Characters in In the Tall Grass

And it had been solely Becky’s idea to ask Uncle Jim and Aunt Anne if she could live with them for a while—just until the baby came.

Beck—” “All right!” she screamed. “All right, let’s do it!” “One! Two!—” he cried. “THREE!” At fifteen, Becky DeMuth had weighed eighty-two pounds—her father called her Stick—and ran hurdles with the varsity team. At fifteen, she could walk from one end of the school to the other on her hands.

They even agreed that Cal could stay with Becky in San Diego until the baby was born. Calvin might be able to find a little job and chip in on expenses. “Pregnant at nineteen,” Mrs. DeMuth said. “You were pregnant at nineteen,” Mr. DeMuth said.

Pa and Ma, as the eldest, were the captain and first mate of the good ship FURTHER, and the other five—MaryKat, Jeepster, Eleanor Rigby, Frankie the Wiz, and Twista—were perfectly willing to follow orders, pulling out the barbecue, the cooler of meat, and—of course—the beer.

Pa and Ma, as the eldest, were the captain and first mate of the good ship FURTHER, and the other five—MaryKat, Jeepster, Eleanor Rigby, Frankie the Wiz, and Twista—were perfectly willing to follow orders, pulling out the barbecue, the cooler of meat, and—of course—the beer.

… five—MaryKat, Jeepster, Eleanor Rigby, Frankie the Wiz, and Twista—were perfectly willing to follow orders, pulling out the barbecue, the cooler of meat, and—of course—the beer. Jeepster and the Wiz were just setting up the grill when they heard the first faint voice. “Help! Help! Somebody help me!” “That sounds like …

And the rock. It was pulling at her, too. “Touch it,” Cal whispered. “You’ll stop being sad. You’ll see the baby is all right. Little Justine. She’s better than all right. She’s elemental. Becky—she flows.” “Yeah,” Tobin said. “Touch the rock. You’ll see. You won’t be lost out here anymore.

They were pushing sixty now and had been together a long time—long enough to have couples’ telepathy. “Kid wandered into the grass,” Ma Cool said. “Mom heard him yelling and went after him,” Pa Cool said. “Maybe too short to see their way back to the road,” Ma said.

Pa and Ma, as the eldest, were the captain and first mate of the good ship FURTHER, and the other five—MaryKat, Jeepster, Eleanor Rigby, Frankie the Wiz, and Twista—were perfectly willing to follow orders, pulling out the barbecue, the cooler of meat, and—of course—the …

Their parents called them the Irish Twins. “Becky picks up the phone and Cal says hello,” Mr. DeMuth liked to say. “Cal thinks party and Becky’s already written out the guest list,” Mrs. DeMuth liked to say.

“Becky picks up the phone and Cal says hello,” Mr. DeMuth liked to say. “Cal thinks party and Becky’s already written out the guest list,” Mrs. DeMuth liked to say.

… swanky nightclub this was a beaten-down swatch of grass where the woman Natalie Humbolt if that was her name was lying all twisted with her eyes bulging and her dress pushed up to show great big red divots in her thighs and Becky guessed she knew now why Ross Humbolt …

“Kid wandered into the grass,” Ma Cool said. “Mom heard him yelling and went after him,” Pa Cool said. “Maybe too short to see their way back to the road,” Ma said. “And now—” “—they’re both lost,” Pa finished. “Jeez, that sucks,” Jeepster said. “I got lost once.

The blades were gummy with blood. She didn’t want to think how Ross Humbolt of Poughkeepsie might have used that tool, or how she herself might now use it. Nevertheless, she closed her hand around it. “Come here, I said,” Ross told her. “Now, bitch.”

She had the groggy rasp of someone who has just come awake and needs a drink of water. Badly. “Don’t!” shouted the woman. “Don’t! Please! Stay away! Tobin, stop calling! Stop making noise, honey! He’ll hear you!” “Hello?” Becky yelled. “What’s going on?” Behind her, she heard a door slam.

Then it came to her. The girl wanted to swing in the backyard, and Becky said Go on, that’s fine, hardly paying any attention. At the time she was text-messaging with Travis McKean. They were having a fight. Becky didn’t even hear the back screen door slapping shut.

Somebody help me!” “That sounds like a woman,” Eleanor said. “Help! Somebody please! I’m lost!” “That’s not a woman,” Twista said. “That’s a little kid.” “Far out,” MaryKat said. She was cataclysmically stoned, and it was all she could think to say. Pa looked at Ma. Ma looked at Pa.

Of course they didn’t do everything together, because Cal sure as hell wasn’t responsible for the bun in his sister’s oven. And it had been solely Becky’s idea to ask Uncle Jim and Aunt Anne if she could live with them for a while—just until the baby came.