Samson stormed out of the house, and Delilah plotted her next move.
Chapter 58
“Father God, forgive me for I’ve sinned against you, my wife, and your people. My lust has set up a chain of events that have spiraled out of control. I need you to direct my steps, oh Lord. I confess I got too cocky. I thought I was untouchable. I thought my years of studying your Word would keep the enemy at bay.
“When the enemy attacked, I fell like an amateur, and I’m supposed to be mature in my walk with you, Lord. Show me where I went wrong so that I will not faint or falter the next time he attempts to attack me.”
Samson was in deep prayer and meditation in the den and didn’t know Julia was in the room until she touched him, alerting him to her presence. “Baby, I can tell something has been bothering you. If you want to talk, I’m here,” Julia assured him.
“I appreciate it, but this is something the Lord has to handle.”
“If you’re this distraught about selling the church land, then maybe you shouldn’t do it.”
Samson remained silent while Julia massaged his shoulders. Tension in his body disappeared. “You always seem to know what I need when I need it.”
“I’m in tune with my man.”
Later on that night, the two discussed the state of their relationship. “Julia, thank you for sticking by me through the down period.”
“I apologize if I made you feel pressured to consummate our marriage, but I wasn’t expecting us to have those types of problems so early in our marriage. It made me feel less than a woman,” Julia admitted.
“I didn’t know that.” If Samson hadn’t been so wrapped up in his own issues and lusting after Delilah, he would have known how their not being intimate affected his wife. He faulted himself for neglecting her in more ways than one. Samson cradled his wife in his arms as they slept.
Samson enjoyed the peace within his home and at church. As soon as Calvin assured him that the church land had been sold and he had William out of his hair, he would feel a whole lot better.
Calvin had been able to put off William and his attorneys until the board meeting. Less than two weeks after his pastor’s anniversary, the board met for an emergency meeting.
Samson gave them the same speech he’d given Calvin two weeks before. “As you can tell from the paper Elaine passed out, we’ll get three times more than what the land is worth.” Samson made sure he held eye contact with each board member.
“If they want it that bad, ask them for $4 million, and they have a deal,” Michael said.
Some of the other board members agreed. Calvin was writing down notes. “I’ll make the amendment.”
The chairman of the board called for a vote. Seventy-five percent of the board voted to sell the land. After the meeting, Calvin said, “I’ll review the papers from Trusts Enterprise one last time and then get the appropriate signatures. I’m sure as much as they wanted this land, they won’t have a problem paying the $4 million.”
“That’s more than enough to get the community center built,” Michael said.
“I agree,” Samson said. “Thank you all for supporting it.”
One of the elderly deacons said, “Samson, I wasn’t too sure about your pastoring us at your young age, but now I see you were the best man for the job. I’m glad I listened to the Holy Spirit and voted you in.”
Samson shook his hand. “I’m glad you did too, Papa Ray.”
“Do you want me to call William or will you do the honors?” Calvin asked Samson.
“Let me be the one.”
Once the room cleared, Samson called William. “The board approved it. Calvin will be bringing over the paperwork next week. You should be happy; you got what you wanted.”
“Samson, you did the right thing. One piece of advice before I go—if I were you, I wouldn’t worry about Delilah. Concentrate on your wife and let Delilah take care of herself.”
Their call ended. Samson wondered if Delilah told him about their last encounter. He had no intentions of sleeping with her again; he only wanted to apologize for manhandling her. Little did he know they would end up in bed together. The tension between them excited him so much it made him block out everything else. He didn’t come to his senses until after the fact.
He wanted her to find another church home. It was selfish, he knew. It would make his life so much easier. William would now be out of his hair; if only he could get Delilah to see that moving her membership would benefit them both, then he would be able to rest. Right now his soul was in turmoil wondering if or when Delilah would try to drop the bombshell about their indiscretions.
Samson didn’t like anyone having this much control over his life. Mission: Get Rid of Delilah was in full effect. He stomped one devil and now had to deal with another one—Delilah.
Chapter 59
“If Samson thinks he can get rid of me that easily, he has another thing coming,” Delilah said out loud as she rushed to park her car in the church lot.
She eased her way inside the sanctuary. The first Sunday morning service had already started. She had planned to get there earlier, but she hadn’t been sleeping well, so when she finally did go to sleep, she didn’t hear her alarm clock go off.
Most of the good seats were taken, so she was forced to sit at the back. Delilah knew her being there would be a surprise to Samson. Seeing the smug look on his face as he stood in the pulpit made her want to slap him.
Samson stood behind the podium and swayed from side to side as the minister of music sang the last words of the song “I Shall Wear a Crown.”
“God is good,” Samson said.
The congregation responded, “Amen.”
Samson opened his Bible and had the congregation turn to the sixteenth chapter of Judges. Delilah was more than familiar with the passage. She flipped her Bible to it.
After Samson read several scriptures, he said, “Today, I’m going to preach on, ‘Every Man Has a Weakness.’ Ushers, you can be seated.”
Delilah closed her Bible. She tuned out the chatter around her and gave Samson her undivided attention.
“Some of you are probably wondering why I chose to talk about Samson this morning. Well, children of God, I must be obedient. God told me that some of us are walking around here like we think we’re untouchable. Some of us have been in the Word”—Samson held up his Bible—“since Dino was a pup. But guess what? Just because you know the Word, just because you pray every day, just because you come to church every Sunday, it doesn’t mean the enemy is not going to attack you. You best believe that joker knows your every weakness.”
Delilah listened with interest. The congregation had no idea Samson was really preaching to himself.
“Samson didn’t learn from his mistakes,” Samson continued. “He kept falling into the same trap that some of us do. We think we can fight this battle by ourselves. But the Bible says what? Put on the whole armor of God each and every day. Don’t put it on and then put it back down before the day is over with. When you do that, that’s when the enemy can do a sneak attack. Say ‘sneak attack.’”
The congregation yelled, “Sneak attack.” Delilah remained quiet.
Samson went on to say, “And when the devil does a sneak attack on you, all you can do is fall on your knees”—Samson fell on his knees and looked up toward the high-vaulted ceiling—“and cry out to our Father in heaven.” He stood back up. “Don’t try to go through this life journey on your own. To fight the good fight, you must keep the armor of the Lord on at all times.”
By the end of his sermon, ten new people joined church. Samson, Julia, and the other ministers stood in the receiving line to shake people’s hands. Delilah got a thrill out of seeing Samson’s face when he noticed her standing in line. She shook Julia’s hand, although Julia hesitated.
“You look real lovely today First Lady Judges,” Delilah complimented.
“Thank you, Delilah,” Julia said with a half smile on her face.
“You preach
ed today, Pastor,” Delilah said to Samson, with an emphasis on the word “pastor.”
“Why thank you, Delilah.”
“For a moment, I thought you were talking about me. I was about to get up and run out of here,” Delilah laughed.
Samson laughed, but she could tell he wasn’t too thrilled. “Well, sister, I just deliver the Word the way God gives it to me,” Samson clarified.
Delilah heard Julia clear her throat. She responded, “I’m holding up the line. I’m so sorry, y’all.”
Delilah could really care less, but she wanted to be a dutiful church member. Her bladder was not going to let her make it to her house, so when she left the receiving line, she went straight to the bathroom.
After using the restroom, Delilah turned on the faucet and waited a few minutes for the cold water to turn warm. She hummed a song the choir sang earlier. The door to the bathroom flew open. “Thought you were gone,” Julia said as she stood in front of the sink next to Delilah.
“I had to go to the little ladies’ room.”
“Too bad you don’t know much about being a lady,” Julia said.
Delilah looked at Julia’s reflection in the mirror. She washed her hands and dried them off. “You know, I could say something, but I won’t. But then again, let me leave you with this little tidbit. How would your husband feel if he knew his holier-than-thou wife was a football lover and, oh yeah, a mother too.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Julia’s hands shook as she unzipped her purse.
“Well just because you had a baby doesn’t make you a mother, so I do stand corrected. Have a good day. Now meditate on that.” Delilah rushed out of the bathroom.
Chapter 60
Julia entered Samson’s office and looked like she had seen a ghost. “Baby, what’s wrong?” Samson asked her. “Everybody, I’ll talk to y’all later.”
The people gathered in the room left, and Samson got up and closed the door. He put his arm around Julia and led her to the chair. “Do you want some water?”
“No, I’m fine.” She looked up into Samson’s eyes. “Delilah needs to go.”
Samson hoped Delilah didn’t go open up her big mouth about them. “What happened?” He sat in the chair beside her and held on to her hand.
“I just don’t like her negative spirit. I think she’s hindering me from being a better first lady.”
“Well, dear, I can’t have anything upsetting you.”
“So are you going to talk to her?”
“Huh. What?”
“Talk to her. Convince her that it’s probably best for her to move her membership.”
Samson said, “I can talk to her, but it’s probably best one of the other ministers do it. I don’t want you getting the wrong idea because you know how you are when it comes to Delilah.”
“I’m confident in our marriage. I trust you wholeheartedly to not jeopardize it with the likes of her,” Julia assured him.
“Since you insist, I’ll have Elaine schedule a meeting with her for later on this week.”
Julia let out a deep breath. “Thank you, baby.”
Samson thought it was odd that Julia wanted him to confront Delilah all of a sudden. He wondered what had transpired. The only way he would know would be to ask Delilah because Julia didn’t seem too eager to divulge any information.
The next day, Samson had Elaine contact Delilah. Before the end of the day he planned to be rid of her for once and for all. He smiled at the thought of being Delilah free.
“A penny for your thoughts,” Julia said as she entered the office.
“Give me a dollar and I’ll think about telling you.” Samson stood up and greeted her with a kiss on the lips.
“I thought I would surprise you with lunch. I took half a day off.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist. “So you’re trying to prepare them for when you leave permanently.”
“Yes, but you know I have to make them think they still need me in the meantime. Don’t want them getting rid of me before I quit on them.”
“Nobody would ever fire you. You’re the best thing since Gates created Windows.”
“Oh, you got jokes.”
Samson released her and picked up a brochure off his desk. “I was going to surprise you at home later. I was thinking about using some of the money I got from my pastor’s anniversary and treating us to a trip to Hawaii.
Julia jumped up and down. “You know I’ve always wanted to go to Maui.” She took the brochure and hugged him. “When do we leave?”
“I haven’t made the reservations yet. I wanted to talk it over with you first.” Samson loved seeing her excited.
“Stop talking and start dialing.” Julia picked up the phone receiver and handed it to him.
Thirty minutes later, they were looking at a printout of their itinerary for their Hawaiian trip.
“Michelle’s going to be jealous,” Julia surmised. “We were just talking the other day about places we both wanted to go. I can’t wait to tell her.”
Julia kissed Samson on the cheek. Julia was so excited when she left Samson’s office. He overheard her tell Elaine about their upcoming trip. He smiled. Now if only the rest of his day could go like his morning. He spent the afternoon responding to e-mails and reading. Elaine buzzed him over the intercom. “Your two o’clock is here.”
“Send her in,” he responded.
“Keisha, thank you for stopping by. I understand you’re a busy woman, so I won’t keep you long,” Samson said.
“Pastor Judges, no problem.”
“Would you like something to drink? Soda? Bottled water?” Samson asked from behind his desk.
“No, I’m fine.” Keisha sat in the chair across from his desk.
“Keisha, I might as well get straight to the point. You know Delilah better than anyone, and as her friend I know you want the best for her. It’s in my humble opinion that she needs to find herself another church home. You seem to be a good Christian lady, so I was hoping you could convince her to move her membership. Maybe even to your church.”
When he finished, Keisha said: “No disrespect, Pastor Judges, but Delilah’s told me all about you. I actually agree with you because she’s not going to be able to spiritually grow under your leadership.”
Samson couldn’t believe his leadership abilities were being questioned. “So will you talk to Delilah or not?”
“Delilah’s a grown woman, and she’s going to do what she wants to do, so no. I’m not even going to waste my breath talking to her about it.”
“It’s in Delilah’s best interest that you do.” Samson tried to keep his voice at an even keel.
Keisha moved to the edge of her seat. “That’s not a threat is it?”
“No, of course not,” Samson stuttered. Samson’s plan to have Keisha assist him in getting rid of Delilah had backfired. He hoped he hadn’t made the situation worse.
Chapter 61
“Pastor, I tried to stop her,” Elaine said, on the heels of Delilah.
“Keisha, I’ve been trying to call you.”
Keisha twisted around in her seat. “You’ve found me,” Keisha responded.
“In my pastor’s study nevertheless. So tell me, what’s going on here?”
Samson said, “Elaine, I got this. You can go back to your desk.”
Elaine stood for a few more seconds before leaving. “And close the door behind you.”
“Your pastor and I were discussing you and how important you were to both of us,” Keisha said.
“Is that true, Samson?” Delilah asked. Delilah, at this point, was the only one standing.
“Something told me to drop by early; now I’m glad I did. Are you trying to push up on my friend?”
“Girl, please. Don’t nobody want him,” Keisha frowned.
“Ladies, can you hold it down?” Samson interrupted.
Keisha and Delilah both turned and looked at Samson. The look on their faces said it all. He remained quie
t.
“Samson, we’ll be right back,” Delilah said. Delilah and Keisha left the room, and as they passed Elaine’s desk, she said to Keisha, “Come on. That heifer there is nosy.”
Keisha followed Delilah to the bathroom. Delilah didn’t waste any time getting straight to the point. “Spit it out,” Delilah demanded once they were totally alone.
“He called me because he wanted me to ask you to change your church membership.”
“I’m going to tell you like I told him. I’m not going anywhere until I’m good and ready.”
Keisha attempted to calm her down. “Delilah, look at you.” Keisha used her hands to turn her toward the mirror. “Do you really like the woman you see looking back at you?”
Delilah couldn’t deny it. Instead of her drawing closer to God, it seemed as if she was in a maze of confusion. Her entire life seemed to be spiraling out of control. William had given her enough money to quit her job and get her mind right for a minute, but it didn’t bring any form of happiness. She was miserable, and her soul felt heavy.
Delilah started crying. “What am I supposed to do? Samson used me. He needs to pay for what he did to me.”
Keisha patted her on the back. “He didn’t use you. You knew the score going in. So many of my clients cry the same tune, but when you mess with a man that’s already in a relationship, you can’t be surprised if you get burned.”
“But—” Delilah protested. “But he didn’t have to sleep with me.”
“No, he didn’t, but you didn’t have to offer it to him either. Come on. Pull yourself together and let’s go.”
“You go ahead. I’ll call you later.”
“You sure? Because I can have one of the other stylists take care of my appointments.”
Delilah Page 20
