Quinton rushes to Nola's side after dumping Jessica. He finds Nolasitting at the table crying. He immediately embraces her, and we hearhim say, "Who hurt you?"

Quinton's words act on Nola like a splash of cool water in the face. She stops crying and pushes him roughly away.

"What the hell do you mean, who hurt me?" Nola asks confused.

Quinton stammers his words out. "Well,....Nola......when I saw youcrying, I didn't know what was going on, and I remembered before youtold me, that you had been... "seeing" other people. I just thoughtmaybe one of your dates got fresh with you and tried to...."

"Got fresh with me? Are you serious Quinton? I'm a .....maturewoman, believe me, I could handle myself if anyone tried to get "fresh"with me.

"But why were you crying then?" Quinton asks approaching Nola again, trying to look into her eyes.

Nola backs away. She knows she can't tell Quinton the truth aboutVanessa. That is a promise that she could never break again.

But Quinton is determined to find out what is going on. "I didn'tmean to imply that you couldn't take care of yourself where ....mattersof the heart are concerned, but I can't help remembering everythingthat Kelly Nelson put you through." Quinton's voice is absolutelyfilled with disgust as he says that name.

"Excuse me, did you say Kelly Nelson? I haven't heard or eventhought of him in years. My, we really are an expert on ancienthistory, aren't we Quint? Who do you want to discuss next, King Tut, orAnthony and Cleopatra?"

"I just meant that I know how you can get carried away with your romantic ideas, andunfortunately not everyone is as noble as the knights of your fantasies."

"I can remember a time when my reality was better than any of my fantasies,"Nola says with a far-away, dreamy look in her eyes.

Quinton seeing this is an opening, reaches for Nola, who pushes himaway again. He is visibly hurt, but he is still very worried aboutNola.

"Just tell me, why you were crying, please Nola?"Quinton pleads softly.

Nola knowing that she can't tell him the real reason was because of Vanessa's condition, quickly thinks up a story.

"You're right, Quinton. I did have a fight with my "boyfriend", shesays, almost choking on the word. He's trying to get so serious, sofast, and I had to tell him that I'm not ready for that yet, not afterall I've been through with.....Well, you know. Anyway, when I told himI wanted to take it slow, he just stormed out of here."

"I'm sorry Nola," Quinton says almost too genuinely. "If there's anything I could do to help..."

"Oh, you're a fine one to be handing out romantic advice. By the way, how are you and Ms. Lolita doing?"

"If you're referring to Jessica. She and I, well, we came to amutual, amicable, parting of the ways and..." Quinton realizes thatthere is no use lying to Nola. J will probably tell her the truthanyway. "No, that's not really how it happen at all. J found her tryingto steal my work, and she tried to seduce him to cover her tracks."

Nola is, for maybe the first time in her life, speechless. And thenan almost visible light goes off in her head. "Is that why you camehere? Because you finally found out what kind of girl Jessica is? Well,Quint, you know you really have never had a lot of luck when it came tochoosing...."companions" No question about it, you have picked somereal winners in your time. Remember Helena? And of course, Rebecca..."

"Now who's the expert on ancient history?"

Nola can't help smiling just a little.

"But, my taste and my luck changed when I found you," Quinton continues, and then tries once again to embrace Nola.

Nola quickly ducks out of his way. "Oh, now I see what this is allabout. Why you're here acting so concerned for me. Jessica's coachturned back into a pumpkin and now you want to come back to the old"ball and chain". Quinton, Tell me the truth. Is that why you've comehere? To beg me to forgive you and to ask me to take you back?'

"Of course n....," he stutters, and then is quiet for a moment."Yes, Nola that's exactly what I've come here to do. I want you to knowI've never been really happy with Jessica. Not like I was with you.I've never experienced with her,... or with anyone else for thatmatter, what you and I had together..." Quinton tries to touch her.

Nola puts out her hand to block him. "Okay, stop it right there. Idon't want to hear another word. Quinton, I have changed a lot since Icame back to Springfield. In fact, I've changed a lot in the lastcouple of days, and you know what I've finally realized?"

"What, Nola?"

"Life is to short to sit around worrying and fretting over the past.And life's too short to hold grudges. Quinton, I think it's finallytime, that we put this whole Jessica thing behind us and get on withour lives."

Quinton eyes brighten, and that old, familiar, smile spreads across his face.

"Yes," Nola continues, "We should put that all in the past. That's the only way we can rebuild our...friendship."

"Friendship?" Quinton asks looking and sounding like a slowing- deflating balloon"

"Yes, Quinton, Want did you think I was going to say? Did you honestly think we could ever again be more than just friends?"

"It's because of your boyfriend, right?"

"My boyfriend?" Nola asks, temporarily forgetting her own story. "Yeah, my boyfriend. You know he's just insanely jealous."

"I don't blame him. I hope he knows how lucky he is."

"Oh, he knows, believe me, he knows."

"But let me tell you one thing, Nola Chamberlain, if I ever hearanything about him hurting you, if I ever walk into this house to findyou crying like this again, I'll make that boyfriend of yours..."

"Walk the plank?"

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, never mind. You wouldn't understand."

"By the way, do I know the lucky guy?"

"The lucky guy?"

"Your boyfriend?"

"Oh yeah, him. No, you don't know him. Not many people do. He's ....new in town"

"Well, I would like to be able to meet him, one day."

"I would like to be able to meet him, too." Nola mumbles.

"What did you say?"

"I would like you to be able to meet him, too."

"Oh. Well, I guess I should be going. I don't want to wear out mywelcome around here." Quinton starts to give Nola a kiss goodbye, andshe automatically starts to pull back.

"Now, Nola what's a little kiss between ...friends?"

"I guess you're right," Nola says almost breathlessly as Quintonpulls her closer. He gives her a quick peck on the lips, and then walksout the boarding house door.

As Quinton is standing on the stoop, he says to himself, "Friends, huh? At least, it's a start."

Nola sitting back down at the table, rubs her hands across herforehead, as if she has a headache, and says out loud, "Nice going,Nola, You're still in love with Quinton, but you let him walk out thedoor. And for that finishing touch, you offer to introduce him to yourimaginary boyfriend. Maybe all those fantasies have finally turned yourbrain to mush. And to top it all off, you're sitting here, talking toyourself."

To be continued.

It's a quiet Sunday afternoon at the boarding house. Nola is outshopping, and Bridget is quietly watching Peter play with his trucks.She has a sad look in her eyes, as she goes over to him and picks himup. She kisses him gently and says, "Sunday afternoon, and it's just meand you kid. If it wasn't for Dinah, I bet your daddy would be hereright now. You would like that, wouldn't you? He'd play trucks withyou, and teach you how to throw a ball, and then he would take the bothof us out for ice-cream cones. Just like a real family."

The doorbell rings, and Bridget perks up, thinking it is Hart, ofcourse. But when she opens the door she finds instead, Quinton, holdinga giant, teddybear.

"If you're looking for Nola, she's not here. And besides, I thinkshe's a little bit passed the teddy bear stage," Bridget says after shegets over her initial disappointment.

"Oh, this isn't for Nola. This is for ...." Quinton hesitates. "Where is that cute little son of yours."

"You're here to see my son?" Bridget asks confused.

"Well, since I am your uncle, he is my great-nephew, and ...."

"Quinton, you were my uncle. Remember you and Nola are getting adivorce? And as far as my son is concerned, I bet you don't even knowhis name."

"Well, of course I do. It's....Paul, no Patrick, that's it, right?"

"It's Peter."

"I knew it started with a "P".

"What do you really want, Quinton? You know just because my last name is Reardon, it doesn't mean I'm stupid."

"Bridget, I would never think that. Some of the happiest moments ofmy life, were the ones I spent here at the boarding house with yourfamily. And I still consider you all just that - family. A divorcedecree is not going to change how I feel about the Reardon's.. how Ifeel about Nola."

"And how do you feel about Nola?" Bridget asks almost accusingly.

"Bridget, I will always be concerned about her and about all the Reardon's."

"Concerned?"

"Yes, and right now, I'm very concerned about Nola, in particular..I came over here the other day, and I found her sitting at the tablecrying."

"Well, you know Nola. She probably just got finished watching some old movie with a sad ending."

"No, she said it was because of her boyfriend."

"Her boyfriend? Excuse me, did you say Nola's boyfriend?"

"Yes, she told me that he was trying to pressure her into getting serious, and they had a fight and he stormed out."

"This is the first I've heard..." Bridget stops for a second, andher mind does a quick flashback to all the times Nola has interferedwith her schemes for getting Hart, and then with an almost wicked smileshe continues, "anything about the fight. You know she just doesn'tconfide in me like she used to."

"But she does confide in you a little bit, doesn't she?"

"Oh, now I see what this is all about. You want to pump me for info about Nola's new playmate."

"Bridget, You have to understand that I'm worried about her, I don'twant to see her get hurt...again. And I want to make sure she's withsomeone that is worthy of her. What do you know about this man?"

"Why should I tell you anything about him, Quinton? What's in it for Peter and me?"

"Whatever you want, Bridget Reardon."

She thinks for a moment and then says, "I think Peter and I would like to have an ice-cream cone."

To be continued.

Go to next chapter of "Sometimes You Get A Second Chance"