Leave the World Behind

Ruth wakes up desperate for her daughter Maya but cannot reach her. She lets G. H. sleep and heads upstairs to try the land line they had installed at Danny the contractor’s recommendation. She sees Clay and Amanda, and they talk about what’s going on. Amanda admits to Ruth that she doesn’t know what to tell her children and that she doesn’t want to scare them. Ruth worked in a prestigious private school for a time, which gave her little sympathy for children, but thinking of Maya and her grandchildren has softened her attitude.

While Clay dresses, Ruth and Amanda talk about their educations; when Ruth admits she used to work at the private school, Amanda considers if there is a way to turn this situation into enrollment for her children. They trade comparisons about their upbringings as a way of feeling each other out.

G. H. comes upstairs and they update him. He suggests that they go see what Danny thinks, which Ruth finds ridiculous—he’s their paid contractor, not a friend or family member. She tells Amanda she’d like to get to her clothes, but Clay is still dressing in the master bedroom. Ruth then admits that she’s afraid as her thoughts return to Maya.

Rose ponders whether she should tell people about the deer while noticing it’s very hot out even though the sun isn’t fully up yet. She goes inside, where Clay and G. H. are talking, and after introductions the two men go outside together.

Outside, Clay smokes a cigarette. G. H. talks about how his job is in information, and how they can’t make choices without information. Clay says he’s going to drive into town; G. H. suggests going to see Danny, but Clay would rather just go buy a newspaper and see what’s going on for himself (he desires to be the one who comforts everyone). G. H. says he would go too if not for Ruth. The two notice how hot it is, despite the cold weather the night before.

Clay drives slowly past crop fields, thinking as he does about the money G. H. promised the night before. He’s confident that he can find the highway like he did previously. He stops to smoke a cigarette and has a sudden desire for a Coke; he decides he will get one in town. As he drives, his mind wanders, and he suddenly realizes that he’s lost. He also neglected to bring the directions Amanda wrote down for him. He reckons that his reliance on his phone has taken away his ability to easily follow written directions anyway.

Clay continues driving, not knowing if he should turn around or not. When he does turn around and still sees nothing familiar, he becomes troubled by the fact that there are no other cars, though he does not know if that’s normal or not. Not knowing what else to do, he keeps driving, aware that his desire to seem like a man has led him to this situation.

Since the weather is so hot, the children go swimming while the adults lounge by the pool. When Rose wants Amanda to blow up a float for her, Ruth notes that Rose is a plain-looking child for whom she can’t help feeling sorry.

Bored, Amanda announces she’ll make lunch. Ruth joins her, though Amanda doesn’t want the company, and Ruth privately takes umbrage that Amanda is using the kitchen as though it’s hers, making an odd-but-delicious sandwich (chocolate and brie) that is part of Amanda’s family history. Amanda worries about Clay, and thinking of him almost makes her cry. Ruth comforts her but is also eager for Clay to return with news that confirms her story.

They both admit that not having access to information through their phones is unnerving, but Ruth thinks that though they are trapped, they have simple pleasures of food, the pool, and even each other.

Amanda opens a bottle of wine, and they eat lunch together, talking about their children. An offhand comment makes Amanda aware of how few Black people she knows, and how poorly she does with having diverse connections in general. Ruth thinks about how she isn’t sure what G. H. thinks of their daughter and Maya’s protectiveness of the grandchildren; these aren’t thoughts she’s willing to say in front of Amanda. Amanda’s informal nature with her children also perturbs Ruth, though she knows this is an old-fashioned attitude.

Archie and Rose, bored, decide to go in the woods. Rose tries to tell Archie about the deer, but he doesn’t listen. Still, he’s willing to go with her, and they find a shed and swing on the other side of the fence. They’re both a little afraid of the shed, but Archie convinces Rose to open it. There’s nothing inside, and Archie complains that this place is boring.

Archie begins trying to convince Rose that someone lives in the shed, and he tries to scare her by convincing her that someone is watching her at night while she sleeps. She tells him to stop, and then she tries to explain again about the deer. Both bored and frustrated, they wishing something would happen. Little do they know that something huge is happening all around them.