Al Capone Does My Shirts

Tuesday, May 7—Wednesday, May 8, 1935

Moose wants to come totally clean with his mom, but he does not want to disappoint his dad again. When Moose eventually tells his mom the truth, he feels guilty enough not to need punishment: “My mother doesn’t yell about us staying inside. Not one critical word comes out of her mouth. She doesn’t have to say anything. The air itself carries her blame” (166). The next day, Moose cannot find Natalie’s button box anywhere in the house—his mother has taken the buttons. Natalie becomes distressed.

Natalie starts to scream and Moose yells back at her to stop. In a fit of rage, he shouts at her: “Do you have any idea what you’re doing to us?” (168). He even tells her he hates her. Their yelling becomes so loud that Mrs. Trixle and Theresa knock on their door asking to come in. Finally, Moose’s anger fades and he tries to get Natalie to calm down. He remembers something his mom used to do and rolls Natalie up in the rug. “With the tightness surrounding her, she feels safe, secure somehow” (169). Once she has calmed down, she keeps repeating, “Eye outside,” which eventually becomes, “I want to go outside” (170). Moose is shocked that Natalie has referred to herself in the first person. 

Same day—Wednesday, May 8, 1935

Moose takes Natalie to the parade grounds and she plays on the swings. He knows she is too big for them but he does not care. She falls asleep eventually because “tantrums exhaust her” (171) and Moose has to carry her home. On the way, they run into Cam, who takes Natalie to bed. The apartment is still a disaster from Natalie’s earlier tantrum. Cam grabs a beer and pours half a glass for Moose. In silence, they tidy up the room together and Moose asks his father why he listens to his mom all the time. Cam explains that the only thing he really cares about is Moose, and everything else matters more to Helen than to Cam. Moose asks his dad if Moose is the cause of Natalie’s condition—Moose knows that Natalie got worse after Moose was born. His dad reassures him that Natalie’s disability has nothing to do with Moose.

Same day—Wednesday, May 8, 1935

When Moose’s mom returns home, Cam wants to speak with her directly. They go into their bedroom and argue. Cam defends Moose: “We have to respect [his relationship with Natalie] and trust him” (174). She points out that Moose has everything—he’s strong, smart, popular—while “Natalie doesn’t have the whole world looking out for her” (175). Cam believes Helen and Moose “never try to understand each other” (175). Moose goes into Natalie’s room and talks to her in her sleep, telling her she has to do well at the interview for the Esther P. Marinoff School because “mom can’t handle it” if she does not get in (175).