Delilah (24 page)

Samson flipped the stations on the television. He wasn't really paying attention; he just needed a distraction from the feelings of despair that had him in a depressed state of mind. Julia had lied to him. Having a child and putting her up for adoption was not something a wife should withhold from her husband.

He was glad when Julia stormed out. He couldn't stand to look at her as she spurted out words of hate about Delilah. Not once did Julia take ownership. Yes, she said she was sorry, but sorry for what? Sorry he found out about her secret child? Sorry he found out about her past? Sorry she pretended to be one way but was in fact another? Was she any better than Delilah?

Those thoughts and more spun around in Samson's head. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there staring at the TV screen. He heard the door slam. Julia walked in the room. She appeared to be more upset now than when she had left. “I just got back from Delilah's house, and I want to know one thing.”

Samson didn't like her attitude. He responded with an attitude of his own. “What?”

“Are you having an affair with that woman?”

Samson thought for a quick second. Since he wasn't technically having an affair with Delilah, he could answer her honestly. He responded, “No.”

“That's all I need to know. I'll be in the bedroom when you're ready to talk,” she said. She stood and waited a few seconds.

Samson didn't say a word. He watched her leave the room. He should have said something, but he was still angry at her. He knew he didn't have a right, especially after the secret he had been carrying around about Delilah. The house phone began to ring off the hook. If Julia weren't going to answer, neither was he. He didn't want to talk with anyone at this point. He needed some clarity to his situation, and he went to the only source that would give it to him.

Samson left the den and went into his study. He left the light off, and with the blinds closed it was dark in the room. Samson kneeled down near his desk.

“Lord, I come to you, meek and humble as I know how. I ask you, Father, to lead me and guide me so I will make the right choice as I deal with Julia's news. Father God, I ask that you watch over and protect the innocent child brought into this world. Lord, please forgive Delilah, for she has no idea that she's being used by the enemy to destroy your people.

“Lord, please don't forsake me. Without you, oh Lord, I don't know what I'll do. I know I have no right judging my wife for keeping secrets when I've been keeping one myself. Please soften my heart, so I can still see the woman you purposely sent across my path.”

Samson didn't know how long he was on his knees praying, but when he finished he felt like the world had been lifted off his shoulder. He headed to his bedroom to speak with Julia. He paused outside the door when he heard Julia discussing with someone on the phone the information he'd just found out. Samson felt like he was the last person to know that Julia's child existed.

Despite his long, sincere prayer, it was obvious Samson still needed to work out his feelings about Julia's secret child. He decided not to interrupt her phone call and headed back down the stairs.

Samson needed to speak with a voice of reason, so he called his father. After their usual pleasantries, Samson told his father about his discovery, leaving out the fact that Delilah sent the information.

“Son, you need to talk to your wife. This is something she probably hid from herself. You say it happened when she was sixteen, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“That was her past. You can't hold it against her.”

“But she lied to me. I never expected it from her.”

“She didn't lie to you. She omitted the information,” Kelly said.

“Mom, I didn't know you were on the line.”

“I just got off the phone with your wife. She told me everything. Son, you need to march to your bedroom and make things right. Right now.”

Regis interjected, “Kelly, maybe we should stay out of it.”

“No such thing. Samson's my only son, and I am not going to let him ruin his life over his ego.”

“Son, we'll talk to you later,” Regis interjected.

Samson heard his father take the phone from Kelly, and the call was dropped.

Was his ego stopping him from accepting the fact that Julia made a mistake? Like him, she too was not perfect. They were two imperfect people with secrets between them—but only one of their secrets had been exposed.

Delilah became obsessed with checking her e-mail. After Julia left, she called Samson, but he wouldn't answer. She logged on to her computer and sent him a few e-mails, but still no response.

She logged on to her Facebook account.
Ding
, the computer sounded, alerting her to which of her Facebook friends were online. “You can't avoid me now,” Delilah said out loud when she scanned the list and saw RevSamJudges highlighted. Delilah typed a message then clicked on the send button. She waited at least five minutes, but Samson never responded.

Delilah thought that maybe he was away from his computer. “There's one way to find out.”

Delilah left a message on his Facebook wall. She typed: “Hi. Just checking on you.”

Delilah was about to log off Facebook when she received an e-mail alerting her to a new message. She clicked on the link, and it took her straight to Samson's wall. RevSamJudges' message read, “Stop messaging me.”

Delilah felt like Samson was putting her on a public display. Since he wanted to go there with her, she would let it all hang out. She typed as she spoke out loud. “You didn't say stop last week when you were in my bed.”

A few seconds later, she got a response from Samson. “That was a mistake.”

Delilah couldn't be sure, but it dawned on her that Samson probably didn't realize their wall messages could be seen by other people. The things he said to publicly humiliate her infuriated her so much that she didn't hesitate to put their business on display.

“Since you and your wife were playing confessions, did you confess about us?”

“There is no us.” Samson ended his remarks with several exclamation points.

“Let's see. We've slept together how many times since you said I do?”

“It was just sex, so get over it. Go find another man to harass.”

“I'm way over it. You're not worth my time.”

“Good, so now maybe you'll move on and leave me and my wife alone.”

Delilah was fuming mad. She typed, “Consider yourself forgotten.”

She wasn't sure if he saw her last message because according to her online alert, Samson had signed off.

Delilah leaned back in her chair and smiled. If they weren't on bad terms, Delilah would have called Samson and advised him to delete the log of their conversation from his Facebook wall. Now, thanks to Samson's not paying attention to where he posted his messages to Delilah, the world would know about their affair. Samson had no one else to blame but himself.

Delilah's e-mail started filling up with messages from Peaceful Rest church members and some people she had never heard of telling her off. She responded to all of them by simply cutting and pasting the words, “Mind your own business.”

Let's see Samson talk his way out of this,
she thought

Delilah's phone rang. She saw Calvin and Michelle's number on the caller ID. “Hello.”

Michelle blurted out, “I knew you were no good. Stay away from Peaceful Rest. We don't want you there anymore.”

“Your husband hasn't told you? I won't be coming back anyway. I got kicked out.” Delilah hung the phone up. She would let Michelle wonder about her husband. Delilah's phone rang off the hook from various members. Most she had never spoken to before. She had no idea that news of her and Samson's affair would go viral on the Internet and cause such a ruckus. She couldn't believe that some people were blaming her—and her alone—for the affair.

Delilah laughed out loud because she could picture Julia dropping the bourgeois act and going straight hood on Samson. Yes, life in the Judges house would be filled with drama on this day.

A couple of hours later, Delilah was enjoying a Lifetime movie when she received a call from Keisha. “You know you ain't right, don't you?” Keisha said.

“What? I didn't do anything,” she said, faking innocence.

“Girl, everybody—and I do mean everybody—who's come in this shop has been talking about this preacher and this woman having an affair and it being exposed on Facebook. I had no idea it was you until one of my clients told me who the preacher was. I almost dropped the curling iron on her.”

“Don't blame me if she would have kicked your behind.”

“How did this get on Facebook?” Keisha asked.

Delilah gave her blow-by-blow details of what had transpired in the last twenty-four hours. “Samson put it out there. I was just responding to his messages. I didn't realize everybody would see them until I started getting all of these calls,” she lied.

“You a hot mess. I know we're not Catholic, but you better be saying some Hail Marys along with them prayers.”

“Oops, somebody's at the door. Got to go,” Delilah lied and ended the call.

Keisha was right. She had a lot to atone for. She could no longer blame her actions on William. She alone was the guilty party. Revenge filled her spirit and tarnished her soul.

Samson had been giving Julia the cold shoulder most of the day. He had planned on letting her know he understood why she didn't tell him about her daughter, but the exchange with Delilah had put him in a foul mood.

His phone had been ringing off the hook all day, but he allowed all of the calls to go to voice mail. Today he decided to take a mental break from everything. Samson picked up the television remote and watched ESPN. Eventually, he dozed off. Julia's screaming voice woke him out of his light sleep.

“How could you?” Julia shouted as tears streamed down her face.

It took him a moment to register where he was. “Baby, what?” he said as he woke up.

In a calm voice, Julia said: “I've been praying to God most of the day, asking Him to soften your heart to forgive me from keeping that secret from you.” The volume in her voice increased as the tears returned. “I feel like the biggest fool.”

“Julia, I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Delilah.” Julia stormed away.

Samson jumped off the couch and went after Julia. “I don't know what she told you, but she's lying.”

He followed Julia to the computer. “I didn't want to believe it when my soror called me, so I decided to check for myself. Here it is for the whole world to see.”

She rotated the computer screen, and Samson was at a loss for words. He thought the conversation with Delilah was private. He had no idea he'd hit the wrong button on Facebook. “Baby, I'm sorry.”

Julia used her arms and wiped his desk, and everything in her arms' path hit the floor. “You told me I was paranoid for thinking something was going on between you two. You chastised me for checking your phone.” She started beating him on his chest. He felt like he deserved it. He didn't stop her. She ranted. “Something in my gut told me you were sleeping with her, but I just didn't want to believe it. No, not my Samson. Not the man who promised to love and be faithful to me. Not the man who has been ignoring me all day.”

Samson stood and took the beating to his chest. Julia got tired of hitting him and collapsed in his arms. He held her. When she stopped crying, she pushed him away. “I would tell you to get out, but this is your house, so I'm leaving.”

“Julia, don't leave me. We can work through this.”

“Once a cheater, always a cheater. I'm not going to be like my aunt. She stayed with a habitual cheater, and by the time she decided to do something about it, guess what? She'd contracted HIV and eventually died. No, that's not going to be me.” Julia left Samson standing there and headed to the bedroom.

Samson followed her. Every time Julia would reach for a suitcase, he would move it. “Fine,” she said. She grabbed a few items and put them in a duffel bag. She grabbed her purse and duffel bag and headed for the stairs.

“Julia, you're still my wife, and you're not going anywhere,” Samson said.

Julia removed her wedding ring and threw it at him. “This belongs to you. I'll be back later to get the rest of my stuff.”

“Julia!” Samson called her name several times as she walked out of the house. He followed her outside. Some of the neighbors were outside. “Please don't go,” he begged.

Julia threw her stuff in the car and got in. She rolled down her window after starting the engine. “I suggest you move or your feet will be run over.” She laughed. “Then again, stay right there.”

She revved the engine. Samson jumped back as she put the car in reverse and pulled out quickly. She was inches away from running over his foot. That pain would have been better than the ache Samson felt in his soul.

He dragged himself back in the house. The phone was ringing. He rushed to answer it.

“I've been trying to reach you all day. Open the door.”

“Mama, now is not a good time.”

“Samson, we're pulling up right now, so open the door.” The tone in his mother's voice let him know that she was not to be played with.

Samson went to the door and let his parents in the house. They whisked past him without saying a word and went straight to his living room. He followed them. The look on his parents' faces let him know they had heard about the Facebook mishap. They were now seated across from one another in the living room. “Son, we're very disappointed in you,” Regis said.

Samson had never heard his father say those words to him. It cut him deep.

“You're a disgrace, and I'm ashamed to call you my son,” Kelly added.

“Dear, we agreed to be easy on him,” Regis said in Samson's defense.

“I warned him about Delilah. I knew she was trouble the first time I met her. But no, he didn't want to listen to me.” Kelly's face turned beat red. “Now you've disgraced your family and, worst of all, you've disgraced your church.”

Samson covered his face with his hands and cried. Neither his father nor mother tried to comfort him. Samson felt truly alone for the first time in all his years of living. “I'm so sorry.”

Samson didn't know how long he sat there in his own misery. His father touched him on the shoulder. “We're going to give you some time to yourself. Pull yourself together. Tomorrow you must come clean with the congregation and pray that they forgive you.”

“Mama,” Samson cried out.

Kelly stood behind her husband. Without uttering a word, she held up her hand and followed Regis out the door.

Samson stared at the closed door as if in a trance. With a heavy heart, he laid down on the couch. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see the pain etched on Julia's face. The phone rang bringing him out of his stupor. He hoped it was Julia but was disappointed when he heard Calvin's voice on the other end. Calvin informed him of Julia's whereabouts. “If you wouldn't have lied to me about Delilah, I could have done damage control. People want you to resign. I have to admit, I don't blame them.”

“I just got caught up.”

“You were the man. I wondered how you could resist temptation in an area many of us men fail in. Little did I know you weren't resisting; you were a willing participant.”

“Can you ask Julia to come to church tomorrow?”

“I'll see what I can do.”

“I owe you all a public apology.” Samson's voice drifted off.

“We're supposed to be boys. I asked you if you were sleeping with her, but you told me no. I would have helped you deal with Delilah.”

“I just couldn't. Marriage is sacred, and I didn't want you to know I didn't keep my marriage vows.”

“Well, I'm the last one you need to worry about. You have a woman in there whose heart is broken in two because of what you've done.”

“If it takes me a lifetime to make it up to her—I will.”

“Good luck,” Calvin responded before ending the call.

It hurt Samson to know that Calvin was disappointed in him. He'd let everyone down. Samson prayed he didn't feel the full wrath of God.