The next day, Irene receives a telephone message from Clare. Although there is a snowstorm in the city, Clare will be able to make the dinner party at Felise’s house. This news wears on Irene, and at the dinner table she loses her temper with Brian. Their son Ted has heard about the lynching of a black man and wants to know why only Negroes are lynched. Brian attempts to answer this question, but Irene is angry with him for doing so. After the boys are excused from the table, Brian and Irene continue their discussion. Irene believes children should be shielded from some of the harshest realities of life as a Negro living in the United States. Brian thinks his sons would be better prepared for adulthood if they were told beforehand of the challenges they must face. If they are going to be forced to live in America, Brian states, they should be told what they will have to deal with. This is a criticism of Irene, who has always insisted that the family not move to Brazil, where Brian would prefer to live. When Brian reaches his limit, he shouts that Irene should not expect him to give up everything. This is another reference to Irene’s refusal to the leave the States, but Irene wonders if there is even a deeper meaning behind the statement. She wonders if Brian is referring to not wanting to give up his affair with Clare.

Irene is upstairs getting ready for the party when Clare arrives and comes upstairs to be with her. Because Irene is aware of Clare’s intuition, her uncanny ability to read Irene’s thoughts, Irene sends Clare back downstairs. She no longer cares if she is giving Clare and Brian yet another chance to be together without her. What is done is done, Irene thinks.

Once the three of them arrive at Felise’s apartment building, Irene observes how Brian and Clare talk to one another. She watches their body language, particularly when Clare clutches Brian’s arm for support as she walks along the icy sidewalk. Irene also notices how Brian’s mood is elevated. His tone of voice is flirtatious. Upstairs, Irene feels separated from the rest of the guests. Irene is silent and withdrawn, although everyone else seems filled with merriment. As the party goes on, there is a sudden knock on the door. Clare’s husband is there, uninvited. Clare had thought he was out of town. John pushes his way inside and shouts at his wife that he knows she is a Negro. There is a commotion around Clare. Irene walks across the room and goes to Clare’s side. She reaches out for Clare’s shoulder, and then suddenly Clare is gone.

The window was open, and Clare fell. No one is sure how it happened. Everyone but Irene rushes down the stairs. Irene wanders, in a daze, to the bedroom to retrieve Brian’s coat. Then, with her knees wobbling underneath her, she makes it outside. Clare is dead. John has been taken into custody. An investigator is told that besides John, Irene was the one standing closest to Clare, so she must have seen what happened.

Irene is not sure what actually occurred, though she does not confess this. She knows she had thought of Clare’s death; she had wanted it. But did she push her? All she says to the inspector is that Clare fell. Then Irene faints.