God Only Knows
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When Julia stepped into her office waiting room, Maxwell was nearly reclined on the sofa opposite Rosie’s desk. Looking up as she breezed past, he set aside his copy of the day’s Dayton Daily News. “I was afraid you weren’t going to make it back,” he said.
“I wasn’t trying to stand you up, trust me,” Julia replied, moving past him but motioning with one hand as she stuck a key into her office door. “Come on in.
“Cassie and I held an impromptu little program to recognize some of the students we’re tutoring over at Northridge,” she explained as they took seats on opposite sides of Julia’s desk. “The group is really responding to us well, and the dynamic’s improved surprisingly now that Cassie’s son, M.J., is helping out. The racial barriers we grew up with, so much of that is melting away with today’s generation.”
“Yep, until they get to college and resegregate at least.” Maxwell held up a hand. “I know, I’m being the wet blanket. Let’s keep hope alive.”
“So . . .” Julia failed to maintain eye contact, found herself fiddling with her hands. “Are you sure you’re still capable of taking your spot on the board back? Hasn’t your life changed a bit since we last talked?”
“If you mean that I’ve won increased custody rights, yes.” Maxwell sat up in his seat, crossing his legs. “I decided that not only should I be more open about having Nia in my life, I need to stop this nonsense of only seeing her on Saturdays when I drive out to Tiffany’s for the afternoon. I’ll be keeping her at my place every weekend now.”
“How will you keep your hours at the clinic?”
“For now . . . we’re going to have to cut hours back.” Maxwell sucked his top lip for a second before continuing. “I’m not happy about it. Hopefully, we can eventually raise the funding to hire a third doctor, but in the meantime, I can’t keep trying to save the entire community without first raising my own child.”
“Who can argue with that?” Julia folded her hands calmly before her. It was uncanny; she’d been having the same internal dialogue for weeks now. Not only had she chosen to stick it out at Christian Light, she was still intent on saving it. That said, she had learned the past few months to keep that mission in perspective. In fact, her intention was to get the school through the next year and then recruit a successor whom she could trust. Once that was accomplished, she was ready to demote herself back into a classroom, if Christian Light would have her. With Amber nearing her preteens, Julia had a feeling it was a critical time to put her child first. God willing, there would be time to save this or other school systems later.
“I can handle this,” Maxwell assured Julia as they stood and shook hands. His handshake lingering, he flashed a controlled, respectful smile. “I’m looking forward to working with you again, Julia.” He let his eyes say the rest.
“The feeling is mutual, Doctor,” Julia replied before releasing his hand. “The feeling is definitely mutual.”
Reading Group Guide
The entire storyline of God Only Knows is fueled by the decisions that Cassie, Julia, and their friends made the day after their confrontation with Eddie Walker. Should the girls have just gone to the authorities that day and revealed what happened? Why or why not?
When Cassie was first confronted by Pete Whitlock, was that the moment in which she should have confessed everything? Was she under any obligation to consult with Julia, Toya, and Terry first?
Do you agree with Julia’s decision to first gather all the women together before deciding whether they had a coherent enough account for a confession? When it was clear that their stories differed, should they still have gone to the police with what they knew?
What do you think about Cassie and Marcus’s marriage and the fact that the newness of their reconciliation kept Cassie from immediately revealing to Marcus everything going on with Whitlock? If she had trusted him more, would he still have wound up confronting Whitlock physically?
Should Cassie have told M.J. about the threats Whitlock was making against him and the family in general?
Despite the somewhat embarrassing history between them, why do you think Julia invited Maxwell to sit on the Christian Light Board of Advisors, when she bypassed his friends like Jake and Lyle? Given that he had apparently bypassed her for white women decades ago, should Julia have even been interested in him?
If Maxwell generally felt that black women had not been interested in him over the years, wasn’t he just doing the natural thing by accepting the advances of women of other races? Why or why not?
Did Julia overreact to Maxwell’s early interest in doing joint activities with her and Amber? Was her skepticism about where things were headed with him healthy?
Once the situation had deteriorated to the point of both Whitlock and Dante being in the hospital, while M.J. was being charged, Cassie decided to sacrifice herself. Do you agree with her decision? What other courses of action would you have suggested?
Do you think Julia’s flirtation with moving back to Chicago was driven more by her split from Maxwell or by her anger at Cassie’s choice to confess without consulting her? Why?
Was there anything more that the women should have done to make restitution with Edna, Eddie’s mother, or was their visit to Eddie’s nursing home sufficient?
What’s your opinion on whether Julia and Maxwell should start dating again? Why?