Samson was enjoying the bachelor party some of the men insisted on throwing him until Calvin said, “Michelle just called me. Delilah’s at the bridal party.”
“I better get over there,” Samson said, placing his can of soda on the table.
“Nonsense. Michelle’s going to play interference. If anything jumps off, she’ll call me.”
As much as Samson tried to forget about what was happening at Calvin and Michelle’s place, he couldn’t. Delilah hadn’t called him once since he’d left her place earlier that day, and that scared him. He slipped away from the men and walked out on the patio. He dialed a number.
“Delilah, I hadn’t heard from you, so I just wanted to make sure things were cool between us.” Samson knew it was a bad idea to call Delilah, but he didn’t hang up.
He could hear women laughing in the background. “You miss me already?”
“Are we cool?”
“Do you want to talk to her?”
“No. Are you crazy?”
“Not certifiable.” The noise level decreased on Delilah’s end. “I’m surprised to hear from you.”
“Just checking on you.”
“I’m fine, and your wife-to-be is fine too. After the games, we’ll be opening up gifts.”
“What are you doing there, Delilah?”
“Are you jealous? Would you rather I be at your party instead? You know I can leave here and come where you are. All I need is the location.”
“I would feel better if you left. You don’t even like Julia.”
“No, I don’t, but I love you. So if she’s going to be a part of your life, I’ll have to adjust.”
“Man, what are you doing out here? The fellows are looking for you,” Michael said, interrupting the words Samson was about to speak.
Samson didn’t hear him coming, but turned to face him as soon as he realized he wasn’t alone. Samson held up his hand. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were on the phone.” Michael turned away and went back into the house.
Samson turned his attention back to the phone conversation with Delilah. Slightly above a whisper, he said, “Leave before any drama starts, okay?”
“You should be getting back to your party, and I’m about to get back to mine.” Delilah hung up on him.
Samson re-entered the house and whispered in Calvin’s ear. “Man, we need to go crash the bridal party. Delilah refuses to leave. I don’t trust her around Julia.”
“Calm down. Forget Delilah for a minute and enjoy your night. Are you my partner or what? Because I’m ready to show them who the dominoes kings are.”
Samson decided to take his friend’s advice and relax and enjoy his party. “I’m counting every time I lay a bone down,” Samson said.
“That’s what I’m talking about. Let’s do this.” Calvin followed Samson to the den, where the other men were waiting.
Samson sat across from Calvin, and after a few hands played, Calvin slammed a domino on the table. “Thirty.”
When it was Samson’s turn, he counted, “Twenty-five.”
Michael and his partner barely counted. When it was Calvin’s turn again, he shouted, “Y’all really don’t want none of this.” He counted again. He and Samson stood up and high-fived each other.
Michael pretended he didn’t care that he and his partner were losing. “I just haven’t been getting any good hands.”
“Oh, you was talking noise when Samson wasn’t here,” Calvin said as he placed his dominoes on the table.
When Samson’s turn came around, he turned and looked at Michael. “Just because I feel sorry for you, I’ll let you get ten in.” Samson, with a wide smile across his face, placed his domino on the table.
Michael counted and a few minutes later Calvin yelled, “Domino.”
Samson did a little dance move in his chair. “Who’s the man?”
“Y’all want a chance to redeem yourselves?” Calvin beat on his chest.
“They can’t handle the dynamic duo,” Samson said.
Michael pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket. “Spades is my game. Anybody down?”
Samson looked at Calvin. “Might as well beat them at spades too.”
“Let’s do this,” Calvin said.
During the course of the game, several of the men brought up Delilah’s name. Samson’s guilt ate at him. He did his best to refrain from commenting.
Michael said, “Samson, no disrespect, but if I were a single man, I don’t think I could resist her.”
“I’m not single; I’m getting married Saturday.” Samson switched from friend mode to pastor mode. “And if you were single, I would have to counsel you against committing fornication.”
One of the deacons said, “I guess he told you.’”
The men laughed. The chatter among them went back and forth. Many would be surprised at the openness between Samson and some of the men in his congregation. Although he was their pastor now, he grew up with some of the men, so they were used to being open with him on their views. He didn’t always agree with them, and he had no problem letting them know it, either.
Samson ended up having a good time at his bachelor party. Delilah didn’t cross his mind again until he was getting ready to leave. Samson approached Calvin and said, “Man, I want to thank you for everything.”
“That’s why I’m the best man,” Calvin said.
“Seriously, I was about to run over to your house until you stopped me.”
“Michelle hasn’t called me, so I’m sure everything is fine.”
“Julia hasn’t called me either.”
“I’m headed home. Tomorrow’s another long day. We have the rehearsal dinner. I plan on sleeping late, so don’t call me before ten.”
“I’ll be tied up in court all day, so I’ll talk to you tomorrow at rehearsal.”
“Thank you, Lord, for allowing this night to end drama-free,” Samson said out loud, although in the back of his mind he knew at any moment Delilah could say to Julia or his mom something that would change his night. He tried not to think of anything negative as he drove straight home.