How It All Goes Down
Alba
- Wednesday, November 16, 2011 (Henry is 38, Clare is 40): Henry finds himself at the Surrealist Art Galleries at the Art Institute of Chicago. He watches a class of school children listening to a docent talk about the "Joseph Cornell Boxes." A ten-year-old young girl stands out to him, because she's far more engaged and knowledgeable than the rest. When she sees Henry, she runs into his arms and he realizes that it's his daughter Alba. Alba informs the teacher that Henry is her father and that he's a CPD (Chrono-Displaced Person), like her. The teacher seems to be familiar with the disorder.
- Alba calls Clare to come to see Henry before he disappears again. While they wait for Clare, Alba reveals to Henry that he died at the age of 43, when she was just five. She also tells him that his father is teaching her to play the violin. In contrast to Henry, Alba apparently possesses a natural talent for music. She also time traveled to see his mother, Annette DeTamble, sing at the opera. Alba enjoys time travel because she seems to have some measure of control over where and when she's going. Yet, she still can't stop traveling. Henry urges her to come and visit him any time. He's overjoyed to be with her: "I am drunk with the overwhelming love I feel for this amazing child who presses against me as if she belongs to me, as though we will never be separated, as though we have all the time in the world" (2.14.66).
- Clare arrives and runs toward Henry. She's only a few feet away from him when he tells her, "I love you," and disappears.
- Friday, August 24, 2001 (Clare is 30, Henry is 38): Back in the present, Clare waits for Henry, worried that she'll go into labor without him. She decides to go out to dinner. On her return, she finds Henry, waiting for her, and now he's the one who's worried. He tells her about his amazing experience of meeting their daughter and describes her to Clare. He reveals that Alba's a time traveler too, but that she likes it, which comforts Clare.