Jesse Teller

Tag: Grandpa

  • The Sin Eater 11: Buckhorn

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    Impact, and my hand goes instantly to my hip, but hands are on me and in seconds I’m being tickled. I can’t breathe. I can barely laugh and more arms, growling, and now I remember. Now I remember what a summer with Uncle Ball in Waynesville is gonna be like. I fight and I beg…

  • The Sin Eater 10: Waynesville Part 1

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    My name is Joe. I disappeared for a long time between Bekah and I breaking up in 1998 and the writing of Teardrop Road. When I came back, I had no idea what all of this technology was about. I didn’t know what a cell phone was. Computers had been taught to me by Mr.…

  • The Sin Eater 9: Aunt Easy Part 1

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    He never got to be my godfather. Parents don’t die even when you want them to, and as the time stretched on and we realized it was not going to happen, things changed. I think when he was with Glass, a certain kind of utopia was created in Uncle Ball’s mind and it involved raising…

  • The Sin Eater 8: The Legend of Billi May

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    “Well she is from West Virginia and she is a real sweetheart. They came to Milwaukee when she was younger, and she was just lovely. You’re gonna have fun with her.” “What’s her name again?” Mumble mumbled. “Billi May. Kid, she is your second cousin. These are Grandma’s people. These are Canny folk, and they…

  • The Sin Eater 7: Glass

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    It was Christmas. Uncle Wrath was not at Grandpa’s that night, or he had already thundered into the streets. Uncle Ball was my godfather now, and I had saved my money to buy him a special gift. Dinner was eaten and the doorbell rang. We were all sitting in the second living room and the…

  • The Sin Eater 6: The Two Crews

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    Uncle Wrath disappeared at some point. Or he was always gone, just slammed the ground of Milwaukee every now and then like lightning, and with him came his storm. The crew Uncle Wrath led was legendary. They were not the Sons of the Devil, they were the Princes. They were a new thing that none…

  • The Sin Eater 5: Darling Nikki

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    I guess it was the day of the big snow. Picture Milwaukee, winter, closed schools all across the city. Every school aged boy in the city wakes up to good news and bad. Yes, there is no school, and yes, get your shovel. There was promise of hot chocolate when it was all over. The…

  • The Sin Eater 4: The Sons of the Devil

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    Grandpa needs a name now. He has needed one for a long time, but I have been hesitant to give him one. The man confuses me. I knew and know him as two people. Stories told to me, images locked in my mind. As I look down at the compass I use to try to…

  • The Sin Eater 3: Pimples

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    “Goddammit, these fuckin’ pimples!” Uncle Ball dropped his head on his table and growled. “Why does this whole family’s skin suck?” He turned to me and pointed at his nose. Right on the tip of it was a tiny red spot. “Do you know who is going to see that, Jesse?” “No, Uncle Ball, who?”…

  • The Sin Eater 2: McDonald’s Children’s Booklet

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    Got my first bike that year. It was royal blue, black banana seat, and it was different from every other bike in my neighborhood. Nope. Barely noticed. For my birthday that year my Grandma and Grandpa threw me the biggest party that any of their grandchildren ever got. Nope. Barely noticed. Every toy, tossed aside.…