Passing

What just happened here? This story kicks off with an amazing beginning and then fizzles into nothingness. Clare and Irene are both well-to-do African-American ladies. They lived in the same building years ago when they were children and have not seen each other since – until they run into each other some years later. Clare has passed for white, leaving all of her roots behind; she is married to a white man (who has no idea that she is black) and has a young daughter that passes for white as well. Irene, on the other hand, can pass for white, but has chosen not to. Her husband is African-American, and one of her sons has his dad's complexion. 

Irene wants to leave the past in the past and not reacquaint herself with Clare, but Clare always gets what she wants and forces her way into Irene's life. She insists that Irene visit her at a small party she is hosting. A series of conversations take place during the party that make Irene uncomfortable, and yet she continues to allow Clare into her life. Clare reveals she wants to go back – she wants to live among her own once again. I'm thinking to myself this is going to get good. How will her family and old acquaintances receive her? How will this impact her place in life? What will happen if she runs into her white friends/relatives again? etc. None of this is revealed as the plot changes into a love triangle. Clare is moving in on Irene's husband, and Irene is jealous. The story ends with a bit of a twist, but leaves so many questions unanswered.