Birthday / Secret / Experiencing Technical Difficulties ( )

Birthday Wednesday, September 5 th – Thursday September 6, 2001 (Henry is 38, Clare is 30) Pages 382 – 383 Clare is having contractions She doesn’t get to sleep until two in the morning because of the contractions When Clare wakes up at half three in the morning, she wants to go to the hospital Henry calls Gomez and Charisse Gomez and Charisse arrive fifteen minutes later to pick Henry and Clare up to go to the hospital Henry tries to take Clare’s mind off the contractions by telling her about one of her childhood memories of when they went swimming in the lake but Clare doesn’t seem too interested

Pages 384 –388 As they arrive at the hospital Clare’s water breaks As Clare waits for a room to be prepared for her, she asks Henry not to leave her and he promises not to but is unsure about this As soon as they get in the room Clare gets down on her hands and knees and starts moaning Charisse suggests that Clare has a bath as the warm water will make her feel better then makes a motion with her hands at Gomez that asks him to leave Gomez leaves to go smoke Clare doesn’t want Henry to leave her sight, she is worried that he might disappear Clare is in agony, she is screaming and crying, Henry feels guilty for what he has done to her Henry suggests Clare has an epidural and Clare agrees People start to fill the room with needles and Clare has an epidural, Clare starts to relax Henry tells Clare and Alba the poem about “the lovers on the carpet” Clare is no longer in pain, but she expects for the pain to come back any minute Henry looks tense and unhappy, he’s worried for Clare and Alba Clare gets rushed to the delivery room Henry is following Clare to the delivery room but suddenly vanishes Henry then re appears, disorientated and naked Clare gives birth to baby Alba

Later: Pages The evening of Alba’s first day on earth, Clare is lying in the hospital bed with Alba surrounded by balloons, teddy bears and flowers, whilst Henry is taking pictures of them Clare feeds Alba Clare asks Henry where he went on the way to the delivery room and Henry tells her that he was walking around his old elementary school in the middle of the night for hours Henry’s dad comes to visit them in hospital Henry asks if Richard, his dad would like to hold Alba and he agrees Clare isn’t to keen on the idea as Richard looks as though he hasn’t slept for days, his shirt hasn’t been ironed and he smells of sweat and old beer. But Clare smiles anyway Henry asks if Richard would teach Alba how to play violin when she’s a little older He says he would be delighted to give his only granddaughter all his attention

Thursday, September 11, 2001 (Clare is 30, Henry is 38) Pages Clare wakes up to find Henry not in bed and Alba not in her crib Clare goes to the living room and finds Henry sitting on the couch with Alba cradled in his arms, Alba is sleeping Henry gets up to make breakfast and Clare breastfeeds Alba After eating breakfast, Clare goes to have a shower After showering, Clare sits next to Henry on the couch and falls asleep Henry wakes Clare and on the Television two airplanes crash into two towers

Tuesday, June 11, 2002 (Clare is 31 Alba is nine months and five days old) Pages 392 – 394 Clares making a drawing of Alba in the living room Clare goes to her studio to find some paper, pastels, a drawing board and other implements Clare goes back to the house, which is very quiet because Henry is at work After finishing her drawing of Alba, Clare writes Alba’s name and her own name at the bottom of the paper

Secret Sunday, October 12, 2003 (Clare is 32, Henry is 40) Page 395 Clare talks about how she is sometimes glad when Henry is gone, so that she can be alone and do things that she cannot when Henry is around. Clare is sometimes glad when Henry is gone, but she is always glad when he comes back

Experiencing technical difficulties Friday, May 7, 2004 (Henry is 40, Clare is 32) Pages 396 – 397 Clare and Henry are at the opening of Clare’s exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center Clare ahs been building sculptures of birds for a year Clare is exhausted from all the work People have brought her flowers There are many people there, the exhibition is crowded and everyone congratulates Clare for her success Clare’s entire family surround her at the exhibition for support The room is very busy, Clare’s having her picture taken Henry is standing back from the crowd with Alba Alba starts to ask for Clare, but Clare is busy with clients Henry starts to feel queasy so makes Alba go to her grandfather Henry vanishes and Alba starts screaming for Clare Clare searches for Henry, but he is gone Richard hands Alba to Clare Clare asks Alba where her daddy is and Alba says he’s gone