was on alert and flood zones were going to be evacuated. And all Juliette hoped was that someone had had the brains and foresight to check the hospital generators, but there was nothing she could do about it. She had patients to see, and if the hurricane hit them as Sandy had, they would deal with it. All she needed to think about were her patients and her job—the city officials could take care of the rest. And whatever the chief resident thought about it wasn’t her problem, and she didn’t care what he said to her.
—
Ellen had just turned on the TV at her mother’s apartment when the emergency announcement came on, and she was stunned for a moment as she watched. She saw clearly that her mother’s neighborhood, in Zone 1, was at the top of the evacuation list, and she went to tell her mother, who was feeding Blanche her dinner in the kitchen.
“We have to be out by nine P.M. tonight, Mom. That’s in four hours. We need to get organized, and we have to find a place to stay. I think we should go to a hotel uptown.” Everything north of Thirty-ninth Street had been untouched in the previous hurricane, and everything below it had been a war zone. Uptown was the safest place to be. Grace listened to her daughter and thought about it for a few minutes, as she set Blanche’s bowl down on the floor with her dinner, and then she turned to Ellen with a look of determination that Ellen hadn’t expected.
“I’m not going,” Grace said in a strong, steady voice. “We did all that last time, and I lost a lot more because I wasn’t here to protect it.” She had had two feet of water on the lower floor of the apartment five years before, which was enough to damage her belongings, even with the additional upper floor. “And if the living room floods again, I can stay upstairs in my bedroom. It probably won’t be as bad as they say. They’re covering their backs. They don’t want people complaining afterward that they weren’t warned. The building isn’t going to float away. And there are safeguards in place now. The co-op committee here already voted to sandbag the lobby for future hurricanes, in case of an evacuation. I’m not leaving. You can go to a hotel if you want to,” she said as Ellen stared at her.
“You can’t mean that. It’s too dangerous, Mom. I won’t let you stay.” Ellen was as stubborn as Grace was, and Grace smiled at her.
“What are you going to do? Carry me out over your shoulder? Don’t be silly. Blanche and I will be fine here.” There was a steely expression in her mother’s eyes, and Ellen felt panic in the pit of her stomach. What if there was a major flood and her mother drowned in the apartment? Other people had in flood zones during Sandy, unable to leave their homes, or trying to escape too late.
“I can’t allow you to do that,” Ellen said in a frightened voice. And the television announcer had reminded people that not evacuating could mean requiring the services of rescue workers later, who had more important jobs to do than to rescue those who should have evacuated hours before.
“You can’t force me to leave. I’m an adult, of sound mind, and that’s my decision. Get yourself a hotel room uptown, if you want to, but I’m staying in my apartment.” She left no room for negotiation as she threw away the empty can of special diet dog food and tidied up the kitchen. Then she turned to Ellen again. “I think I’ll move some things up to the bedroom, though, just in case.” She had at least learned that much from the last time, when many of her belongings had been damaged. “But there’s nothing here I can’t carry myself.”
She walked into the living room then and began putting fragile objects on the coffee table, to carry upstairs. The paintings were hung high enough to avoid water damage, and all she had to worry about were books and objects, and there were some valuable chairs she wanted to move too. She couldn’t do anything to protect the couches
—
Ellen had just turned on the TV at her mother’s apartment when the emergency announcement came on, and she was stunned for a moment as she watched. She saw clearly that her mother’s neighborhood, in Zone 1, was at the top of the evacuation list, and she went to tell her mother, who was feeding Blanche her dinner in the kitchen.
“We have to be out by nine P.M. tonight, Mom. That’s in four hours. We need to get organized, and we have to find a place to stay. I think we should go to a hotel uptown.” Everything north of Thirty-ninth Street had been untouched in the previous hurricane, and everything below it had been a war zone. Uptown was the safest place to be. Grace listened to her daughter and thought about it for a few minutes, as she set Blanche’s bowl down on the floor with her dinner, and then she turned to Ellen with a look of determination that Ellen hadn’t expected.
“I’m not going,” Grace said in a strong, steady voice. “We did all that last time, and I lost a lot more because I wasn’t here to protect it.” She had had two feet of water on the lower floor of the apartment five years before, which was enough to damage her belongings, even with the additional upper floor. “And if the living room floods again, I can stay upstairs in my bedroom. It probably won’t be as bad as they say. They’re covering their backs. They don’t want people complaining afterward that they weren’t warned. The building isn’t going to float away. And there are safeguards in place now. The co-op committee here already voted to sandbag the lobby for future hurricanes, in case of an evacuation. I’m not leaving. You can go to a hotel if you want to,” she said as Ellen stared at her.
“You can’t mean that. It’s too dangerous, Mom. I won’t let you stay.” Ellen was as stubborn as Grace was, and Grace smiled at her.
“What are you going to do? Carry me out over your shoulder? Don’t be silly. Blanche and I will be fine here.” There was a steely expression in her mother’s eyes, and Ellen felt panic in the pit of her stomach. What if there was a major flood and her mother drowned in the apartment? Other people had in flood zones during Sandy, unable to leave their homes, or trying to escape too late.
“I can’t allow you to do that,” Ellen said in a frightened voice. And the television announcer had reminded people that not evacuating could mean requiring the services of rescue workers later, who had more important jobs to do than to rescue those who should have evacuated hours before.
“You can’t force me to leave. I’m an adult, of sound mind, and that’s my decision. Get yourself a hotel room uptown, if you want to, but I’m staying in my apartment.” She left no room for negotiation as she threw away the empty can of special diet dog food and tidied up the kitchen. Then she turned to Ellen again. “I think I’ll move some things up to the bedroom, though, just in case.” She had at least learned that much from the last time, when many of her belongings had been damaged. “But there’s nothing here I can’t carry myself.”
She walked into the living room then and began putting fragile objects on the coffee table, to carry upstairs. The paintings were hung high enough to avoid water damage, and all she had to worry about were books and objects, and there were some valuable chairs she wanted to move too. She couldn’t do anything to protect the couches
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