"My freedom? What the hell do you mean 'my' freedom? You're the one that left me."

"But I know that you would have never let me walk out the door if it hadn't been for what you believed went on between me and Jessica, if you hadn't believed that ridiculous story I made up about having a 'mid-life' crisis." Nola, I was only thinking of your happiness."

"My happiness?" Nola asks in disbelief.

"I believed the only way you could have a happy life was if I was out of the picture. And you have to understand that I never intended to come back to Springfield. I thought that just maybe, I could cope with the pain of letting you go, as long as I didn't ever have to see you again. But then I had to come back for my father's funeral, and there you were. It was too much for me. All I could think about was having you in my arms again, and you, Nola, you seemed so unhappy. Nothing had worked out the way I planned it. You hadn't even filed the divorce papers yet, and I had thought by then, you would have found someone else, gotten married, had a child, maybe another one on the way."

"Quinton, I'm Irish not a rabbit."

Quinton can't suppress the chuckle. "You could always make me laugh. That's one of the things I love most about you."

"Let's just get back to this little story of yours. If you thought, you had made a mistake I don't understand why you waited this long to tell me?"

"I didn't think a funeral was the right place to proclaim my undying love for you. I tried to tell you at the boarding house before I left, but you wouldn't let me get a word in. But as soon as I got back to California I started making arrangements to return to Springfield, to return to you."

"But I thought you came back for the dig?"

"Nola, you can't be that naive. Of all the hundreds of dig sites around the world that I could have chosen, why do you think I chose Springfield? There was only ever one reason. I came back here to be near the woman I loved. The only woman I ever loved. I never expected Jessica to follow me here from California."

Speaking of California, I think I've found a fatal flaw in your story, Mr. Chamberlain. If there was nothing between you and Jessica, then why did she live with you there, in your house for almost a year? Can you answer that one?"

"Nola, after that unfortunate incident in the study, Jessica wouldn't stay away from me. When I rejected her time and time again, she started saying that I had ruined her life, that I had 'deflowered' her."

"Excuse me, Quinton, can you run that by me one more time?"

"Jessica claimed that she had been a virgin, that she had never loved anyone but me And then she said if she couldn't have me, she would kill herself. I felt sorry for her. I felt guilty. So I let her stay at my house. I offered to give her financial support until she could get back on her feet. I even tried to help her with her other problem."

"Other problem?"

Jessica said that she had turned to drugs, cocaine, exactly, after . . . because of my rejection." I tried to help her overcome it. Many times when we told J and Stacey that she was away visiting her sister, she was actually in rehab. I just wanted her to be able to get on with her life and get out of my house. But I swear to you Nola, that all the time she did live with me, she slept in the master bedroom alone, and I slept in my study on the couch. Nola, I know you probably won't believe me, but the only thing I've been to bed with in the last year is your memory."

"Then why would you bring someone like Jessica to your father's funeral?"

"She had just gotten out of rehab, and I was afraid to leave her in the house alone. She was talking suicide again, even about burning my house down. I only brought her with me to keep an eye on her."

"And why did you decide to finally dump her now? After all this time?"

"The rehab never worked. She was in and out more times than I can count. I think she even stole money from me in order to keep herself supplied. I wanted her out of my life so very badly, but she kept threatening to kill herself, and when she got tired of that bit of dramatics, she would then start threatening to report me to the Ethics board of the college. You have to remember Jessica had been one of my students. An affair with a student, that would have brought scandal and possibly, the end of my career. I didn't have you any more Nola. My work was all that I had left. I couldn't lose that too. That's why, when I found her in the tent trying to steal my grant proposal, that was the final straw. That and the fact that I finally had the good sense to have her investigated."

"Investigated?"

Yes, it seems my 'girlfriend Jessica' was about as pure as New York snow. She had been married and divorced twice; she'd been hooked on cocaine since she was 15, and she'd been in and out of jail for everything from drugs to prostitution. After I found all that out, I didn't think she would have the nerve to go to the Ethics board, so I sent her packing. J had heard and seen what went on between Jessica and me, at the dig site, and he assumed that we had a 'lover's spat' and had simply 'broken up.' It then occurred to me that I could go to the boarding house and tell you the same story. I thought that would have been more believable than what I'm telling you now. That's why I acted so nonchalant when I asked you to come back to me. I wasn't ready to tell you the whole truth. The truth that for the last year, the only thing I could think of day and night was what a mistake I had made, and how much I missed you and wanted you back.

To be continued

Nola and Quint are still at their marathon dance and gab session. In this episode Quint puts forth a dare, Hollywood style.

"Quinton, I have to admit, that this is quite an amazing story, but I don't see how it changes things between us. Am I suppose to be happy that my husband left me for a drug-addicted, ex-hooker, that he's not even sure if he slept with?"

"Nola, you're still not listening. I didn't leave you for Jessica. I left so you could be happy. Nola, you don't know how important your happiness is to me. How important it's always been to me. When we were first married, I even gave up the house that I loved because I thought that would make you happy."

Nola shakes her head as she says, "You know if this wasn't my own life, I might actually find it all kind of funny."

"Nola, my love, if I thought you were truly happy now, I would walk away from Springfield and you forever. But this Lance, or Zachary or whatever his name is. There's just something not right about him. It's quite obvious that he loves you."

"Really?"

"But you don't look at him the way. . . the way you used to look at me. Nola, I was almost happy for you the other day at the boarding house when you told me that you had found someone else. Okay, I was insanely jealous too, but a part of me was happy that you had found someone that could give you what I couldn't. I know I should let you get on with your life, but I... just can't walk away from you. Not yet. If only. . ."

"If only what?"

"Nola, I don't think this is the place for all of this. Why don't you come spend the night with me so we can talk in private?"

"Spend the night with you? In your tent? No, I don't think so."

"Not in my tent. In my house."

"In your house?"

"I was going to save this for a surprise, but Nola I bought the old house on Thornway Road back and I'm planning to live there.

"I thought I saw lights on there the other night. But I thought it might have been just my imagination."

"No, it wasn't your imagination, it was me. I don't really have the place 'furnished' exactly as I would like to yet. But I do have a bed."

"Quinton R. Chamberlain!"

"I'm not saying we have to make love. I just want to talk to you. What's that favorite movie of yours, the one where that unmarried couple hangs the sheet over the middle of the bed?"

""It Happened One Night'. Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert.

"That could be us, Nola."

"Oh, great. Now you're having movie fantasies, too. I think inhaling all that dust from ancient tombs must have finally got to you, Quinton. I'm not going to spend the night with you in that creepy house. Sheet or no sheet in the middle of the bed.

"Why? Are you afraid?"

"What did you say?"

"Are you afraid something might happen between us. Something you might not be able to explain to Lance or Zachary or whatever his name is?"

"It's not that, Quinton. I think it's quite obvious that we've already proved that we can sleep in the same bed together with nothing happening. I seem to recall about three months of that in California."

"Nola, that was California. This is Springfield. The house we met in. The house we fell in love in."

"Quinton, it's just a crazy idea."

"I think you're chicken."

"Don't say that."

"Chicken, chicken. Nola Chamberlain's a chicken."

"Stop saying that. You're making this sound like a dare".

"Well, maybe it is. I dare you to spend the night with me at our old house on Thornway Road."

"Do you think just because you dare me, that I won't be able to say no. Maybe the old Nola couldn't walk away from a dare, but the new Nola is much more mature."

"So is the "new Nola" going to chicken out then?"

Before Nola can answer him, Quinton feels a tap on his shoulder.

18 - "May I Cut In?"

"Excuse me," Zachary says, "But I was wondering if you would mind if I cut in?

"It's okay, Quinton. We can finish this discussion in a minute," Nola says softly.

"Whatever you say, Nola." Quinton reluctantly lets go of Nola and goes back to the table as Nola and Zachary begin to dance.

"Nola, do you know that you and Quinton have been on the dance floor for almost twenty minutes? Poor Bridget is starving, and I was becoming afraid that I would never get the chance to show off my newly acquired dancing talent."

"Really?"

"Well, Bridget is starving, but actually I cut in because I thought you looked upset. Did Quinton do or say something to upset you?"

"Yes. Yes he did. He tried to feed me this line about nothing really going on between him and Jessica."

"Do you believe him?"

"If there's one thing I've learned, Quinton's truths usually have many layers to them. You know, I really shouldn't let him get me this upset. If only I could carry on a normal conversation with him, but I don't know. Whenever I talk to him, I start to think about the whole thing with Jessica, and then all these words come out of my mouth, mean, evil-spirited words. Words that I would never say to anyone else, and here I am saying them to the man I . . .

"Love? You know what they say, You always hurt the one you love'."

"They can say that again. But I can't help it with Quinton. He just drives me so crazy. Do you know what he had the nerve to ask me to do tonight? He dared me to spend the night with him in the house we first lived in together. In the same bed, just to see if something would happen."

"Would something have happened."

"Truthfully, I don't know. I'm still so mad at Quinton, but then again, I am a grown, mature woman. And I do have needs, and it has been almost a year and half since I. . . well you know. Even Fritz would probably look good to me now."

"Who is Fritz?"

"Never mind, before your time. Oh, Gosh, I just thought of something, Zach, I haven't embarrassed you, have I ? Quinton always said I could be so blunt, but that was one of the things he loved about me."

"Actually, I think it's pretty charming too."

"You're so nice." Why couldn't I have been lucky enough to fall in love with a nice, normal guy like you? I mean all those years ago. I bet you don't even have the first deep, dark secret in your past."

"I wouldn't say that, Nola. There are things in everyone's past that are better left buried. Not to change the subject, but what was your answer?"

"To what?

"To Quinton's dare."

"I didn't give him one yet."

"I don't think it matters much now."

"Why not?"

"Look. He and Bridget just walked out the door."

To Be Continued

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