The Time Traveler's Wife

It is now 2004, and Clare is having an exhibit of her artwork. Clare’s family is there, as is Richard. Present day Alba has come along with Henry and when she throws a mild tantrum, he vanishes. In the midst of the exhibit, Clare must attend to Alba, who is screaming for her.

Henry has apparently been injured on a recent trip in time. Clare gently tries to wake him up and begins to help him recuperate. The narrative moves from July 2004, to Christmas Eve. Clare runs into Dr. Kendrick and his family. She speaks briefly with Kenrick. He asks to view Alba’s DNA, a request which she adamantly rejects.

It is 1989 and Clare’s 18th birthday. Henry has appeared and is 41. Clare has prepared a picnic in advance. She has dressed nicely for the occasion and has brought along champagne. Henry senses that he’s missing something; Clare finally tells him that a version of him has promised to give Clare her first sexual experience, which he does.

The narrative returns to the present. It is now 2005, and Henry reappears from the past. It is the same day that the previous scene took place. Clare reveals that she slept with Gomez once when she was younger, prior to meeting Henry in his present.

The narrative shifts back to 1990, the morning after Clare slept with Gomez. The two talk about Henry and Gomez reveals that he may have seen someone fitting Henry’s description.

The narrative shifts again and Henry is with Ingrid at an Iggy Pop concert. Though his name is not provided, he is approached by a man who could be Gomez. Later in the chapter, the reader learns that Alba, like Henry, sometimes disappears when time traveling.

As the chapter concludes, Clare tells Henry of the time when she saw him with her brother and father. When she went back to check the spot where she saw him, there was blood on the ground.

Present day Henry receives a phone call from past Henry, though it is not revealed from what year past Henry is visiting. Past Henry is in a parking garage in the middle of winter. Clare drives present Henry there, but they cannot find past Henry. They call off the search and return home.

It is 2006, the day before Henry’s birthday. Clare is out shopping for a gift. At a record store, she discovers that the store owner, Vaughan, has tracked down and saved a vinyl recording of Henry’s mother singing, per Henry’s request. Clare buys the record and gives it to Henry on his birthday the next day.

A non-present-day version of Henry has disappeared. and when he awakes, he is inside the cage at the Newberry Library. The library’s two security guards find him, and are amazed to discover him inside the cage and without clothes. Eventually, Henry’s coworkers arrive and learn of the situation, including his boss Roberto.

As this plays out, the Henry of the present moment is about to arrive to work. His coworker, Matt, is dumbfounded when he sees present Henry. Henry leads Matt toward the cage where Roberto is talking with the other Henry. Both versions appear at the same time and confound everyone there.

Some days later, Henry visits Kendrick and learns that the work Kendrick has been doing will not lead to a cure. Kendrick vows to keep working on the problem. Kendrick asks Henry about Alba’s DNA. A week later, Henry has extracted a blood sample from his daughter and provided it to Kendrick. When Clare finds out she is upset, then comes to understand.

The narrative shifts back to 1984, to the time when Clare spotted Henry with her brother and father and there was a gunshot. Henry sees a future version of himself die in a hunting accident when Clare’s brother and father mistake him for an animal.

This chapter resumes the earlier chapter of the same name, this time from the point of view of the Henry who called from the parking garage and disappeared. This version of Henry starts out in Grant Park; he manages to crawl into the nearby garage from where he calls his present self. It is brutally cold, and Henry is suffering from hypothermia.