Until They Bring The Streetcars Back

On Saturday, Cal visits Gretchen during her lunch, sitting in the truck to be safe. Gretchen explains that she doesn’t know how much she makes per hour, as Mr. Buehler, her boss, gives it to her dad, Otto Luttermann. Otto thinks boys are “bad.” Otto says boys do “bad” stuff to girls, so Otto must always be with her except at school and the bakery. Gretchen’s family attends the Holy Gospel Church, and Otto believes in the Bible and the devil; if Gretchen wears makeup and nice clothes, she encourages the latter. Otto works at the post office. He abuses her with a belt, and now that Helga is gone, he “instructs” her in her room at night, which is a euphemism for sexual abuse. Gretchen tried telling her mom about the abuse, but her mom wouldn’t listen.

Cal then explains that he and his friends have a history of knocking on a man’s door and running away as he chases them, which is ultimately a friendly gesture on the man’s part (though the kids do not know this yet). The boys call the man “the Runner,” and they introduce the girls to the Runner.