Elsewhere

Betty Bloom is Liz’s maternal grandmother. She died from breast cancer at age 50, just months before Liz was born; by the time Liz arrives in Elsewhere, Betty is a 34-year-old woman with dark hair and blue-gray eyes. As her name suggests, Betty loves flowers, and she keeps an “unruly garden” full of “roses, lilies, lavender, sunflowers, chrysanthemums, begonias, gardenias, an apple tree, an orange tree, an olive tree, and a cherry tree” (63). She’s also interested in clothing and fashion, keeping a closet full of “theatrical” attire and working as a seamstress (60).

Although Betty doesn’t consider herself particularly good with children, she strives to be patient and understanding with Liz, in part as a way of atoning for her falling-out with her daughter (Liz’s mother Olivia); the two argued when Olivia learned her mother had had an affair. As Betty eventually explains to Liz, her actions were motivated by a sense of loneliness, which she continued to feel even after arriving in Elsewhere. Meeting and befriending Liz thus marks a turning point in Betty’s existence, providing her with someone to love and care for, and paving the way for her eventual marriage to Curtis Jest.

Owen Welles is a detective with the Elsewhere Bureau of Supernatural Crime and Contact. Now 17, Owen was 26 at the time of his death; he worked as a firefighter and asphyxiated while trying to rescue a cat from a burning building. Prior to this, Owen had grown up in New York City, which was where he met and married his childhood sweetheart, Emily Reilly. He has dark hair, “sympathetic dark eyes framed in long dark lashes” (146), and a habit of wearing sunglasses at night.

Owen got his job at the bureau as a result of his own difficulties accepting his death. Heartbroken by the loss of his wife, he initially spent his time alternately watching her from the Observation Decks and trying to contact her, “attempt[ing] the illegal deep-sea dive to the Well a record 117 times” (156). When he finally realized his presence was preventing Emily from moving on with her life, he dedicated his existence to helping others avoid the same mistake; in fact, it’s through his work that he first meets Liz, whom he catches trying to communicate with her father. Emily’s unexpected death temporarily strains this developing relationship, but Owen and Liz ultimately affirm their love for one another and resolve to spend the rest of her time in Elsewhere together.

Thandi is a 16-year-old girl who becomes Liz’s best friend in Elsewhere. She wears her hair in “a thatch of intricately beaded braids” and, in Liz’s opinion, “looks like a queen” (9). The two girls meet on the SS Nile, where they share a cabin; Thandi, who lived in a dangerous part of Washington DC, was accidentally shot and killed while walking with her boyfriend Slim. Thandi has a no-nonsense demeanor and is quicker to accept her death than Liz, settling in to live with her cousin Shelly and taking a job as an “announcer” at a television station, broadcasting the names of those scheduled to arrive in Elsewhere. Thanks to Liz’s persuasion, she eventually adopts the chihuahua Paco. 

Curtis Jest is a 30-old British musician with “sparkling blue eyes that match his spiky blue hair” (17); he was the lead singer of Machine—Liz’s favorite band—before dying of a drug overdose. These past experiences of celebrity and addiction contribute to his somewhat melancholy demeanor when Liz first meets him aboard the SS Nile. After settling in on Elsewhere, Curtis becomes happier (though still prone to philosophizing) and takes up a job as a fisherman. Through the friendship he develops with Liz, Curtis eventually meets Betty Bloom and falls passionately in love with her; the two eventually marry. 

Sadie is a “medium-sized, rather rangy, blondish dog” whom Liz meets on her first day working at the Division of Domestic Animals (130); she was hit by a car while chasing a ball. Affectionate and somewhat shy, Sadie immediately decides she wants Liz to be her new owner, and the two remain together for eight years, until Sadie—once again a newborn puppy—returns to Earth.

Aldous Ghent is Liz’s “acclimation counselor” when she arrives in Elsewhere. At the time Liz meets him, he is roughly 61 and living with his wife Rowena; the two died together in a plane crash, years after the death of their young son, Joseph. Despite the fact that Joseph had already returned to Earth by the time Aldous arrived in Elsewhere, he is a very cheerful man; in fact, he is “oblivious to most people’s black moods, as he is almost always in a good mood himself” (207). He is entirely bald and—though passionate about his job—somewhat disorganized and absentminded.

Emily Reilly was Owen’s childhood sweetheart and later wife. The two met at age 13; they lived in neighboring apartments and communicated with one another by tapping messages in Morse code on their shared bedroom wall. Emily—a smart and attractive girl with bright red hair—went on to attend medical school. When Owen died, she became a burn specialist in his honor before unexpectedly dying of the flu at age 36. Her arrival in Elsewhere causes friction in Owen’s relationships with Liz and Jen, but Emily is a kind and understanding woman who recognizes that while she and her husband may still love one another, they’ve outgrown their romantic relationship. 

Alvy Hall is Liz’s younger brother; he is seven at the time of her death. Liz tries to contact him soon after arriving in Elsewhere, and his efforts to explain what’s happening to his parents get him into trouble. Although Liz will later apologize for this, Alvy assures her that it was worth it: “I always listen to the water. I’ve been listening since I was little. […] I could never stop hoping it might be you” (253). As Liz describes him, Alvy is a good-natured and very bright boy.

Amadou Bonamy—a tall man with “black curly hair” (111)—was the driver of the taxi that struck and killed Liz. At the time, he was a recent immigrant from Haiti with a pregnant wife and a sick child; as a result, he was afraid of the financial repercussions of the accident and failed to stop, although he did anonymously alert the hospital. Amadou, who was attending night school at the time, eventually became a teacher, but he experienced intense guilt over his actions for the rest of his life. He dies of lung cancer when Liz is seven and seeks her out to apologize, but finds that she forgave him long ago, knowing that he was a “good man” despite his actions on the day of her accident (266).