Episode 10 takes place after Nola and Bridget's confrontation at theboarding house. Nola has found herself once again undeniably drawn tothe Lighthouse.

"Zachary, are you up there?" Nola calls ascending the Lighthouse steps.

"Nola, come on up. You're just in time for me to put you to work.How do you feel about painting?" Zachary asks jokingly before henotices the tears in her eyes. "Nola, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine? My whole life is falling apart, but I'm fine and dandy."

"Here, why don't you sit down, and we'll talk about it. Look I even have a wooden crate for you to sit on this time."

"I don't know, if this place gets any more upscale, I might feel out classed."

"Nola, I don't think you could ever be out classed."

"You're so sweet, Zachary."

"Nola, most folks, I mean most of my friends call me Zach. Now do you want to tell me what's bothering you?"

"Okay, Zach. Bridget, she's my niece . . . "

"I remember that."

"Well, she's going to be Quinton's assistant out at his Native Americandig site."

"Quinton, your husband. He's an archaeologist?"

"Yes. In fact, it was through his work that we met. I answered an adfor an archaeological assistant, he hired me, and eventually we fell inlove."

"Nola, are you upset because you think there's something going on between Quinton and Bridget?"

"No, there's nothing going on between them. She's not his type, butthen again I didn't think Jessica, the floozy was his type either. AndBridget is a single mother."

"Your husband has a thing for single mothers?"

"No, it's nothing like that. He just likes to help them out. Hismother raised him alone, and I guess that's why he feels sorry forwomen raising children on their own. Even me."

"Even you?"

"I was single and pregnant when Quinton hired me. And if it wasn'tfor him . . . I don't really know what I would have done. He helped meout so much."

"And are you afraid that Quinton might start 'helping' Bridget out the way he helped you?"

"I didn't say that. It's just that working with Quinton was one ofthe best memories of my marriage. I mean we were a real team. And nowhe's out there with Bridget."

"It would be hard to see him working with any other woman, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, Yes it would."

"You still love him, don't you Nola?"

Nola hesitates only for a moment and then says, "Yes, I do."

"And there's no chance that the two of you could work things out?"

"Well, actually Quinton sort of already asked to come back to me.

"And you told him no, even though you still love him?"

"Yes, but you would have to have heard him. He was so nonchalantabout it. And he didn't even ask to come back until his girlfriendturned out to be a real loser. It was almost like he was saying, Thingsdidn't work out between bimbo and me, so can I crawl back into bed withyou?'"

"And that's not what you wanted?"

"No . . . Yes . . . I don't know. I'm just feel so confused abouteverything. I know I love Quint, that I'm always going to love Quint,but I think that maybe there's a 'Point of No Return' that couples canreach."

"Do you mean the cheating?"

"That and other things."

"Nola, many times when a person reaches out for someone else, it's because they feel lost and they're just trying to find a hand to hold on to."

"I'm sure Quinton and Jessica did more than just hold hands. Buttruthfully, there were problems before she ever showed up. But Zach,I'm sure that you don't want to listen to all the gory details of myfailed marriage."

"Nola, you can talk to me about anything."

"I do get that feeling about you. That I can tell you anything, andit's been so long since I've had someone I could really open up to."

"You couldn't talk to Quinton?"

"No, not the way I would have liked to. But, honestly, that wasn'this fault. You see, when Quint and I were first together, well, evenbefore we were together, there was so many problems, so many secrets,so many people between us. Poor Quinton was such a tortured soul. But Istayed with him and stuck it out because I loved him and I knew heloved me. And when everything finally did work out, I didn't want us tohave any problems ever again."

"Everyone has problems."

"I realize that now. But I guess I thought if I tried hard enough Icould make everything perfect for us. All I wanted was Quinton tofinally be happy. He'd been through so much. So if something upset me,I kept it to myself.It was only the little things to start with."

"And the little things turned into big things, right?"

"Yeah, sort of. But I still thought I could handle it. As long asQuinton was happy that's all that mattered to me. Do you know that whenwe were first married, I actually agreed for us to give up our ownhouse and move in with Quinton's dad."

"Because of money problems?"

"No, we had plenty of money. We were just . . . stupid. But I went along with it because . . . "

"I know, anything to make Quinton happy, right? Nola, in the best marriages, both parties work at making each other happy."

"Maybe it's too late for me and Quint."

"Too late for what?"

"To make each other happy."

"It's never too late to be happy, Nola. And it's never too late for love."

"I don't know. Sometimes I think I would be better off if I neverhad to see Quinton R. Chamberlain ever again. Who knows, maybe he'llleave town in a jealous fit, after he sees me dancing with you at thecountry club."

"Dancing, Nola? You just said that we would be having dinner. Youdidn't mention anything about dancing. I don't know how to tell youthis, but I can't dance."

"What do you mean you can't dance? Anyone can dance."

"I can't. I don't know how."

"Then Zach, I think you need to get ready."

"Ready for what?"

"Your first lesson."

The last half of Episode 10 answers the eternal question, "What would it take to get Nola out of that Lighthouse?"

As we begin part 2, Nola is giving Zachary his first dance lesson.

"Zach, dancing is just moving your body to the rhythm of the music.It's as simple as that. Now let me see. Do you a stereo around here?Some CD's maybe?"

"No."

"Well surely, you have a radio. I know this place is primitive rightnow, but even the castaways on 'Gilligan's Isle' had a radio."

"Come to think of it, I do have a radio." Zachary reaches down into a box and pulls out a small portable radio.

"Here let me see that." Nola fiddles with the dials, trying to pickup a station, and finally settles on one with an announcer blaring,"This is WJZE, Springfield's Oldie Station. Guaranteed All oldies. Allthe time."

She sets the radio down and says to Zachary, "Put one arm around mywaste and the other around my shoulder, and Zach, my boy, you are aboutto learn how to dance."

"I Can't Fight This Feeling Any More" by REO Speed Wagon begins playing on the radio.

"I can't believe that," Nola says with a sigh.

"Believe what?"

"That they play Eighties' songs on the oldies station now. No wonder Quintonwants me back. He's an archaeologist, and I'm an old relic."

"Nola, You're not a relic . . . You're a treasure."

Nola blushes and says, "Hold me closer."

"Excuse me?"

"Hold me closer. When people are slow-dancing, they hold each other very close. You don't have to be afraid. I won't break."

Zachary pulls Nola closer, and Nola lets out an audible gasp. "My God, Zach you're so hard."

"Excuse me, Nola?"

"I mean your chest. My God, it's as hard as a brick wall. You must work out at the gym, a lot, huh?"

"Not really, but I do get a lot of exercise, with all this remodeling."

"Right. You know, you're not doing too badly with this dancing thing. I think you must have natural rhythm.

"It must be my teacher. You're a wonderful dancer, Nola."

"I don't know about now. But in my time, I did burn up a few dance floors."

"Did you and Quint dance much together?"

"At first, we did, but then with work and raising two kids, therewasn't a lot of time left for dancing. But I never will forget how wedanced at our engagement party. You should have seen us. You shouldhave seen everyone. Half the town all dressed up in 'Gone With theWind' costumes. It was almost like a movie. But now that I think aboutit, I guess we sort of over did it. I don't know why everything had tobe so elaborate. Even my wedding was like something out of a movie, orone of my . . . fantasies." Nola lowers her head, but not beforeZachary has seen the tears.

"Nola, there's nothing wrong with having fantasies . . . with havingdreams. Our dreams are what makes us special, what makes us unique."

"But don't you think sometimes you can believe in your dreams too much? That you can hold on to your fantasies too tightly."

"What do you mean too tightly?"

"Zach, when I was a little girl in the boarding house, my motherused to have this globe she put out every Christmas. It was one ofthose things that you could shake and make it snow. This one had an iceskating scene. A boy and a girl, holding hands and skating together.Each Christmas, I used to love to hold that globe . . . "

"To shake it and watch it snow?"

"No, I just liked to hold it close and pretend that I was the girlice skater, and that the boy ice skater was in love with me, and thatwe were going to run away and get married. Then one Christmas I washolding that globe, and staring into it and dreaming, and I don't know,I guess I held it too tightly. It was glass, and it . . . "

"Broke?"

"All over the place, and I cut myself on the broken glass too. I wasonly about five or six at the time, but I can still remember the painin my hand, and the blood. The cut was deep enough that I still have ascar on my left palm till this day."

"Nola, was your mother very upset?"

"I don't know. I never told her about it."

"But there must have been a terrible mess."

"I cleaned it up myself with some old towels, and then I threw itall in the trash. I even put a Band-Aid on my own cut. It was the firsttime that I ever got a boo-boo, I mean an injury that my mother didn'tkiss and make better."

"And your mother never said anything about her globe being missing?"

"No, she didn't. She knew I loved it, and I don't know, maybe she knew that my losing it was punishment enough."

Zachary takes Nola's left hand off his shoulders and gives her a kiss on the palm.

"What was that for?" Nola asks, completely taken off guard.

"It's the kiss for your boo-boo that you never got."

Nola and Zachary continue to dance, and Zachary says, "Dancing iseasier than I thought it would be. It's really just a matter oflistening to the music and letting your body take care of the rest."

"I never thought of it that way, but now that you mention it . . . "

And as Nola closes her eyes, and rests her head on Zacharyshoulders, she does begin to listen to the music. It's then that sherealizes that they have begun playing another song on Springfield'soldie station. Bertie Higgin's words have started to float out acrossthe Light House.

"That first cold winter together,
Lying in each other's arms,
Watching those old movies,
And falling in love so desperately.
Honey, I was your hero,
And you were my leading lady."

Suddenly Nola breaks away from Zachary, and saying, "I'm sorry, butI have to go. I can't do this right now. I mean I can't dance with you,not to that song. I'm sorry, Zachary. Very quickly Nola, descends theLighthousesteps.

Zachary calls after her, "Don't go Nola, Please, don't go. But Noladoesn't hesitate for another moment After she's gone, Zachary saysquietly, with tear-misted eyes, "It's happening all over again, andthere's nothing I can do to stop it."

*********************************

As Nola starts up her car, the radio comes on. "I don't rememberleaving that on," she says. She then notices that this radio too, isset to WJZE, and that Bertie Higgins words have followed her.

"Just like Bogie and Bacall,
Starring in our own late, late show.
Sailing away to Key Largo."

She tries to turn the radio off, but only succeeds in turning the volume louder.

"We can find it once again, I know
Just like they did in Key Largo."

Finally the song, is over, and a commercial takes its place. Noladrives away in relief. But relief is not the only sensation that she'sfeeling.

She has an undeniable tingling sensation in her left palm, the sameone that Zachary kissed. As she stops, at the light, she starts to rubher palm with her other hand. But she is immediately distracted by thestrange sight that lies before her.

In the distance she can see her and Quintons' old home, on Thornwayroad, and Nola is shocked to see that there are once again, lights onin the old house. She is so shocked that she forgets all about hertingling palm.

She never even notices that the scar has disappeared.

To be continued

11 - Memories of Catherine Part 2

After Nola has ran out of the lighthouse, Zachary sits on thefloor and covers his eyes with his hands. Soon images of Nola's big,dark eyes and sweet, bright smile feel his head, but almostinstantaneously, these images begin to change into ones of someoneelse. Zachary's mind begins to travel back into time once again.

Back to a time he joined a family at their dinner table. A familythat consisted of a young girl, still a freshman in high-school; a boyof not more than twelve; and a woman with her own big, dark eyes andsweet, bright smile. A woman he knew as Catherine.

************************************

"This is just about the best supper I've had in a good long while ma'am," Zachary says between mouthfuls of coleslaw.

"Well, I can't take all the credit. Emma made the biscuits, andJimmy made the coleslaw. With me having to work, I swear, I think mykids know their way around the kitchen better than I do. But I did frythe chicken. My momma always said that my Bobby only married me for myfried chicken. I guess that woman he met in Jacksonville had a . . .better recipe."

"Ma, I wish you wouldn't talk about Daddy like that," Emmainterjects. "Remember what you always told me, if you can't sayanything good about someone, then don't say anything at all."

"Then I guess that just about ends our conversation about Bobby Byers for tonight," Catherine answers her.

"Good," Jimmy adds. "Now we can ask Zach some questions. Like how come he don't have a family of his own he can stay with?"

"Jimmy," Catherine scolds. "How many times have I told you not to goprying into other people's business. Honestly, I don't know where thatboy gets it from. So, Zach, why aren't you staying with your family?"

"Well, ma'am its not much of a tale, really. Like I said before, mymother died when I was right young, and my father didn't really pay allthat much attention to me for some years. He did teach me how to takecare of myself, what with cooking and sewing, and working on cars. Butbesides that stuff, he pretty much left me to sort of bring up my ownself. That's until he met this woman. A real, upright, Christian woman.Herself a widow. Her name was Dottie, and at first, I thought my dadhad found himself a prize. She was a smart looking woman, and she lovedto do all those motherly things that my real mother never had a chanceto do for us. But I come to find out Dottie wasn't so perfect."

Caroline eyes grew even larger. "Did she drink? Did she run around on her daddy?"

"No, nothing like that. But Dottie did have another love besides myfather. She loved her Bible. A bit too much if you ask me. I swear thatwoman would sit there and read it, and read it, almost as if she waslooking for some mention of a sin that she might have somehow missed.And as far as the sins she did find, she was immediately sure I wasbusy committing them. So she took to trying to beat the devil out ofme. First with her hand, and then with anything she could pick up."

"That's so sad," Emma says as her eyes begin to tear.

Zachary continues, "About a couple years of that was all I couldtake. As soon as I turned sixteen I was out the door, and I've neverbeen back once. Since then I've been traveling and searching."

"What have you been searching for, Zach?" Emma asks.

"I don't rightfully know."

"Well, I can't say that I blame you for getting away from thathorrible woman," Catherine comments. "I've always thought some peopleput too much store in the Good Book. I mean I believe in God and all,but I also believe that there is a small voice inside each of us. Andthat if you're real quiet and listen to that small voice, it will doyou more good than all the Sunday School lessons in the world puttogether."

"Ma!" Emma squeals. "That is just down right sacrilegious."

"Would you listen to my daughter. Two months in high school and she's already using five dollar words."

Zachary just sat quietly listening to the family's conversation forthe rest of the evening. He never told the Byers that he believed hehad heard his own small voice inside himself that night. He never toldthem that he thought the voice had said that he had finally found aplace where he could be happy.

***********************************

Zachary is brought back to the present when he realizes once again, that he is not alone. The mysterious old man has returned.

"We're taking dance lessons, are we now, Zachary?"

"Nola was just showing me how to dance for the club tomorrow night."

"Oh, that's right. You have a date with Nola."

"It's not a date. I'm only helping her out for the one night."

"And you have not forgotten your purpose for being here in Springfield?'

"My purpose? I don't even know if I'm any more capable of accomplishing that now than I was before."

"You'll know, Zach, my child. You'll know when you are strongenough. And after your purpose for coming here is over you can putSpringfield and Nola Chamberlain in your past."

"They way I never did Catherine."

"Yes, Zachary, but hopefully, this time no one will have to die."

to be continued

"Wake up, sleepyhead."

Nola slowly comes awake to find Bridget standing over her bed.

"Bridget, it's still early, isn't it?"

"It's not as early as you think. And besides, you have to get ready for your big night."

"My big night?"

"Did you forget about your date at the country club with Lance, alias Zachary, the Light House stud?"

"I think I should just forget about the whole, stupid idea. Afterlast night, Zachary probably thinks I'm a nut, and I wouldn't even besurprised if he refused to talk me ever again."

"Ooh, tell me what happened last night and don't leave out any juicy details."

"Nothing happened, Bridget, except that I realized that the past always catches up with you sooner or later."

"I don't know about that, but I do know that Zachary still wants to talk to you. He's already called here this morning."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"I thought you could definitely use all the beauty sleep you could get."

"Gee thanks, Bridget."

"I meant because of your date tonight, Nola. Anyway, Zachary will be over here at seven to pick you up."

"That's twelve hours away, Why are you trying to get me up now?"

"You have a lot to do. I would think you would want to get your hair done, get a facial, maybe, buy a new dress."

"I still don't know if I should go out tonight. What about J?Somebody should be here to make sure he's okay. He does have thatsprained ankle."

"You know, he can get around just fine on those crutches of his. Andboth Michelle and Dahlia are over here constantly 'checking' on him."

"That's another reason I shouldn't go out tonight."

"Oh, give it up, Nola. Stop babying that boy. Besides, I don't thinkI...I mean you should miss this night for anything in the world."

"Bridget, you're really getting excited about this whole date thing, aren't you?"

"Are you kidding, You and Quinton, and Zachary in the same room?This is going to be better than an episode of 'Melrose Place'."

"I'm glad my life amuses you so."

Nola gets up and walks to her dresser and looks in the mirror andsays, "I don't know about getting my hair done. Maybe I just need tobrush it. Bridget do you have my brush?"

"No, Nola. I'm not a Chamberlain but I do think I can afford to buy my own grooming supplies."

"But I could have sworn I left it right there on the dresser, last night. Have you been letting Peter play in my room again?"

"No. I haven't."

"But I know it was lying right there next to my 'Hollywood is For Lovers' cup. Hey, come to think of it, that's missing too."

"That's not a real loss is it? I mean the handle was broken."

"I glued that back on with Super Glue. And that cup had a lot ofsentimental meaning to me. I bought it for Quint when we went toHollywood."

"Then shouldn't Quinton have it?"

"Well, he didn't take it with him when he . . . Bridget, I think I need to go through Peter's toy-box."

"Do whatever, Nola. But I have to be going. Quinton wants me at the dig, bright and early."

"About the dig, Bridget, maybe I shouldn't have jumped all over you about working for Quint."

"That's okay. Just please, don't drag me into you and Quinton's little games. It's bad enough that I'm....never mind."

"It's bad enough what."

"It's bad enough that I'm going to be late my first day on the job."

After she leaves, Nola looks through her closet, and says, "Welcomeback to the 'Fabulous Eighties', everyone. Maybe I should get a newdress. Something, I don't know. . . more Nineties. More 'MelrosePlace'."

to be continuedGo to next chapter of "Sometimes You Get A Second Chance"