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Piper Williams
Seven-year-old Theresa is Moose’s first friend on Alcatraz. She’s immediately accepting of Natalie and wants to make sure Moose is her friend before he befriends anyone else—so she only tells him later that her older brother, Jimmy, is Moose’s age. Theresa is dramatic and possessive, particularly of her baby brother, Rocky. She brings Rocky on the boat to San Francisco to meet Mrs. Capone, and she speaks possessively about “her” baby even before Rocky is born. Theresa has a way with Natalie; she seems to instinctively know what subjects will interest Natalie and often helps provide Natalie with rocks or feathers to go with Natalie’s buttons.
Theresa Mattaman Quotes in Al Capone Does My Shirts
The Al Capone Does My Shirts quotes below are all either spoken by Theresa Mattaman or refer to Theresa Mattaman. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3: Trick Monkey
Quotes
Favorite crime: Dinner party of death! Invites lieutenants in his organization known to have double-crossed him to a party. After dessert, Al’s men lock the doors and Capone beats the traitors to death with a baseball bat.
A baseball bat?
Favorite word for murder: “Rub-out”—often in front of many witnesses who then develop “gangster amnesia.”
Sent to jail for: Tax evasion.
Other stuff: Rigged elections. Opened first soup kitchen in Chicago. Likes silk underwear.
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Chapter 19: Daddy’s Little Miss
Quotes
“Numbers Nat, we need you!” Theresa interrupts.
Natalie looks up.
Piper hands Nat the money, rolled up in a handkerchief. “Three dollars and twenty cents split four—excuse me.” Piper looks at me. “Three ways.”
“One dollar six cents, two cents left over.” Natalie rocks with pleasure.
“Extra two cents goes to me,” Piper says as Natalie counts out each share.
Chapter 20: Warning
Quotes
We sit with her. Annie and Theresa, Jimmy and me. Keep her company wherever she’s gone.
That is the way my mom finds us when she gets off the boat, her music bag over her shoulder.
[...]
“Get them out of here.” My mom spits the words out.
“Mom, it’s—”
“I won’t have her made a spectacle.”
“It’s really not like that. They like her,” I say.
“NOW, Moose.”
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Chapter 32: The Button Box
Quotes
“I know what Mrs. Kelly says. I’m talking about Moose now and what he thinks. He’s good with Natalie. They’ve worked out a relationship. We have to respect that and trust him.”
“Well, yes, but—”
“You have to let him care about her his way.”
And then something I can’t hear.
“I got one child who has everything,” my mom says, “big, strapping, healthy, smart...makes people laugh. Got kids coming over looking for him night and day, just like at home. Little ones, big ones and the girls—they all like Moose. But Natalie, Natalie doesn’t have the whole world looking out for her. She needs me.”
“Moose needs you too.”
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Chapter 33: The Sun and the Moon
Quotes
“Me? I’m not going to upset Natalie. She likes me,” Piper says.
“I’m sorry,” I say, my hand on the door.
Piper scoffs. “Can’t I at least say happy birthday?” She looks so earnest, so sincere, smiling her sweet smile. She’s even prettier without her hat.
“How did you know it was her birthday?”
“Theresa told me.”
Get the entire Al Capone Does My Shirts LitChart as a printable PDF.
Theresa Mattaman Quotes in Al Capone Does My Shirts
The Al Capone Does My Shirts quotes below are all either spoken by Theresa Mattaman or refer to Theresa Mattaman. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3: Trick Monkey
Quotes
Favorite crime: Dinner party of death! Invites lieutenants in his organization known to have double-crossed him to a party. After dessert, Al’s men lock the doors and Capone beats the traitors to death with a baseball bat.
A baseball bat?
Favorite word for murder: “Rub-out”—often in front of many witnesses who then develop “gangster amnesia.”
Sent to jail for: Tax evasion.
Other stuff: Rigged elections. Opened first soup kitchen in Chicago. Likes silk underwear.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19: Daddy’s Little Miss
Quotes
“Numbers Nat, we need you!” Theresa interrupts.
Natalie looks up.
Piper hands Nat the money, rolled up in a handkerchief. “Three dollars and twenty cents split four—excuse me.” Piper looks at me. “Three ways.”
“One dollar six cents, two cents left over.” Natalie rocks with pleasure.
“Extra two cents goes to me,” Piper says as Natalie counts out each share.
Chapter 20: Warning
Quotes
We sit with her. Annie and Theresa, Jimmy and me. Keep her company wherever she’s gone.
That is the way my mom finds us when she gets off the boat, her music bag over her shoulder.
[...]
“Get them out of here.” My mom spits the words out.
“Mom, it’s—”
“I won’t have her made a spectacle.”
“It’s really not like that. They like her,” I say.
“NOW, Moose.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 32: The Button Box
Quotes
“I know what Mrs. Kelly says. I’m talking about Moose now and what he thinks. He’s good with Natalie. They’ve worked out a relationship. We have to respect that and trust him.”
“Well, yes, but—”
“You have to let him care about her his way.”
And then something I can’t hear.
“I got one child who has everything,” my mom says, “big, strapping, healthy, smart...makes people laugh. Got kids coming over looking for him night and day, just like at home. Little ones, big ones and the girls—they all like Moose. But Natalie, Natalie doesn’t have the whole world looking out for her. She needs me.”
“Moose needs you too.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 33: The Sun and the Moon
Quotes
“Me? I’m not going to upset Natalie. She likes me,” Piper says.
“I’m sorry,” I say, my hand on the door.
Piper scoffs. “Can’t I at least say happy birthday?” She looks so earnest, so sincere, smiling her sweet smile. She’s even prettier without her hat.
“How did you know it was her birthday?”
“Theresa told me.”
