The Seventh Most Important Thing

On Saturday, Squeak and Arthur go to the garage. Arthur is relieved his mother and Barbara aren’t home to say how good it is Arthur made a friend. The boys arrive at the garage, and Arthur unlocks it to find Mr. Hampton already working.

Arthur introduces Mr. Hampton to Squeak. Mr. Hampton is glad Arthur brought a friend because he lost so much time in the hospital the week before. The sculpture of Heaven impresses Squeak and Arthur, even though Arthur has seen it before. The creation makes Arthur feel like he’s looking at “something both real and unreal at the same time” (168).

Mr. Hampton tells the boys how the project started while he was fighting in World War II. He had terrible dreams every night until he wanted to die, and then, he had a vision to build “heaven out of broken things” (170). He shows them the first box he built out of debris from the war, “Death and War turned into something beautiful” (170).

Not knowing what else to say, Squeak asks why Mr. Hampton calls it the third throne of heaven. Mr. Hampton doesn’t know, except that he dreamed of a giant number three in the sky.