This Is How It Always Is: Part II: Rival Neighbor Princess Summary & Analysis

Rosie and Penn didn’t intend to keep Claude a secret, it just worked out that way. They arrived four years earlier, and Seattle couldn’t be more different than Madison. Their new house was built in 1906, the same year as their farmhouse, but that is the only similarity. The farmhouse was in the middle of nowhere, but city skyscrapers can be seen from the new house. The house has several additions and the result is a bit strange. Orion’s room is on the second floor under an eave, and Rigel’s room has a trapdoor that leads to the linen closet. The stairs to Poppy’s turret are in Rosie and Penn’s room, and Ben and Roo share the basement, which Ben has divided into several smaller rooms and hideouts. From the outside it looks like a normal house, but on the inside it is a little strange. “Like me,” Poppy says.

On Rosie’s first day alone in the house, there is a knock on the door, and she is a bit irritated at the interruption. It is the neighbors, Marginny and Frank Granderson, and they have come to introduce themselves. Marginny and Frank are warm and friendly, and they ask Rosie if she moved to the area alone. Goodness no, Rosie says, explaining that she has a husband and five kids. “Wow,” Marginny says, “I bet you’re from the Midwest.” Marginny and Frank have two girls: Cayenne is in the eighth grade, and Aggie is going into first. Rosie says she has five boys but stops herself. “It’s a long story,” Rosie says, and before she knows it, she is telling Marginny and Frank the whole story about Poppy. 

Frank says he saw a drag show once and asks Rosie if that is what raising Poppy is like. No, Rosie says, it is nothing like that. Suddenly, the back door opens, and Penn and the children pour in. Marginny quickly introduces herself to Penn, and then she invites them to a barbeque the next day. Rosie thinks about how exhausting that sounds, but before she can say anything, Penn accepts. 

The next day at the barbeque, Marginny approaches Penn and Rosie. Marginny doesn’t mean to apologize for Frank and the drag queen comment, but she does want them to know that he didn’t mean to offend them. He was simply caught off guard, Marginny says, but Rosie tells her not to worry about it. Rosie clearly has to work on talking to people about Poppy, she says. Marginny tells Rosie and Penn that she and Frank have decided not to tell their kids about Poppy. If the point is for Poppy to live as a girl, Marginny doesn’t see the point in telling her kids that Poppy isn’t a girl. Anyway, Marginny says, she just wanted to let Rosie know.

Penn is surprised that Rosie told Marginny and Frank about Poppy. Rosie apologizes, but she didn’t know what to say. Penn agrees that it is difficult to know exactly what to do. He asks how they are supposed to tell the difference between the Cindy Calcuttis of the world and the Nick Calcuttis, but Rosie says there is no way they can know. Maybe keeping Claude a secret is the right thing to do. Then, Poppy can just be Poppy for a change. Poppy approaches and stands shyly at Penn’s side. Frank comes over and asks if Poppy would like to meet his daughter, Aggie. Poppy and Aggie hit it off immediately and run up to Aggie’s room to play. As Rosie is on her second glass of wine, a woman says Rosie must have been very happy to finally have a girl. “We were thrilled,” Rosie says dryly, “Just thrilled.”

That night, as Rosie and Penn tuck Poppy into bed, she talks excitedly about her new friends. No one knows about Claude here, Poppy says, and it is nice not to have to pretend. Penn agrees. No one here knows who Poppy really is, he says, but Poppy disagrees. They know exactly who she is, Poppy says. Suddenly, there is a sound outside Poppy’s window. From the window, Poppy can see Aggie in her own window. “Hi,” Aggie says. Their rooms are close, and they can be “rival princesses in neighboring castles.” They can pass notes, Poppy says eagerly. Yes, Aggie says, and they will be the best of friends and tell each other all their secrets.