Jacob headcanons, if you can, even if there isn't much about his character in the book.
JACOB!!!! Ugh his story always makes me cry so much. He was so little and suffered so much before he died :( but he was so loved :,)
- Red-headed like his mother, Liesl. Very dark red-headed hair, like an auburn. His hair was fine and straight, but stuck out and away from his face
- He was named by Adele, who named him after her grandfather (with whom she’d been very close growing up) who was called Yakov (The Russian equivalent of Jacob)
- So many freckles on his face. Harold would kiss each one before bed to make Jacob giggle from how ticklish it was
- Had Harold’s exact nose. He overall looked mostly like Harold, though he had his mother’s colouring (hair + eyes, the latter of which were a stormy blue)
- Hated being called “Jakey”. Would huff and pout whenever someone called him by that. He thought it was a too baby-ish name for him.
- Called Adele “Bubbe” and called Saul “Pop-Pop”
- Once got lost at the zoo on one of his nursery school field trips. He wondered off and none of the staff noticed until he was out of sight. They later found him sitting, both amused and in awe, at the gorilla exhibit
- His favourite show was Bill Nye. Sometimes he’d run around the house chanting “Bill! Bill! Bill!”
- Loved hanging out with his Auntie Sally. The two of them played silly pranks on Liesl and she would indulge his every whim and wish.
- His favourite thing to do at the playground was go on the swings.
- Was brutally honest with his father about the latter’s culinary adventures. Put the poor man in his place every time.
- Was a very extroverted kid. The first day of nursery school, while all the other kids hid behind their father’s legs, shy and afraid, Jacob immediately rushed into the nursery room, excitedly greeting his teachers. He made friends quickly, and his teachers often commented on his bright, cheery disposition
- Went through a short-lived phase when he was three where he’d call Harold by his first name instead of Daddy. Liesl found it amusing, Harold did not
- The absolute worst about going to bed. Harold would have to constantly chase him around the house for at least two hours before his bedtime to try and tire him out. Otherwise, he wouldn’t fall asleep and would insist upon Harold reading him several bedtime stories or Liesl telling him fun science facts
- Wanted to be an astronaut. His bedroom ceiling was covered in glow in the dark star stickers and he had a spaceship toy
- Had a lopsided smile like his mother
- Whenever he saw his Uncle Laurence, he would always insist he carry him on his shoulders because he was the tallest person he knew
- Had a red and white striped blanket bear that he lost at the park playground shortly before he got sick.
- Buried in a cemetery nearby the university Harold teaches at. Sometimes, when he has a break between classes or before he goes home, Harold will visit Jacob’s grave and tell him about whatever’s been happening lately in his life.
- Before he got sick, he was very close with his grandfather, Saul. But after he got sick and after many traumatizing doctor’s appointments, whenever they went to visit Saul and Adele in New York, Jacob would cry when Saul, who was often in his white doctor’s coat, reached out to hug him, because it reminded him so much of the hospital and the doctors there. Saul never wore his white coat in front of Jacob again
- Because they lived all the way in California, he only ever saw his maternal grandparents three times in his life. Once at his birth, once when he was two and a half, and once when it had been half a year since his seizure. The next and last time they visited, was at his funeral
- He passed away at home. Once his parents, grandparents and at-home caregiver realized he was in his final hours of life, they all huddled in the sitting room to be with him as he passed. They wrapped Jacob in his favourite warm blanket and Harold and Liesl held him in their arms, tenderly soothing him as he left them.
- Although by the end of his life he couldn’t see or hear, Jacob still knew when his parents were nearby. He could recognize the grooves of his father’s watch wrapped around his wrist. He knew what his mother’s perfume smelled like. He was scared, he was so scared and tired, but he knew he wasn’t alone. He knew that his parents were right there with him.
