They’d never settled things after the argument they had, and as much as he wished they could, Jeff knew they would never get the opportunity, because he knew that the doctor’s efforts to save him would be in vain. Jeff knew that his father was a broken man, and no longer wanted to go on. Jeff touched his father’s hand.
Stewart, weak from the trauma, struggled to look at his son. He wanted to tell him that he loved him, and that he was sorry for the pain he’d caused, but all he could do was stare. Father and son held each other’s gaze and spoke without words, expressing the love they shared. Then Jeff leaned forward, kissed his father on the forehead, and walked out of the hospital room. He would call his sisters soon to tell them their father had moved on. They would bury him next to their mother, where husband and wife would finally be of one flesh.
The End
Book Club Discussion Questions
1. Do you think Jean’s decision to remain in the marriage all of those years had been the right decision? Was she truly strong?
2. Do you think Stewart truly understood what type of an effect his womanizing had on his family?
3. How did you feel about the relationship between Jean and her children? Who was more at fault for the strain with them—Stewart or Jean?
4. How did you feel about Jean not trying to extend her life by taking medication or seeking special treatment?
5. In your opinion, what was the main theme of the novel?
6. If put in Monica’s position, would you have taken Bryce back?
7. Do you think Stewart would have gotten closer to his children had he lived?
8. Has Jeff really changed his ways, or will Sherry’s betrayal cause him to revert?
9. How would you feel if your child wanted to marry someone of another race?
10. Would Jean have ever fixed her relationship with Karen, Monica and Jeff without the diagnosis of the leukemia?
Urban Books, LLC
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If It Isn’t Love Copyright © 2009 Dwayne S. Joseph
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior consent of the Publisher, except brief quotes used in reviews.
ISBN: 978-1-5998-3278-4
This is a work of fiction. Any references or similarities to actual events, real people, living, or dead, or to real locales are intended to give the novel a sense of reality. Any similarity in other names, characters, places, and incidents is entirely coincidental.
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If It Isn't Love Page 16