“Kind of,” Robbie said. “We’re hoping we can find a police officer, maybe. To help us look for her.” In front of them, Penny paused as they came to a street at the end of the path. Bertie lifted his chin a little, then tugged on the leash, and Penny got moving. Joe looked with wonder as Penny deftly stepped off the curb and onto the dark street. Bertie did the same while the dog seemed to wait for him.
“That’s a good idea,” Bertie said, “but there’s a blackout happening, and they’re going to be busy.” He turned back toward them. “You know what I mean, right?”
“The whole city?” Robbie asked.
“That’s what George Michael is saying.”
“Who’s—” Joe started and then stopped himself. For some weird reason he felt awkward and silly around the man and the dog, but he was deeply impressed with both.
“He’s a radio broadcaster,” Bertie said. “WABC. Lovely voice. They don’t need that echo, though. He sounds like he’s in a tunnel. Anyway, yes, the whole city, apparently, and some of Westchester. It’s going to be a long night. This is Riverside Drive, by the way. We’re going to walk to the corner of Seventy-Ninth. My building is right there. You will walk up the hill to Broadway from there.”
“Are you out here helping people?” Joe asked, a sudden burst of courage encouraging him to speak. They walked past ornate, old-looking buildings with thick stonework and curved windows. To Joe they looked like something out of an old, scary storybook.
“Well, we are, sort of,” Bertie said. “We don’t usually go into the park after dark. It’s just not very safe down here these days. We heard the news, though, and we decided to take a walk and see if anyone was just kind of stuck down here in the dark.” It took Joe a few seconds to realize that when Bertie said “we,” he meant Penny and him. Up ahead, he could make out a dead streetlamp, overhead wires, and equally dead traffic lights. They were near the corner. “It didn’t take us long before we heard you two. Was there someone there under the overpass?”
“Yeah,” Robbie said, his voice low. “A really scary guy. I don’t know how you can walk around out here, mister.”
“Oh, we don’t, generally, at night. Light and dark are nothing to me, of course, but I know what it’s like when the sun goes down. Frankly, it’s not much better during the day. I think tonight will be very scary, though, for people who can see and now all of a sudden just can’t. How about you two? Is it better now?”
“It’s getting better,” Robbie said. “When a car goes by, we can see stuff, but then it’s harder to see after.”
“I can see a lot more stuff now,” Joe said, wondering if he was talking out of turn.
“You’re closer to ambient light and car traffic now,” Bertie said. He stopped at the corner of Riverside and Seventy-Ninth Street, and Penny sat. “You’ll be okay. The parks are the worst, especially that one right by the water. When there’s no light out there and no moon? Forget it. You’re as blind as I am.”
“We were,” Robbie said. “Um, I mean, thanks for helping us.”
“Penny loves to do her part,” he said and smiled. The smile faded. “Go straight up this street. It’s a major one that goes both ways, east and west. When you get to Broadway, you’ll probably see people, hopefully some police, and there should be plenty of traffic, so enough headlights to see by. But what Robert says is correct. They ruin your night vision. Or so I’m told.”
“We’ll remember that,” Joe said. His heart was swelling a little bit. He imagined telling the story of the dark night and the man and the dog to his classmates come fall. Then again, he couldn’t picture what that would look like, because he had no idea where they would end up. “Thanks, Bertie. And Penny.”
“Yeah, thanks again,” Robbie said.
“Good luck finding your mother,” Bertie said. “Be careful and stick together, whatever you do.”
“Are you going home?” Joe asked, looking around at the dark buildings.
“We’re going to take another pass through the park, but I’m not sure how much I want to press our luck. At least this far west things are mostly quiet. The park is rough, though. Don’t come back this way, if you need to, until morning, okay?” With that, he tugged gently in the direction of the park, and Penny was on the move again, looking over at him from time to time. The two crossed the street, turned into shadows on the other side, and disappeared down a path.