“And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her,
"Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies,
and by what means we may overpower him,
that we may bind him to humble him.”
Judges 16:5
He knew when she discovered who he was.
He awoke one night and saw her, a silhouette of black against dark blue light, sitting cross-legged and slouched on the small round table by the window in their bedroom. She had it propped open and she breathed smoke silently through the screen cover between long slow swallows of alcohol. She was wearing her knee length bathrobe and her hand, with both cigarette and bottle, rested on her right knee. Long before he watched her casually slide her free hand across her cheek and wipe it on her robe, he knew.
So he forgave her when she turned on him.
He forgave her forceful attitude and conniving questions. He forgave her standing up for her country instead of him. He forgave her feelings of betrayal and anger, because he was angry too. Angry that he let himself go where he was certain he had never wanted to go again. But people never mean to stumble back into old habits and mostly they can’t help it, because it’s the human thing to do.
And when he had played the game long enough, he told her. He told her the secret to his strength, this time for real, no more false leads and lies. He made it easy for her. He walked right into her trap and her plan, because he was too tired to pretend anymore:
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