Delilah (25 page)

The aroma of revenge in the air didn't have a sweet smell. Delilah's phone wouldn't stop ringing, and she got tired of telling people off. She decided to let the rest of the incoming calls go to voice mail. Soon people wouldn't be able to leave messages because her inbox would be full.

As much as Delilah tried to relax, her mind wouldn't allow her to. Feeling remorseful, she did something she should have done prior to exposing Samson on Facebook—she fell down on her knees and prayed.

“My love for Samson overruled my senses, and I wanted him by any means necessary. I've destroyed a marriage because of my selfishness. I thought Samson would come running to me when both his and his wife's sins were exposed. It just recently dawned on me that nothing good will come out of spitefulness. Lord, help me to come to terms with the things that I have done.

“Lord, I need you to purge the old me and renew my soul. I tried it my way, and I ended up back in a dark place. This time, Father, I'm willing to do it your way. I promise to change my ways so that people can see Christ in me. I'm praying for your grace and mercy for the times that I've purposely set out to hurt your children. I pray that they will soon find it in their hearts to forgive me.”

Tears were streaming down Delilah's face as she prayed a sincere prayer. The burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She stood up straight, and for the first time all day she had an appetite.

Keisha called her while she was fixing herself something to eat. “You sound much better,” Keisha said.

“I feel better. I know I was wrong for my part in everything that went down.”

“You live, you learn and try not to repeat the same mistakes.”

“It'll be a while before I think about trying to get with another man.” Delilah still had feelings for Samson, although she had come to terms with the fact that they would never be together.

“This new guy I'm with might have a friend for you.”

“Oh, no. I remember the last guy you tried to fix me up with. He was a borderline stalker.”

“Samson could say the same thing about you,” Keisha said.

“You got jokes now. Comic relief you're not.”

Delilah listened to Keisha talk about her new guy. Keisha sounded really happy, and Delilah felt glad for her. At least one of them had something positive going on.

A loud thud could be heard outside Delilah's front door. She looked out the peephole and saw Dorothy and Kelly standing on her front porch. “Keisha, let me call you back. I got visitors at my door.”

“Maybe you shouldn't answer it with all that's been going on.”

“I can handle two old busybodies. Trust me. I got this.”

“Don't do nothing crazy.”

“It depends on them,” she said as she clicked off her phone and answered the door. “Well, hello ladies. Come on in.”

They sped past her, and Kelly spoke first. “We came over to tell you that you are no longer welcome at Peaceful Rest.”

Dorothy said, “It's best that you find another church home.”

“Ladies, who made y'all the official dismissal party?” Delilah asked.

“I've tolerated you long enough. This last stunt you pulled with my son was it.” Kelly started shaking.

“Calm down,” Dorothy said, trying to comfort her friend.

“Don't go and have a heart attack in my house. If there's nothing else you ladies have to say, you can leave.” Delilah held the front door open.

Dorothy wrapped her arm around Kelly's shoulder. “Come on. You've let her upset you enough.”

“My baby's life is destroyed because of you,” Kelly yelled as Dorothy led her out of the house.

Delilah tried to figure out the purpose of Kelly's visit. She came to the conclusion that Samson's entire family was crazy—all but his father, who seemed to be the only sane one in the bunch.

 

Earlier, Samson's phone rang off the hook. Now that he wanted to talk to people, he couldn't get anybody to pick up their phones. Calvin alerted him to an emergency board meeting to get rid of him. He wanted to be present, but Calvin thought under the circumstances, it would be best that he laid low.

“Lord, how can they make a decision about me if I'm not there to defend myself?” Samson said out loud after ending his call with Calvin.

Julia still refused to take his calls. He attempted to call his parents.

“Hello,” Regis said on the other end of the phone.

“Finally,” Samson said, relieved he got somebody. “Where's Mom?”

“She's out.”

“Oh.” Silence filled the phone lines.

“Anything else?” Regis snapped.

“I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry,” Samson's voice trailed off.

“I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to. I suggest you go into your prayer closet and have a one-on-one talk with the Lord. He's the one you'll have to answer to come judgment day.”

“I've asked God for forgiveness. Now I'm asking you.”

“Son, I've addressed my concerns with you. I've prayed about it, and in due time this situation will be a distant memory. Let me deal with it, and we'll talk later, okay?”

Samson let out a sigh of relief. Maybe his father hadn't lost all respect for him after all. “Do you think you can talk to the board members? Calvin said there's an emergency meeting. If you leave now, you can catch it.”

“Son, I refuse to do that. You must atone for the sins you committed.”

Disappointed, Samson lashed out. “When did you become the judge and juror? Don't you think I deserve a second chance? We all make mistakes.”

“Your mistake cost us our church land, son.”

“How did you know?” Samson slid down in his chair.

“You're not the only one with a beeline to the Father. You forgot that He and I have a personal relationship. When your indiscretion got exposed, it was revealed to me. Son, you must repent for your sins.”

“I have. I promise I have.”

“There's a spirit of arrogance still within you. Humble yourself before the Lord before it's too late.”

Samson got off the phone with his father. He thought about what Regis had advised. Samson had done everything his father said. He didn't know what more to do. He heard a still voice say, “Truly repent.”

It was so crisp and clear, he looked behind him to see if anyone else was standing there. Samson got down on his knees and closed his eyes. He said a prayer. With each word uttered, he felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. For the first time in a long time, Samson's spirit truly felt at peace.

After praying, he attempted to call Julia again. Michelle answered her cell phone. “She doesn't want to talk to you,” Michelle said.

“Tell her I love her, and I really would like for her to be at church tomorrow because there's something I need to say to her, to you, and everybody.”

“I'll tell her, but don't expect anything,” Michelle snapped.

Samson hung up the phone and dialed Calvin's number. He didn't answer. He left a message. “Man, don't keep me in suspense. Call me.”

Samson looked up toward the ceiling. “Lord, it's in your hands now. Whatever your will, I'll just have to accept it.”

Samson had just dozed off when his phone rang. “Mama, I'm so glad you called.”

“I just got off the phone with Julia. She might come to church tomorrow. I just called to tell you that,” Kelly said in a sharp voice.

“Thank you, Mama. I owe you one.”

“Just get your act together. That's what you do.”

Their conversation ended. Although his mom acted like she was still mad at him, at least she'd called. That's all that mattered to Samson. His sincere prayers were already working. Now, if he could get his wife back. He prayed that she would find it in her heart to forgive him so they could move past this and build a life together as they had planned.

Samson had allowed his ego to get in the way of his sound judgment when he got involved with Delilah. As much as he wanted to blame it all on her, Samson knew the truth. He knew he was the one at fault. Now, once again, he needed to be in control. His life was depending on it—his life with Julia. Like his dad had said, he was in control of his own actions.

Delilah was dying to know what was going on in the Judges household. She spent another restless night but got up in time to make a trip to the first service at Peaceful Rest Missionary Baptist Church. She pulled her hair back in a ponytail and dressed low-key so as not to draw attention to herself.

She slipped onto the back pew of the church after the choir made its entrance. Some people recognized her and stared. She tried to block them out. A few people started whispering. One of the older male ushers tapped guilty parties on the shoulder and used his finger to indicate he wanted people to be quiet. When everyone stood up for the inspirational song, Delilah looked for Julia in her normal spot on the front row. She wasn't there.

 

Samson sat behind the desk in his office for what could well be the last time. Calvin had delivered the bad news fifteen minutes ago. The board was asking for his resignation. He typed up something quickly and printed it out. He was reading over it when Julia entered.

She removed the shades revealing her puffy eyes. All Samson could say was, “I'm sorry, Julia.”

“That you are. You better be glad I love your mama. She's the only reason I'm here.”

“Thank you.”

“Don't read more into it than there is. I'm only here to let folks know that I am still standing. I'm not letting you or your tramp make me crawl into a hole.”

“Delilah and I aren't a couple. Never were. It was something that just happened and hopefully one day we'll be able to get past this.”

Samson got up and reached for her. Julia pushed him away. “Don't. Don't ever touch me again.”

“Julia—please.”

“You're pushing it.”

Kelly entered. “Julia, can I talk to my son alone? We'll meet you near the entranceway.”

Julia left the office abruptly. Kelly closed the door behind her. “Son, yes I'm disappointed in you, but you're still my son, and I love you. You see that woman who just left out of here?” Samson remained quiet. Kelly continued. “She loves you too. I'm a mother, so I'm mad right now and eventually I'll get over it, but Julia…. Baby boy, you messed up, and I don't blame her if she doesn't ever want to have anything to do with you again.”

“But Mama—” Samson said.

Kelly held up her hand. “I don't want to hear any more of your lies. I'm going to leave you for a few minutes so you can get your thoughts together because you've got a whole lot of explaining to do.”

Samson felt like a little boy after his mother chastised him. He walked to the window and looked out at the full parking lot. He said a silent prayer then reached for his robe out of habit. His hand dropped, and he left his office. Calvin was standing outside his office door.

“I think you'll want this,” Samson said. He handed Calvin his resignation letter.

Samson watched Julia from a distance as he approached her. He was grateful Julia showed up. He whispered to her, “Thank you again for coming.”

Julia remained quiet. The usher led them through the door. Samson's heart skipped a beat. This would be a day he'd never forget.

 

The choir stopped singing, and the music stopped. To Delilah's surprise, Samson and Julia walked in the sanctuary together. A hush fell over the room. Samson was not wearing his customary black robe. Delilah wished she had been sitting closer, but from the distance Julia didn't look too happy. She could have sworn Julia jerked her arm when Samson tried to assist her to her seat.

Instead of going to the pulpit, Samson stood on the floor and grabbed the microphone from one of the podiums at the front of the church. The only sounds that could be heard were of a few babies crying. This was the day the parents should have taken their kids to children's church.

Delilah, along with everybody else, was mesmerized as Samson opened up his mouth to speak. “As I look around this room, I see many faces that just a few short weeks ago were singing my praises. Regrettably, I stand before you because of decisions I made that have caused my church family shame and my lovely bride pain.”

Samson looked in Julia's direction. He continued. “I stand before you today to ask for your forgiveness. I know it's a lot to ask for. I'm not making any excuses for my actions. I am fully accountable for my participation in the affair. I ask that during this time, you respect my wife and allow her the space she needs to deal with this issue.”

Delilah wouldn't dare look around. She could feel eyes on her. She listened as Samson continued his speech. “In light of everything that has happened, members of the board of directors have asked me to step down as pastor of Peaceful Rest Missionary Baptist Church. Although I disagree with this decision, I do respect it and have turned in my written resignation. I've been told that Associate Minister Michael Monroe will step in and be your interim pastor until you've either decided to reinstate me or elected another pastor.”

Someone shouted out, “Pastor Judges, why did you do it?”

Delilah's eyes were glued to the front as she waited for his response with everybody else.

Julia said, “Yes, why Samson?”

Samson looked at the hurt and despair on the face of his wife. He felt trapped as he glanced at the curious congregation. He responded, “My wife, like some of you, wants to know why. Well, I fell in Satan's trap. He used the other party to set a trap for me. I tried to resist, but she kept coming after me. The more I resisted, the more persistent she got.”

Samson could see some people possibly swaying to his side. He continued. “Just like Satan used scripture to tempt Jesus, the other party used her body to tempt me. So I ask you to pray for me as I deal with the repercussions of allowing myself to be overcome with bad judgment. If she hadn't made me sleep with her, I wouldn't be standing before you today begging for your forgiveness.”

“He's a liar and the truth isn't in him,” Delilah yelled.

Samson looked up and saw Delilah walking down the aisle. She stopped near the middle. “Somebody get her!” Samson said frantically.

Nobody moved.

Delilah walked up to one of the other podiums at the front of the church and took the microphone. “Now that all eyes are on me, I have a few things I want to say.”

Mumbling could be heard throughout the sanctuary. Samson wanted to do something, but what could he do? None of the ushers, ministers, or members moved. Samson felt trapped.

Delilah's laugh ricocheted through the room. “The good Reverend Samson Judges has it all twisted. Y'all need to know that I didn't make him fall into my bed. He was more than a willing participant. In fact, he's the one who initiated it. Isn't that right, Samson?”

Everybody was now looking in his direction. Samson said, “Delilah, you need to stop this nonsense.”

Delilah held her microphone and started walking in his direction as she talked. “You called yourself confessing, so if you're going to tell the story, tell the whole story. Yes, I loved you. And the operative word is loved, but I woke up.”

“Are y'all going to let her talk to me like that?” Samson asked his congregation.

Julia yelled, “Let her talk. I want to hear what else she has to say.”

Samson leaned on the podium to hold himself up as Delilah continued.

“For those of you calling and threatening me because I had an affair with the pastor, your energy has been misdirected. I didn't seduce him; he seduced me. I'm just as much a victim in all of this as his wife.” Delilah dropped the microphone and took a seat in the nearest pew.

With his head dropped down, Samson moved away from the podium. The congregation began to mumble amongst themselves, and judging by the looks on the members' faces, Samson felt like his life was over. Delilah had just ruined any chances he had of making restitution. Samson's main concern at this point was his wife, but before he could reach her side, he watched Julia rush out of the sanctuary. Samson moved at record speed behind her, but Calvin blocked the door and soon Julia was out of his eyesight.

“I need to talk to my wife. She can't leave me like this,” Samson said.

Calvin, without moving from the doorway, said: “Man, you need to chill out. Give her a little time. Right now, everything is too fresh.”

“I'm losing everything, and I can't lose Julia too.” Samson was distraught. Calvin must have felt sorry for him because he gave him a brotherly hug and then led him out of the sanctuary.

There would be no preaching at Peaceful Rest Missionary Baptist Church on this Sunday. People's minds weren't on worshiping the Lord; they were more concerned about what was going on in the Judges household.