Delilah (21 page)

Delilah couldn't stop pacing the floor. After the incident at church with Samson, she could not think straight. Keisha was on the other end of the phone trying to calm her down. “I can't believe he grabbed you. Are you sure that's what happened?”

“I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true. I think I was more in shock than anything else.”

“Well, don't do anything without thinking things through,” Keisha said.

“I should march over to his house and tell Julia all about us.”

“Don't do that. It might make you feel better right now, but tomorrow you'll regret it.” Keisha attempted to be the voice of reason.

“I would feel better if I hadn't let myself fall in love. He's just like every other man I've met.”

“Don't fault the man. You're the one who put him on a pedestal.”

“But he's my pastor. He's supposed to do better than the men in the streets.”

“Delilah, you're not looking at your part in all of this. You purposely set out to seduce the man. He's a man, not God. All men have their Achilles' heel, and apparently you were his.”

Delilah agreed with Keisha on that fact. If she tried, she was sure she could seduce him again. Yes, that's it. She would get him to see that he still wanted her. All she had to do now was get him over to her place.

“Keisha, I've got to go. I need to make a phone call,” Delilah said.

“Remember, don't act right now. Let things simmer down.”

“Yeah, okay.” Delilah ended the call with Keisha and then dialed Samson's number. When he answered, she said, “You owe me for hurting me.”

Samson apologized for his actions earlier but didn't agree to come see her. Frustrated, Delilah used her ace in the hole. “Either you come see me or I'll meet you at your house.”

Samson used a few curse words, words Delilah didn't know he knew. “I'll take that as an ‘I will see you later.'”

“Yes, I'll be there in thirty minutes,” Samson responded.

Delilah took a quick shower and sprayed her favorite perfume over her body. She dressed in a long spring halter dress. “Perfect timing,” she said when she heard the doorbell ring. “Glad you could make it,” she answered the door.

Samson stormed in. “What is it, Delilah? These games need to stop now!”

Delilah didn't waste any time. She threw herself into his arms and started kissing him. As much as he tried to protest at first, Samson took the lead and passionately kissed Delilah back. An hour later, Samson was pushing Delilah off him and looking for his clothes.

Delilah watched with a huge grin on her face. “Now that we've made up, can we start back up my counseling sessions?”

Samson pulled on his pants and looked at her. “You just don't get it, do you?”

Delilah pulled the cover up over her chest. “As much as you act like you're the one in control, Samson, I'm the one who holds all the chips. See, I have nothing to lose. You, on the other hand, could lose it all.”

“I knew I shouldn't have come over here.” Samson scrambled and looked around for his keys.

“Payback is something else.”

“Vengeance is Mine, said the Lord,” Samson said.

“The Lord also said thou shall not commit adultery, but you don't seem to have a problem doing it over and over again, now do you?” Delilah couldn't help but sneer at him.

“You're an evil woman, Delilah. I'm glad I finally see you for what you are.” Samson was upset with himself for allowing his flesh to overrule his sound judgment. If he hadn't been messing with Delilah, he would not be in this predicament.

“Oh, baby, you should have thought of that before you put your hands on me.”

“I apologized for it earlier,” Samson said while standing in the doorway.

“I'm not your wife. She might believe you're all of that, but mister, the veil has been lifted from over my eyes.”

“Bye, Delilah. I think it's best you find yourself another church home.”

“Oh, I'm not going anywhere. I like Peaceful Rest.”

“But—” Samson stuttered.

“Every time you walk through the church doors, just know I'll be sitting right there. I'll be right there watching you and watching your wife. I dare you to try to have me removed because not only will your wife know about us, I'll let the entire congregation know about how their pastor likes to get his freak on.”

Samson stormed out of the house, and Delilah plotted her next move.

“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.

“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 preached 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.