All Adults Here

Porter is so moved by her mother’s second chance at love that Porter decides, against all odds, she might be able to fall in love again too. Jeremy Fogelman is now a veterinarian in town, but Porter usually goes to another vet for her goats. Now, Porter stands outside Jeremy’s vet office, confident in her ability to reconnect with him: “No matter how well his wife thought she knew him, no matter what friends he had now, and how many times they went out to dinner and talked about the boring details of their daily lives, Porter would always know him better” (130). Jeremy seems happy to see her, though they’ve politely avoided each other over the last two years since breaking off their affair. Jeremy invites her to get a cup of coffee.

Jeremy brings Porter to his house, which is empty because his children are away for a soccer tournament. Porter and Jeremy have sex. Porter wonders why she never married Jeremy before it was too late, but she isn’t sure what she thinks about marriage. Given that her mother was “fine” when their father died, and seeing how Nicky treats marriage like “art” and Elliot treats marriage like “a prison,” she doesn’t know what to make of marriage for herself. She knows it’s ill-advised to have sex with Peter, but she’s happy they did it.

Wendy hadn’t wanted to live in Clapham because she wanted an easier commute into the city for her job. When she got pregnant with twins, she and Elliot decided to stay in town where family could support them, which was a good choice. But Clapham is Elliot’s town, so “[he is] the expert in their lives, and she [is] his tourist” (143). Wendy misses her mother, who helped her when the twins were infants but now lives back in San Francisco. Wendy feels overwhelmed by her household; the twins are a handful, and she doesn’t feel that Elliot helps her.

Elliot tells Wendy some good news for his business: The building he bought in the center of town has been offered rent by Beauty Bar, a thriving hair salon corporation. Wendy points out that it’s not a good idea to develop a flashy and popular business that would directly compete with Birdie’s hair salon just across the street. Elliot is angry that Wendy would think of his mother when the news is good for his business. Upstairs, a baby cries and Elliot demands that Wendy take care of it. Wendy wants to help Elliot look at the contract with Beauty Bar since she is a lawyer. Elliot storms off to work.

As Astrid prepares family dinner, she wonders why Barbara Baker never had children. She admires the image of Cecelia reading Catcher in the Rye for school at her kitchen table. Astrid tells Birdie and Cecelia that she’s thinking about visiting the former school bus driver in jail, where he’s awaiting trial for Barbara’s death. They both encourage her not to because they don’t understand what she’s looking for from him.

Porter loves her OB/GYN, Beth McConnell. Beth gives Porter an ultrasound and Porter can see every inch of her growing baby. Porter cries out of joy and a rush of emotions. Beth recommends bringing someone to their appointments to accompany Porter through her emotions. Porter contemplates making a pact with Rachel in which they’ll go to each other’s OB/GYN appointments. She also thinks about Jeremy, whom she’s been secretly seeing again. Porter calls Nicky, who congratulates her on her pregnancy and asks after Cecelia. He tells Porter that life without Cecelia is strange, like there’s nothing tethering him and his wife together. Porter used to be very close with her brothers, and she misses having a friendship with them.

Robin (as August) reminisces about camp. She begged her parents to bring her to camp because she needed an opportunity to truly be herself. At camp, Robin’s friends called her Robin, a name that she sees as neither boy nor girl. Camp was a safe space for Robin. Everyone accepted her, and there was a girl at camp, Sarah, who was assigned male at birth. At camp, Robin could wear dresses and have female friends. During a parent’s visit, Robin was wearing a dress; Robin’s mother, Ruth, asked if Robin wanted to be named Robin at home too.

Cecelia agrees to help Elliot and Wendy with the twins, an afterschool babysitting job they’ll pay her for. Elliot tells her the kids can eat whatever they want and asks her to be on the lookout for his phone, which he’s lost somewhere in the house. Cecelia contemplates how much Elliot and her father look alike. Suddenly, one of the twins, Zachary, appears with a bloody face. He wails as she looks for band-aids for the cut under his eye. She finds first-aid things in Elliot’s bedroom. She cleans Zachary’s cut with Elliot’s bathroom towel and patches him up. When she brings the towel to the laundry room, she finds Elliot’s phone. Cecelia looks for paper in the home office to leave a note, and comes across Elliot’s paperwork for Beauty Bar.

Porter and Rachel go out to dinner. Rachel talks about her husband, who has been calling her a lot. Porter asks if Rachel would consider taking him back. Rachel thinks about it but isn’t sure. Porter tells Rachel about her relationship with Jeremy. Rachel is offended and accuses Porter of being exactly like the woman who Rachel’s husband cheated with. Rachel storms out of the restaurant and Porter eats her dinner alone, crying. Porter is convinced that Jeremy is unhappy with his wife and hopes that he’ll leave her for Porter.

In study hall, Robin and Cecelia watch Elizabeth Taylor movies because she’s Robin’s favorite actress. Cecelia tells Robin about Parade Crew. Robin thinks the Harvest Parade is just a showcase for popular girls like Sidney and her friends. Cecelia suggests she join her so they can change the Harvest Festival from the inside. They’re approached by Sidney’s friend Liesel, who passes Cecelia a note. The note calls Cecelia a “witch,” a “bitch,” and a “snitch.” Cecelia is shocked and wonders how the girls know about what happened in New York City. Cecelia tells Robin about Katherine’s adult boyfriend, and about how, when Cecelia told adults about the relationship to protect her friend, Katherine bullied her and accused Cecelia of bullying her.

Nicky is lost without Cecelia in his home. He misses her and wonders about the purpose of his life without her. He reflects on the incident that sent Cecelia away. He and Juliette raised Cecelia as a city kid; she was always responsible in an adult way. But Katherine had said that Cecelia also chatted with the teenage-impersonating man online and had also gone to his apartment. Cecelia insisted it wasn’t true, but Nicky felt so helpless that he pulled Cecelia out of her school, which he believes was the right decision.

Nicky knows all about being in precarious situations. He became an actor as a teenager because it made his father proud. But when his father died, Nicky turned his back on fame. Nicky recalls a time when he was young and went to a director’s apartment in New York City. There was no party, only the director, and it made Nicky uncomfortable. He called his mother, who told him she didn’t know what to do for him, but that he should have a drink and have a good night. Nicky ran away from the apartment. Nicky meditates on his past while thinking about how much he misses his daughter.

Wendy reviews the contract offer with Beauty Bar and draws up a counterproposal to help Elliot save money. Elliot wonders if changing the town with Beauty Bar is a good or a bad thing. He is turned on by Wendy’s work and they have sex for the first time in a long time.

Parade Crew is hosted by Cecelia’s English teacher, Mrs. Rachel Skolnick; Cecelia does not yet know that her teacher is her Aunt Porter’s friend. Cecelia and Robin (who is still presenting as male using her birth name, August) attend the first meeting, where the kids brainstorm theme ideas for the float. When Robin goes to the bathroom, a girl named Melody asks Cecelia if August is gay. It hadn’t occurred to Cecelia, but she understands that, in a pre-teen world, a rumor is basically confirmation because people don’t care about the truth. Then, Melody asks Cecelia if it’s true that she got kicked out of her old school for hooking up with an adult. The kids vote for the float’s theme and choose “Clapham FTW.” Cecelia proposes that they make the float round with a gazebo in the middle, like the layout of the town, which impresses everyone.