a waitressing position. While they dine and wait for the response, Nina tells him that she does not intend to proceed with her pregnancy and is seriously considering an abortion, partly because the father is uninterested in supporting her and she is broke. Nina agrees to go with him to the beach, but José says he has to go back to the restaurant and get his wallet. When he returns, Manny rebukes him for flaking at work for Nina. After José argues with his brother over his oppressive demeanor, Manny fires him. José then boards a train with Nina to his home. During the trip, he tries to persuade Nina to give up the unborn child for adoption, but she argues in favor of abortion because she does not want to bring a child into the world whom she is not prepared to love. José takes her to his parents' house and introduces her to his family. He takes Nina into the garage and shows her his old car, which he reveals he had been driving with his manager a few years earlier, during the peak of his career as a soccer player, and accidentally hit and killed a little girl. His manager frantically suggested fleeing the crime, but he instead chose to take responsibility. José was then sentenced to four years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. After being released, he tried unsuccessfully multiple times to reconcile with the girl's single mother, and the tragedy has since left him depressed and suicidal. José's parents invite Nina to have dinner, during which time she finds out that Manny was adopted. They tell her she is always welcome to stay at their house. José takes Nina to the nearby beach, where she tells him how her father's death when she was twelve caused her and her mother severe emotional pain. Because she had no siblings and spent her childhood taking care of her emotionally crippled mother, she tells José how fortunate he is to have a loving family, and hopes someday she would meet a man who loves her and is as capable of raising a family as her father was. The next day, before they each go their own way, Nina says she needs a friend to be there for her the next week. José walks back to the restaurant and reconciles with Manny. Several years later, José is seen playing on a beach with a young girl. When Nina arrives she meets what is implied to be her daughter, Bella, whom she had considered aborting but then gave over for José to adopt. Mother and daughter exchange gifts, Nina tearfully giving Bella the teddy bear her father had gifted her as a child, while Bella hands Nina a seashell. Afterward, all three stroll down the beach together.