“No,” Alice said. “I don’t. But so how does a stub work? What’s a stub?”
“Like a parallel timeline, one that doesn’t affect the future that already happened. Sometimes people call it a continuum, or a continuing timeline, which I guess just means it can go on and on and not loop back in.” Howard crossed his arms. “I think I’ve read more books than all of you.”
“Oh, please,” Chip said. “You’re just the one who’s used to lecturing large groups of students, and so you talk the loudest.”
“But what about traveling back? Like, how do people get back? If there’s no time machine or whatever?” John handed Alice an apple, and she ate it, wondering if everything she was eating in 1996 would be rotten inside her body when she got home. If she got home. As if home were a particular point in time as well as a place.
“Wormhole?” Simon said.
“Portal?” John said.
“Ancient ruins? Magic?” Simon said. “In addition to the dinosaur bone, once I used an owl pellet that had been taken apart in the future, and a third-grade teacher got sucked back in time, and he had to find that very same owl in order to get back.”
“I cannot believe how much money you make,” Howard said, shaking his head.
“Do you guys know where my dad is? I actually need to talk to him,” Alice said. She felt her voice start to wobble. It was all too much, and she was wasting time.
Howard sighed and looked toward John, who tucked his chin toward his chest in a tight nod. “Come on, Al. I know where he is.”
34
Howard led Alice down the hallway, past the elevators, and made a left turn. They were standing in front of another hotel room.
“Is this where you murder me?” Alice joked. “Because there are a lot of witnesses.”
Howard rolled his eyes and raised his knuckles to knock. Inside the room, she heard a woman laugh, and then her father pulled open the door. Leonard wasn’t naked—he wasn’t even shirtless—but there was no mistaking the situation. Over his shoulder, Alice could see a woman putting on her earrings. Alice’s first thought was that it was exactly like when Donna Martin had been following Color Me Badd and instead found her mother in the midst of an affair on Beverly Hills, 90210, but that wasn’t exactly like this at all. Her father wasn’t married. Not to her mother, not to anyone.
“Look who I found,” Howard said. “Good to see you, Al.” He offered a small wave and got the hell out of the way, hurrying back down the hall.
“Hi,” Alice said. Leonard was surprised, and ran his hands back and forth over his beard like he did when he was nervous.
“Al-pal, what’s going on?” Leonard said. “Are you okay?”
Alice took a few steps back and leaned against the wall. “Who’s your friend?”
Leonard sighed. “I did not anticipate this situation,” he said.
“That is not an answer.” Alice slid down the wall so that she was sitting cross-legged on the carpet.
“Her name is Laura, she’s a magazine editor. She’s thirty-four. She lives in San Francisco.” Leonard put a hand flat against his forehead. “We’ve known each other for several years, and when we’re in the same city, we—” He stopped. “I don’t know why I didn’t tell you.”
“I can hear you, you know,” Laura said, pulling the door open wider. “Hi, Alice. It’s nice to finally meet you.” She was nice-looking, with curly brown hair and glasses, and a necklace with a large plastic octopus that covered the top third of her shirt.
“Um, same?” Alice said. It had genuinely never occurred to her that her father might have actual girlfriends, long-term relationships that he didn’t tell her about. And thirty-four! Younger than she was! It felt gross even though Alice knew it wasn’t.
“Not that you weren’t important, Laura,” Leonard said. The tops of his cheeks were magenta. “Just that it didn’t affect you, Al, and I didn’t want to put something else on you. Did I make it too weird?”
“A little,” Alice said. “But it’s okay. I’m glad you have someone.” She wondered how long Leonard had dated this woman, if it had been a brief fling or something serious. Where had she gone? Why wasn’t she at the hospital, holding his hand? “Can we talk, Dad?”
Laura gathered her purse and a room key. She was about Leonard’s height until she put her shoes on, and then she was a little bit taller. Her face was round and then pointy at the chin, like an exclamation mark. It was a happy face, and kind. She touched Leonard on the elbow and said, “I’ll check in a bit later. Alice, very nice to see you in person. I’d like to do it again.” She walked through the doorway and down the long hall and then vanished around the corner, toward the elevator.
“I’m sorry,” Leonard said. He looked like he might cry. “I wanted to tell you.” He clutched his stomach, as if he had a bout of sudden nausea.
“I’m from the future,” Alice said. “Honestly, it’s both great news and the least of my concerns.”
“That is not what I expected you to say.” Leonard held up a finger. “Let me just get my shoes, and then we’ll go back to my room.” He vanished and reappeared a moment later with one shoe in each hand. They walked in silence back to Leonard’s room, and when they got there, the door was open, and Sam and Tommy were leaning out of it, singing off-key. Alice recognized the song—Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road”—but just barely. Sam was clapping, and Tommy had stolen someone’s umbrella and was using it as a cane.
“Good lord,” Alice said.
“Alice!” Tommy shouted. “We lost you! But now we found you.”
“Your dad’s friends bought us some drinks,” Sam said. “Strong ones.”
“Your mother would not be amused by this, Samantha,” Leonard said. “Okay, guys, I’m going to take you home.”
“Wait,” Alice said. She pulled Sam and Tommy into the room. “My friends, meet Leonard’s friends. I just need to talk to my dad for one second. Sam, don’t barf, okay? I mean, barf if you have to. Howard, can you just talk at them for a little bit?” Howard offered a small bow in acceptance of his task, and Alice pushed her friends farther into the room. She then stepped into the bathroom, flicked on the fluorescent lights, and beckoned for Leonard to join her. Alice pointed for him to shut the door behind him, and he did.
“Dad, I’m actually serious. I know it sounds like a joke, ha ha, yes, but it’s literally true. I came here from the future,” Alice said. “I don’t know how to say it better than that.”
“I heard you the first time.” Leonard folded his arms and looked amused.
“Okay, I can see that you find this funny, which I understand, but you may want to sit down.” Alice turned and put her hands on the edge of the sink. Her dad’s Dopp kit, with his toothbrush and toothpaste and floss and god knew what, was sitting there. Everything was so familiar—all the stupid little objects that she’d seen every day of her childhood, they were all still here. Alice knew that familiarity wasn’t the same as meaning, but she couldn’t help it—everything she saw felt enormous and loaded and heavy. These were her father’s things, the same things that were in the hospital. What would happen to them when Leonard was gone?
Leonard pushed the shower curtain aside and sat down on the edge of the bathtub. He snapped his fingers. “Ready.”
“Yesterday was my fortieth birthday. When I woke up this morning, I was sixteen.”
Leonard let out a loud laugh. “Boy, are you in the right place!”
“Har, har, har,” Alice said, her mouth a flat line. “Dad, I am not joking. I am not a weird dork like you and your friends, no offense. I am serious. This is actually happening.”