Al Capone Does My Shirts: Chapter 9: Nice Little Church Boy Summary & Analysis

Theresa is waiting for Moose outside his door and says that Moose is late. She hands Moose a note from Mom, which reads that she’s getting a perm at Bea Trixle’s, Dad needs to get up at 6:00, and then they’re all going to a party at 6:30. Theresa explains that Bea does perms in her kitchen and says they have to go meet her brother Jimmy, Annie, and Piper. Moose is shocked to learn that Jimmy is Theresa’s brother and is his age, but Theresa said she didn’t share that earlier because then Moose would play with Jimmy instead of her. Moose grabs his glove and an extra for Jimmy, but Theresa warns him that Jimmy can’t throw.

At the parade grounds, Annie is hunched over her homework while Jimmy is hunched over an elaborate machine. Jimmy excitedly shows Moose his marble-shooting machine, which only kind of works. Moose invites him to play catch, but Jimmy is truly terrible. Theresa asks to play with Moose once Jimmy returns to his machine, but she’s also bad. As she hands back the glove, she says there’s more she hasn’t told Moose: her mother has to rest, as she’s going to have her (Theresa’s) baby soon and if she doesn’t keep her feet up, the baby will slip out. It depends, she says, on the “American cord[’s]” length and the mom’s height. Embarrassed, Jimmy tells Theresa to stop.

Moose introduces himself to Annie and asks if she’d like to play catch. She accepts his glove and backs up really far, so Moose runs to her—he doesn’t want her to embarrass herself, since she’s a girl. He throws an easy one to her, and she catches it and throws it back hard. Moose is so excited, he runs to Annie and hugs her. As they throw the ball, he asks Annie if anyone else on Alcatraz plays. She explains that the convicts play and the kids get to keep any balls that come over the wall. She, Jimmy, and Piper all have balls. Moose asks where Piper is, and Annie says she’s at charm school. Moose laughs, and Annie walks up close. She says that Moose needs to get along with Piper, or Piper will make trouble for Dad—Piper can do whatever she wants.

Annie says that everyone is going to the party tonight and walks off heavily. Theresa and Jimmy are already gone by now, and the 4:00 bell rings (bells ring every hour so the guards count the convicts). As Moose turns to go in, he spots Piper. She calls him their own Babe Ruth, which is intended as an insult but which Moose takes as a compliment. Moose asks if she saw him play after school, but she just snorts and calls Moose a “nice little church boy.” She says he’s a “Boy Scout” because he doesn’t want to help with the laundry service and get in trouble—he seems to never want to break rules. Moose asks why Piper even needs him, and she says that she, Jimmy, and Annie can’t get 80 shirts through their laundry bags unnoticed. She rolls her eyes when Moose suggests he might tell the warden.