"Where
will love find you?"
On
September 1, all of New York City was struck by a blackout. Lucy Patterson
didn't know that the entire city was in the dark because she was stuck in an
elevator in the building where she had lived her entire life. She wasn't alone.
Also in the elevator is the teenage son of her building's new superintendent.
He and his father had just moved in about a month ago. Lucy had watched them
carry in their furniture while sitting in a coffee shop. The doormen in the
building wouldn't give her any information about him. Even if she was a
confident girl, he seemed too aloof to approach. Lucy is a wealthy girl from
the upper floor who attends a private all girl school. Her brothers have just
left for college and her parents are on a trip to Paris. She is truly alone for
the first time in her life. She had just run downstairs to check the mail and
grabbed the elevator. When the two of them realize that they will probably be
stuck for a while, they attempt to have a conversation. Lucy finds out that
Owen, who lives in the basement apartment, isn't a fan of the city. His
father's job was an unexpected detour. When she asks him why he was going up,
he shows her a key and says he was heading for the roof.
Having
lived all of his life in Pennsylvania, Owen is having a hard time in New York
City, as is his father. Turns out, his mother died in a car accident while trying
to light a cigarette. His father was out of work and a cousin offered him the
position in one of his buildings. Now, instead of waking up to sunny window and
the birds chipping, he sees a mold stained, cracked ceiling and a sliver of
light bleeding through the barred window at the top of the wall. The city is
closing in on him and the roof of the apartment building is the one place he
feels free. It's not too long before they hear someone knocking on the elevator
doors. Owen gets up and knocks back. The elevator door is opened and Lucy and Owen
crawl out. They find out that not only is the city in a blackout, but it looks
like it may be part of the Eastern seaboard. They head towards the stairwell
and are reluctant to part. Lucy offers Owen a flashlight, but he declines.
Hearing her footsteps fading away, Owen changes his mind. He runs back up and
Lucy meets him. He does want that flashlight. The two of them climb to Lucy's
apartment.
Finding
only one flashlight, the two of them head back down and into the city to get some
supplies. New York is so different in the dark than what Lucy is used to. They
find some water and batteries and stand in line for free ice cream, since it's
melting anyway. Owen shows her the stars unobstructed by the city lights and
Lucy is fascinated. Heading back to their building and make the climb to her
apartment. It’s hot and they lay on the tile kitchen floor. Owen notices that
the refrigerator is covered in postcards. Her parents send her one from every
trip they go on. They soon head for the roof to get some air. The two of them
talk about the constellations and all of the postcards on Lucy's refrigerator
that her parents have sent her over the years. Lucy asks Owen if he could go
anywhere in the world, where would it be. It is a question Owen has often
wanted to ask. He talks about wanting to head off for college on the West Coast
while she would like to visit all of the places on her postcard collection.
Lucy watches Owen fall asleep before her eyes drift closed.
Lucy
awakes the next morning to the bright daylight and finds Owen gone. She heads
back to her apartment but the power isn't on yet. She debates going to the
basement to find Owen but doesn't. When the electricity comes back on, her
parents call. Instead of coming home to check on her, they have made
arrangements for her to fly and meet them in London. She will be flying out in
a couple of days; she doesn’t see Owen again before she leaves.
It
turns out that Owen’s father is suffering from heat exhaustion after trying to
get back home during the blackout. Their cousin, the building’s owner isn’t
happy that Owen’s father was MIA during the blackout. The water pumps need to
be able to pump water to the upper floors. Owen handles the tools while his
father tells him what to do. The two head out to sightsee in Times Square when
the building is back in order. Stopping in a souvenir shop, Owen buys a
postcard to send to Lucy in the heat of the moment. Meanwhile in London, Lucy
does the same thing. She buys a postcard and sends it to Owen. When Owen and
his father arrive back at the building, they see their cousin and a plumber.
Turns out the basement flooded because the water pumps weren’t tightened. Sam
fires Owen’s father. The two men decide that this is their chance to head west
Back
at home, Lucy is checking the mailbox when she sees Owen. She finds his
postcard and laughs. She tells him that she will be moving to London. Her
parents’ are keeping their apartment so she will be back for summers. Owen
keeps quiet that he had his father are leaving. She tells him that he should be
on the lookout for a postcard as well.
After
just one night, Owen and Lucy cannot keep their minds off of one another. Even
though they should be growing closer, geographically, they are moving away from
each other. Postcards turn out to be the way the keep in touch. Will something
come of their continued relationship or will the increasing distance drive them
apart?
No comments:
Post a Comment