Delilah (22 page)

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.

“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 quiet.

“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.”

“Keisha, thanks for being a good friend, but I'm okay.”

Keisha left Delilah alone in the bathroom. With all of the excitement, Delilah had left her purse in Samson's office near his desk. She wiped her face. She was calm when she returned to his office. Samson's back was toward her. He was looking out the window. “Where's your gatekeeper?” Delilah asked.

“Elaine's somewhere around here.”

“Oh. Keisha told me what you two were talking about. You hate me that much that you want me to leave?”

Samson turned around. “Delilah, I don't hate you. You're not one of my favorite persons right now, but I don't hate you.”

“I really do like Peaceful Rest. This has become my second home. I don't know how I'll fit in somewhere else.”

“Be honest. The only reason you're here is because of me. I'm just a man, Delilah. A man who unfortunately got caught up in the flesh, and I do not want to hinder your walk any more. I'm already having to pay for what I've done. Move not just for my sake, but for yours.”

Samson's phone rang. He answered it. He scrambled to get the phone off speaker but couldn't. Julia's voice echoed through the room. “Did you convince her to leave?”

Samson finally got the speaker off.

Upset, Delilah blurted out, “Tell her that would be a negative.”

Delilah patted her feet as she waited for him to end his call with Julia. “I get it. You want me to leave because the wifey wants it. Well, you and she both can look at my face every Wednesday night and Sunday morning until I get good and ready to leave.”

“Let's pray,” Samson said, reaching for her hand.

He caught her off guard. Delilah responded, “I'll pray when I get home because right now I don't think your prayers will get through.”

Samson felt like he would have been able to convince Delilah to move her membership if only Julia hadn't called and interrupted them.

“What can we do to get rid of her? She's like a thorn in my side,” Julia said that night over dinner.

“She's not bad,” Samson said, avoiding eye contact with Julia.

“Humph. You just don't know.” Julia threw her fork down on her plate.

Samson felt something else was going on, and Julia just wasn't telling him. “Enlighten me.”

“Everybody knows she doesn't like me. She practically kisses the bottom of your feet. The list goes on and on.”

“Sweetheart, we've talked about this before. You can't let the spirit of jealousy cloud your judgment.”

“Samson, I know you're a preacher, but you and I both know jealousy has nothing to do with why I don't like Delilah. That woman wants my husband. I'm supposed to sit back and pretend like I don't know it? Enough is enough.”

Julia finished eating her food and left Samson at the table alone to ponder his thoughts. He no longer had an appetite, so he ended up throwing the remainder of the food in the garbage disposal.

The following morning, Samson decided to stop by his parents' house before going to the church. His mom greeted him with a kiss. “The prodigal son has come home, Regis,” Kelly said.

“Stop teasing the boy before he turns around and leaves,” Regis replied.

Samson missed his mom's home cooking. She prepared a breakfast for him and filled his plate with his favorites. His spirit was more at ease as he relaxed with them around the dining room table.

“If I'd known you were coming, I would have told the fellows I wouldn't be able to make the golf course today,” Regis stated.

“Dad, don't let me stop you. We'll talk later,” Samson replied.

“You sure everything is okay? You've been heavily on my mind, but the Spirit told me to wait and let you come to me.”

“Dad, I'm fine.”

“Kelly, don't interrogate him too much when I leave,” Regis said before leaving the room.

“That man knows me too well,” Kelly laughed.

Samson would have laughed along with her, but he knew as soon as his dad was out of earshot he would be badgered with questions. “Mom, don't even start.”

Kelly ignored his request. “Your wife wants Delilah gone, and you should respect her wishes.”

“Since you're all up in my business, did Julia tell you that she refuses to leave? I've asked her to move her membership. What else do you want me to do?”

“Something else is going on and, son, you need to tell me what it is right now,” Kelly insisted.

“There's nothing going on.” Samson did his best to say it with a straight face. He was lying, and his mother knew it, although she didn't let on any. An hour later, Samson left and went for a long ride.

“Look who finally decided to stroll in,” Elaine said when Samson showed up at church after noon.

“Hello to you too, Elaine. Did I get any calls?”

“You sure did. Your wife called and so did you-know-who.”

“Well, whatever you do, please don't put any of Delilah's calls through.”

“I would say I told you so, but that wouldn't be the Christian thing to say, so I'll just keep my mouth shut.”

Samson went into his office and called Julia. He spoke with her for a few minutes. Next, he logged on to his computer. He responded to e-mails from people in various parts of the world. He had made friends with other ministers while taking missionary journeys, and some people were contacting him because they watched his sermons on the Internet. Samson felt blessed to be able to share God's Word with so many people.

His inbox was filled with Facebook messages. He tried to respond to them all by clicking on the links. Delilah had sent him several. He clicked on those as well. In the first few e-mails, she was apologetic, but her messages started getting harsher and harsher. Instead of deleting the messages, he decided to save them just in case he needed them for evidence later. He dialed Calvin's number. “Man, I hate to bother you, but I have a little situation.”

“What do you need, Pastor?” Calvin asked.

“This must stay confidential,” Samson said.

“It won't go any further than the phone,” Calvin assured him.

Samson paused and took a deep breath before saying, “It's Delilah. She's harassing me.”

Calvin waited for Samson to give him details. “What do you need me to do?”

Samson responded, “I want to get a restraining order, one where she can't come anywhere near me or the church.”

“Are you sure you want me to do it because I can have it done today?”

Samson should have felt guilty about embellishing Delilah's actions, but he didn't. “The sooner, the better,” Samson responded.