Episode 5 answers the universal question, "Wherefore art thou Lance?"

"Hello, is there anyone here?" Nola calls out as she walks into the lighthouse.

"Nola?" Zachary, who was busy cutting wood, asks startled. "Sorry, I didn't hear you come in."

"I hope you don't mind my stopping by, but I remembered you said I was welcome anytime, and I think it's anytime now."

"Excuse me, Nola?"

"Zachary, I really need to talk to you. Actually, what I really need is a favor."

"A favor? Is this about Vanessa?"

"Sort of."

"Why don't you sit down on the ....floor....,I'm afraid I don't have a couch yet, and we can talk."

"You know I saw this great couch the other day that would look perfect in here."

"Nola, the favor?"

"Oh, yeah," Nola says sitting down. "Zachary, Vanessa came by the boarding house the other day, and she was furious at me for telling you about her 'condition'. We had a big fight, and when she left, I got to thinking about how I seem to have a talent for always doing and saying the wrong thing, and about everything that's happening with Vanessa, too. And I couldn't help it. I started crying."

"That would only be natural."

"Yeah, but right then, Quinton, he's my ex-husband, well, he's not really my 'ex-husband', not yet. The divorce papers haven't gone through. Anyway, Quinton walks in and he wants to know why I'm crying. Of course, I couldn't tell him it was because of all this stuff with Vanessa. She'd kill me if I told anyone else."

"That she would."

"Well, you can see the predicament I was in."

"What did you tell Quinton?"

"I didn't tell him anything, I just went along with what he thought was happening."

Zachary looks confused.

"Quinton thought I was having trouble with my boyfriend, and I sort of let him go on believing it."

"So what's the problem? Quinton didn't find out about Vanessa."

"No, but the other day Quinton came over to the boarding house to see Peter. That's my great-nephew. You know, I never knew that Quinton even knew that kid's name. Anyway, he gave Peter this great big teddy bear, and then he took Peter and Bridget, that's my niece, to Rosellie's. Rosellie's is this old-fashioned ice-cream shop and the owner has this huge, handlebar mustache. Stacey, that's my daughter, she used to be so intrigued by that guy's mustache. When she was a little girl, I mean. Not now that's she's grown."

"Nola, what's this got to do with the favor you need?"

"Hold on a second. I'm getting there. When Bridget was at Rosellie's with Quinton, she told him that my boyfriend was named Lance and that he was very young."

"Who's Lance?"

"That's just the point. There is no Lance. I don't have a boyfriend, no significant other. Not even a pen pal."

"Then why did Bridget tell Quinton that?"

"Who knows why Bridget does anything she does. Maybe she was trying to get back at me for interfering with her and Hart. Hart is Peter's father. He's in love with Dinah Marler. Not Peter, Hart that is."

"Nola, we were getting to the favor you need."

"That's what I was just about to tell you. You Generation X'ers are so impatient. Now as I was saying, Quinton for who knows what reason, invited me and Lance and Bridget to have dinner with him at the country club. And now Quinton's probably going to show up with some twenty-two-year-old grad student on his arm, and I'm going to be there with no one. And I'll have to tell Quint that there was never any Lance. You know I can't tell him the whole thing started because I was crying about Vanessa. So he's going to think I am . . . pathological.
This is so terrible. It's just like that movie . . . Oh, I'm so upset, I can't even think of a movie that it's like. So will you please help me, Zachary? You're my only hope."

"Only hope for what?"

"Isn't it obvious? Zachary, I need you to be my boyfriend."

"Excuse me."

"Not for real, of course, Only for this one night. After that, I can tell Quinton we broke up. But I need you to be there Friday night. I just can not walk into that country club empty-handed. So what do you say, Zachary?"

"I can't. Nola. I'm sorry but I can't."

"Why not? It's only for one night. And you said you're not married, And you don't have a girlfriend who would get jealous.

"No, it's not anything like that."

"Oh, I see."

"You see what?"

"You don't want to be seen out with an old crow like me."

"A what? An old crow? Nola, I can't believe you would say that about yourself. You're an attractive, youthful woman. Any man would be proud to be seen out with you."

"So you'll do it?"

"No, Nola. I would like to but I can't."

"Well, why on earth not?"

"I...I have too much to do with the remodeling around here."

"Come on. You can stop working for a few hours one night. You have to take time to eat, don't you?"

"Nola, I . . . "

"Please, Please," Nola pleads with the most pathetic look in her eyes.

"Okay, Okay I'll do it. I'll be 'Lance' for one night. But one night only."

"Oh, Thank you! Thank you!" Nola exclaims as she jumps up and puts a great big wet one on Zachary's cheek. "Oops. Got a little lipstick there. "Sorry about that," she says trying to wipe it off with her fingers. I guess I should be going so you can get back to work."

Nola starts to walk out, but stops and turns around. "Zachary."

"Yes?"

"You're an angel, an absolute angel."

After she walks out, Zachary says to himself, "You could say that."

Zachary is startled once again as he turns around to see the old, mysterious man sitting on his floor. "You have to stop popping in like that."

"Why? Did I almost interrupt something?"

"No. There was nothing to interrupt."

"Are you sure about that, Zachary? Or have you lost your eternal mind? Why in the world would you agree to take Nola Chamberlain out on a date?"

"It's not a date. It's only dinner."

"Zachary, have you forgotten about your mission?"

"No, I haven't forgotten about that. And Nola is Vanessa's sister-law, and she's also my . . . friend. And that's all that I'm doing - helping out a friend. Isn't that what I'm here to do? Help people out."

"So this is all about helping people, helping "friends" out. That's why you're going out courting. Zachary, you are beginning to forget your 'proper' place."

"I'm not 'courting' Nola, and I know my place. I just couldn't say no to her . . . couldn't say no to those big, brown, cocker-spaniel eyes."

"Yes, those eyes. Zachary, are you absolutely sure that your dinner with Nola is about nothing more than helping out a friend, and that it has nothing to do with the fact that Nola Chamberlain is an almost dead-ringer for Catherine Byers?" To be continued

Episode 6 gives us our first glance into the doomed romance of Zachary and Catherine.

6 - "Memories of Catherine Part 1"

"Catherine Byers?" You make that name sound almost like an accusation. "Are you accusing me of something?" Zachary asks the old, mysterious man, almost angrily.

"If it is anything I accuse you of, it is a 'confusion of feelings'."

"Believe me, my feelings for Nola, I mean my feelings of friendship for Nola have nothing to do with the fact that she looks a little bit like Catherine."

"A little bit, Zachary. They could be sisters. Maybe even twins."

"I don't know what you're getting at, but I really don't want to discuss any of this with you right now . . . Not Nola, and certainly not Catherine."

"But you must deal with this, Zachary. You must come to some form of acceptance about what happen between you and Catherine, or you will not be able to go on to the next step."

"I will deal with it in time, just not now, and if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." Zachary walks over to pick up a hammer, and when he turns around the old man is gone. As Zachary then begins to pound nails, he says to himself, "Nola, I'm not confusing you with Catherine. There could be only one Nola Chamberlain, and there was only one Catherine Byers."

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Zachary's mind drifts back into time, way back into time. Nahunta, a small South Georgia town, in the mid-fifties. He's standing on the porch of a small farm house, knocking on the door. A door that is answered by a woman that bears an absolute remarkable resemblance to Nola Chamberlain.

"Hi, Ma'am. I came about the ad I saw in the paper - Boarder wanted."

The woman is covered in flour and sweat and as she wipes her forehead she says, "I'm sorry. I hope you didn't come too far, but that ad was suppose to have read 'Female Boarder Wanted'. Sir, It's just me and my two kids here now, and I can't be taking in a male boarder."

"You a widow, ma'am. ?"

"I didn't say that. Mr. Byers, that's my husband, well, he went into the big city one day, Jacksonville, you know. And he never came back. Sent me a note saying that he met some pretty young thing that made him come alive again. Imagine that, I was living with a dead man, all this time, and didn't even know it.. Anyway, I'm sure you have better things to do than to stand on this broken-down porch and listen to some old biddy's life story. Now, I do hope that you'll forgive me for the misprint and the misunderstanding, but if you will pardon me, I have some baking I need to attend to."

"Ma'am, I don't mean to be persistent or forward, but I sure do need a place to stay, and this is about the only one in town."

"Yes, I understand that. But surely you must see my position. I am sure you are a gentleman. Nice, looking boy like yourself. But a woman and two kids alone in a house, with a man that is not her husband. People would talk."

Just then a boy in his early teens walks in from the kitchen.

"Ma, who is that?"

"It's a man that came about our ad. Old man Jarvis forgot to put in the paper that I wanted a female boarder."

"You know anything about cars, mister?" The boy asks.

"As a matter fact I do. I work at Riley's garage in town."

"Well, our car's broke down, and we can't figure anything to do with the old girl but shoot her and put her out of her misery. Ma there, has been having to get a ride from Mrs. Baxter every day, just to get into town to go to work. Mrs. Baxter works at the bank with her, but I bet she's about sick and tired of having to drive all the way out here to pick her up every day.
Don't you reckon so, Ma?"

"Jimmy, I don't think you need to be telling a complete stranger our life's business." I'm sorry, but Jimmy does like to go on. Some folks seem to think he gets it from me."

"Ah, ma. I aint telling nothing too personal and besides, he aint no complete stranger. He's a mechanic that works at Riley's garage. Didn't you hear him say that? Maybe you could let him have the room, in exchange for some rent,and helping to get old Bonnie back on the road."

"I wouldn't mind taking a look at your car ma'am. If you would let me take a look at the room too."

"I appreciate the offer, but still, like I said, a woman with just her two kids, alone in the house with a man that's not her husband . . . "

"I can also do a little carpentry, ma'am, and I couldn't help noticing your porch could use some work."

"Yeah, ma, you're the one that said if you didn't get something done about the porch, it was going to fall in, the next time Mrs. Baxter stepped on it."

"Jimmy, don't be so fresh. I'm sorry, Sir. Children today just don't have the same manners we were raised with. Now if you pardon me, I really do need to be getting back to cooking supper."

"Ma, if I don't get some help with this dress, I'm going to be the only girl that ever failed Home Economics in the entire history of Nahunta High," a young girl's voice shouts from upstairs.

"That's my daughter, Emma. She's got to finish that dress pattern of hers for school tomorrow and she is having a terrible time. And I'm afraid I never was one for sewing."

"Ma'am, my mom died when I was right young, and my father and I had to tend to ourselves. I think I was sewing before I was even reading. Would you like me to take a look at that dress? And the room too?"

"Well, I don't even know your name."

"Zachary, ma'am. But most folks just call me Zach."

"Well, okay, Zach. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I can call Mr Jarvis and tell him to take my ad out of the paper. Catherine smiles a large, bright smile and adds, "I think we have found our boarder."

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Suddenly Zachary's mind returns to the present, as he throws his hammer, and yells, "Damn you Catherine! Damn you!" To be continued