The Vanishing Half: A Novel

The narrative turns to Stella in 1968, at the same time that Desiree is returning to Mallard. Unlike her sister’s, Stella’s fortunes are on an upward trajectory. She has married a rich White man whom she met while working as his secretary in New Orleans. Blake Sanders comes from old money, and, over the years, he has distinguished himself as a marketing professional in Los Angeles. The Sanders now have a daughter named Kennedy, and they own a home in Brentwood.

A crisis erupts for the homeowners in the subdivision when they learn a “colored” family will be moving into the neighborhood. Stella rises and makes an impassioned speech to the group, saying that they must keep the “Negroes” out. Everyone applauds her stand on the issue. Blake is amused that his normally quiet wife would get so worked up. He thinks:

He never understood why she averted her gaze when an old Negro woman shuffled past on the sidewalk, why she was always so curt with the elevator operators. She was jumpy around Negroes, like a child who’d been bit by a dog (147).

In reality, Stella is fearful that another Black person might see through her disguise, and she lives in mortal terror that her identity might be exposed.