Tuck Everlasting Chapter 21 Summary

  • Back at the Fosters' place, Winnie is alone in her own room, trying to comfort herself by sitting in her rocking chair. She thinks about what's happened since she left the Tucks'.
  • Her family welcomed her home and didn't really listen when she explained what had happened. Winnie tried to tell them that the Tucks were nice, but nobody seemed to buy it. (We'd be a little skeptical, too.) Her parents were more interested in the fact that Yellow Suit Guy was wounded.
  • Winnie said point-blank that the man might die, and this changed how the rest of the family was treating her. Hmmm.
  • Now Winnie feels torn between her own family and the Tucks.
  • Meanwhile, it seems like a summer storm is brewing; the sky is full of heat lightning. As the weather gets more ominous, Winnie thinks about Yellow Suit Guy. She doesn't want him to die, because that would mean Mae has to be hanged. On the other hand, Winnie understands that Yellow Suit Guy is super dangerous now that he knows about the spring. It's a no-win situation. A Catch-22, if you will.
  • Winnie eavesdrops as the constable returns to explain things to her parents. Because Winnie stood up for the Tucks, the immortal family can't be charged with anything.
  • But it's not all good news. It turns out Yellow Suit Guy didn't make it. And Mae's in trouble, because a lawman witnessed the murder.
  • Now Winnie has to deal with the fact that Mae is a murderer. She thinks about how she (Winnie) smashed a wasp once, and then regretted it; she wonders if Mae regrets killing Yellow Suit Guy.
  • Despite the fact that Mae has killed a man, Winnie is determined to help her and help keep the Tucks' secret.