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.