Leave the World Behind

The man reveals that he’s G. H., the owner of the house and the person Amanda corresponded with when she rented the property. Amanda realizes that she hadn’t bothered picturing the owners of the home, but if she had, they wouldn’t have been Black. Clay feels annoyance due to the interruption, and Amanda is furious with him and with the strangers, but they allow the couple into their own home while Clay notes that it’s suddenly quite cold out.

The woman introduces herself as Ruth, and Clay invites everyone to sit, despite feeling awkward that he’s inviting the couple inside their own home. Amanda decides to check on the children, and G. H. begins to explain, saying that he couldn’t call ahead because there was no signal. Down the hall, Amanda sees a notification on her phone that there’s been a blackout along the East coast, but she’s unable to open the app to read the story.

She returns to Clay and the couple as G. H. is explaining that something happened while they were driving back into the city. He can’t explain it clearly, but when Amanda mentions the blackout, he agrees, saying that they live on the 14th floor and the city was going to be chaotic with all the power out. Amanda is skeptical of this story, and they all look at the overhead lights, which flicker several times.

The lights stay on, but everyone feels uneasy. G. H. reveals his intention: He was hoping the couple could stay at the house. Whatever happened has left him and Ruth afraid, and he says that he wants to be at his home. He offers to refund half their rental fees and says that he and his wife will stay downstairs in the in-law suite.

Amanda is resistant, saying that they have a rental agreement. She tries to open the website, though it doesn’t work. She then snaps at Clay when he offers to help. Ruth mentions that they heard the emergency broadcast system and it wasn’t a test.

G. H. produces a key and uses it to open a drawer in the house. He takes out an envelope of money and offers 1,000 dollars for them to stay the night, saying that they can discuss the matter further in the morning. Amanda says that she and Clay need to speak privately; as they leave, G. H. unlocks the liquor cabinet and asks if it would be okay if they have a drink.

In the bedroom, Amanda and Clay argue. She is furious that Clay allowed G. H. and Ruth inside and insulted by the fact that the couple scared her. She runs through hypothetical scenarios, each of them based on paranoia and suspicion, but Clay sees Ruth and G. H. as an elderly Black couple who are in fear.

Amanda says that they may be pulling some scam, and though she’s ashamed by the intimation, she gets her phone out to look up G. H. and the company from his email address. It doesn’t work, but she continues, saying that they were just watching television so the story about the emergency broadcast system is suspicious. Clay turns on the TV to check and sees that all the channels are broadcasting nothing. Amanda says it might be the wind, and admonishes Clay that he’s willing to believe anyone but her.

The two of them are very aware of the racist implications of their conversation and Amanda’s suspicion, and Clay eventually uses Amanda’s belief in doing the right thing (or at least the perception that they’d do the right thing) to end the conversation; they will be Good Samaritans to the couple. The omniscient narrator reveals that what is happening is no mere blackout, though the extent of the disaster remains unclear.

When Clay and Amanda return to the kitchen, G. H. offers them drinks. They make small talk about the neighborhoods they live in, and Amanda compliments the house. Ruth turns on the television in the living room, and the four of them watch it as the emergency broadcast system message plays without any new information.

Clay tells Ruth and G. H. that they should stay the night, and they briefly speculate about the disaster going on around them before returning to the kitchen. Clay heats up pasta for everyone while Ruth feels disgusted by the disarray of her kitchen. They keep speculating about a dirty bomb or nuclear attack; while eating pasta, Ruth begrudges the fact that it's delicious, wanting to keep disliking the couple staying in her home.

Ruth announces she’ll do the dishes, and G. H. and Clay have another drink while G. H. tries to explain how disturbing the blackout was. They talk about the other times New York has experienced blackouts and terror attacks in their lifetime, including 9/11. Talking about all of this makes Ruth afraid again, which she admits with shame; the sudden darkness of the city was terrifying to her. Instinctively, Clay looks to his phone for information, finding none. They all decide that they should try and sleep, hoping they’ll know more by morning.

Ruth and G. H. go downstairs to the in-law suite in the basement, which they had built for Ruth’s mother. Ruth mentions the indignity of this, as it’s her house, and G. H. reminds her that Amanda and Clay paid for the rental. G. H.’s career is in finance and involves predicting the markets; this makes him sure that something terrible has occurred, and he feels as though he knew it would. Ruth can’t help but think of her twin grandchildren, her daughter Maya, and Maya’s wife Clara, who live in Massachusetts.

The house has a store of dry goods and batteries. G. H. takes comfort in the fact that they’ll be able to survive for at least a month on that. Ruth thinks about how G. H.’s business is preservation, not spending, so all the remodeling was at the direction of their contractor, Danny; Ruth thinks that G. H. is too trusting of Danny, and she’s displeased generally with the situation and with G. H. because their place in the house has been disrupted. G. H. tells her that they’re safe, and that’s enough, and he thinks about how much economic loss and legal action a blackout in New York would cause.