A Corner of the Universe

Independence Day is a big event in Millerton, and Hattie excitedly attends the annual band concert and picnic in the park with her parents, grandparents, and Adam. Unlike any other family’s picnic, Nana brings a gourmet cooked meal and serves it on fine china. Adam exclaims in joy over Dad’s carved watermelon fruit basket, drawing the attention of nearby picnickers, whom Hattie stares at until they look away. Dad films as the family eats happily, but Adam refuses to look at the camera or smile until Hattie burps and makes him laugh. Adam angrily rejects Nana’s dessert and pushes his way through the crowd to the Good Humor truck. Ice cream calms Adam down until the music becomes lively again. Adam slips away and Hattie spots him behind the band conductor, dancing with joy. Hattie appreciates Adam’s happiness. The moment is shattered when Nancy and Janet taunt him with “freak show.” Hattie suddenly wonders if Adam’s illness is hereditary, and if the family has kept Adam secret because they worry that Hattie may turn out like him. Hattie has many questions but knows she cannot ask them.

Hattie spends afternoons with Leila at the carnival. Hattie asks if it bothers Leila when people stare at her mom, but Leila says it is better that people pay to stare than just stare. Most of the sideshow performers put on an act, but Leila worries about those who are physically different: People stare at them “because of the way they were born” (96). Hattie confides that people call Adam a freak, but that she likes Adam because of Adam’s happy nature. When Adam arrives at Hattie’s house looking for Angel Valentine, Hattie invites him to the carnival. Nana is happy to have Adam gone for the afternoon. The carnival’s sights and sounds get Adam overly excited. Hattie hopes she made the right choice to bring him. After Leila gives Adam a tour, they play games and have lunch. Adam grows quiet. The girls cannot understand Adam’s reluctance to go on rides, but he enjoys watching the Ferris wheel. Adam excitedly makes plans with Leila for Hattie’s birthday. When Nana confiscates a small knife that Adam won, Adam gets angry, and Hattie walks out on Nana’s explanation.

Hattie asks Angel Valentine about the young man in the sports car. Angel explains that he was her boyfriend Henry. Adam, who has been hiding, startles them. Hattie is disconcerted by the way Adam stands too close, his strange grin, and his narrowed eyes that settle on Angel’s chest. Angel is also uncomfortable and announces she must leave for a date. Hattie worries that the mention of a boyfriend will make Adam angry, but Adam seems unaffected. Adam tells Hattie that he and Leila have planned a party for her on the Friday before her birthday. Hattie does not want to upset Adam but knows that Nana’s cotillion is on Friday. Adam’s intensity makes Hattie afraid. Hattie shows the invitation to Nana. Adam shouts, grows belligerent, and strikes Nana’s hand when she suggests they have the party on a different day. Then he begins to cry. Nana is also about to cry. She agrees to let Hattie go to Adam’s party. Adam says he is “the only one true alien” (112), but Hattie thinks she is one also. 

On the Friday before her twelfth birthday, Hattie and Mom visit Nana for a girls’ lunch—which this year includes Adam. Hattie thinks Mom enjoys Nana’s attention. Hattie asks Mom why she never had other kids. Her mom uncomfortably answers that Hattie was perfect, so they did not need more. Hattie wonders if they did not want to have a child like Adam. At lunch, Nana is about to use her floor buzzer to summon the maid, when Adam beats her to it, stepping on the buzzer repeatedly. Nana is furious. Adam mocks Nana, so Nana orders him out of the room. Hattie tries to console him Adam later, but in an unusually adult manner, Adam tells Hattie her party will go on. Adam is in a good mood when he and Hattie meet Leila at the carnival. Hattie and Leila go on rides, while Adam, inexplicably, only watches. Leila has made Hattie a cake, and Adam gives Hattie a wooden box he made at his school. Hattie is glad she will always have the box to remember Adam.