While You Were Sleeping

Lucy Eleanor Moderatz works as a fare token collector for the Chicago Transit Authority, stationed at the busy Randolph/Wabash station, where she quietly harbors a crush on a commuter named Peter Callaghan. On Christmas Day, a sudden moment of bravery changes everything: she pulls him back from the path of danger as thugs shove him onto the tracks, and she accompanies the unconscious man to the hospital. There, a nurse overhears Lucy murmur, “I was gonna marry him,” and misinterprets the confession, spreading the idea that she is his fiancée.

As news travels, the Callaghan family is surprised by the “engagement,” a situation Lucy feels both drawn to and trapped by. She keeps her true feelings hidden—burdened by embarrassment, loneliness, and the fragile heart condition of Peter’s grandmother, Elsie—so she doesn’t reveal the truth. In private, Lucy confesses to Peter’s godfather, Saul, her loneliness and the secret she has kept, though she never intends to mislead. Saul chooses to protect her, recognizing that the accident has somehow brought the family closer together and that Lucy’s intentions are not malicious.

Lucy is drawn into the warmth and quirks of the Callaghan clan during a belated Christmas visit. She meets Peter’s younger brother Jack, a man torn between following family expectations and pursuing his own dream of starting a business. A bond forms between Lucy and Jack as they spend time together, sharing conversations about ambition, loyalty, and love. A misunderstanding at a New Year’s Eve party leads Jack to declare, in Lucy’s presence, that she is pregnant, complicating the fragile pretend-engagement.

Meanwhile, Ashley, Peter’s actual girlfriend, reappears with a firm resolve after learning of the engagement. She leaves messages on Peter’s answering machine claiming she’s back in town and ready to pick up where they left off, challenging Lucy’s carefully built role as fiancée.

After New Year’s, Peter wakes with amnesia and no memory of Lucy—or of the life they might have shared. The family, unsure of the truth, remains focused on their own bonds and loyalties. Lucy attempts to tell them the real situation, but they read her words as more deceit or confusion, and Saul steps in to manage the delicate balance. Lucy’s resolve hardens as she spends more time with the Callaghans, and Peter’s own capacity to feel and connect begins to re-emerge.

Peter’s condition prompts a new set of feelings for Lucy as she and he begin to spend time together again. Yet the tension with Ashley intensifies when she learns about the pending engagement and visits the hospital, challenging Lucy to confront the lies she has lived with and the relationships that might be broken.

Eventually, Lucy realizes that Saul never fully explained the truth to the Callaghan family. She returns to the hospital to speak candidly with Peter, and he admits that he cares deeply for her, even as he contemplates their future together. He makes a heartfelt proposal “again,” and Lucy accepts—though she finds herself torn, because she has grown to care for Jack as well. When Jack visits Lucy the day before the wedding, he cannot provide a clear reason to convince her to choose him, leaving her with a difficult choice.

On the day of the ceremony, Lucy’s quiet strength gives way to a dramatic interruption. She blurts out, “I object,” and the rest of the family—and even Ashley and her husband—enter the scene to voice their own objections. In the ensuing exchange, Lucy reveals that she loves not only the Callaghans but also Jack, and that she cannot marry Peter under false pretenses. The crowd’s chaos creates a moment of escape for Lucy, who slips away unseen.

In the aftermath, a quiet, hopeful moment arrives. Some time later, Jack places an engagement ring in Lucy’s work booth, signaling his wish to share a future with her. He surprises her with a heartfelt proposal in front of the Callaghan family as they watch, and Lucy and Jack decide to marry. They set off on a honeymoon together aboard a CTA train, with a dream trip to Florence, Italy, ahead of them. When Peter asks when she fell in love, Lucy replies with a tender line that captures their shared memory:

It was while you were sleeping.

Their story closes on a note of enduring affection and new beginnings, as Lucy and Jack begin their life together, supported by a blended circle of loved ones and the hopeful promise of the adventures that lie ahead.

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 10:22