,

“The Passionate Friends” by Edmund White

An apparently poorly matched couple come to realize, through their fumbling efforts and some strange friendships, where their difficulties lie.

This is an interesting character study – Maria and Dan are a strange pair indeed, both together and on their own, while Alex and Philip seem a bit more conventional. Because it’s in an anthology of gay fiction I wasn’t surprised at the overall arc of the story, but it was less predictable than I had expected and an enjoyable read.