"Bridget, I'm sorry that we had to leave so soon, I just couldn't stay there and watch . . ."

"Your wife dancing with another man? They were just dancing, you know."

"I know that. It's just the way that he looks at her."

"Like he's in love with her or something, right? I noticed that too, and it's really strange considering the fact that he's not even really her. . . . ," Bridget hesitates, suddenly realizing her slip.

"He's not even really her what?"

"Her age, that's what I was going to say. You know Quinton, I really didn't get all dressed up tonight just to sit in my car and talk about Nola's love life. I didn't get a chance to dance; I didn't even get anything to eat."

"I'm sorry, Bridget. At least let me do something to rectify the latter."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Find some place with a drive-thru and I'll buy you some dinner."

"Gee thanks. I guess I'm just a 'burger and fries' sort of girl, huh?"

"There's nothing wrong with burger and fries, Bridget."

"Yeah, but some men prefer a more 'caviar' type of a woman."

"Are you talking about Hart and my niece, Dinah?"

"How'd you ever guess? Do you know I haven't even heard from Hart in a week? He hasn't even called to talk to Peter. I just know Dinah's behind it."

"Bridget, about Hart. I can't believe he never asked you to marry him, even when he found out you were pregnant." What kind of a man could walk away from his responsibility like that . . . "

"Look. There's one of those places where you talk into a clown to order your food," Bridget says, trying to take Quinton's mind off of Hart's responsibilities.

After they've ordered and gotten their food, they start to drive off. Bridget checks her hamburger to make sure it has extra pickles. "Good, lots and lots of pickles, just the way I like it."

"Nola, used to order her hamburger with extra pickles too," Quinton says, sounding completely lost.

"Okay, that's it," Bridget says, pulling her car over into a parking place at the restaurant. "I can't take it any more Quinton. Now you're getting all sentimental about the way Nola ordered her hamburgers. Maybe you don't have anyone else to tell you this, but you need to snap out of it. I don't see why you can't just forget about Nola."

"I would think you, Bridget, of all people would understand."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You haven't forgotten about Hart, have you?"

"That's different. Hart and I have a child together."

"Bridget, Nola and I have two children together."

"But your children are grown. It's not as if you two had any babies any more.

Are you okay, Quinton, you look a little pale?"

"I'm fine. But I would really just like to go home."

"Okay, but I need to stop at the boarding house before I drop you off. I left Peter with Michelle there, and I know J is on crutches but still . . . I can remember when Elvis had a sprained ankle. It didn't slow him down any."

"Elvis?"

"My ex-boyfriend."

"You had a boyfriend named Elvis? My goodness, what other deep, dark secrets do you have Bridget Reardon."

"You'd be surprised. You'd be surprised."

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

Bridget and Quinton stop at the boarding house and Bridget runs up stairs to check on Peter and Michelle. She's back down in a second.

"Peter and Michelle are both asleep. And so is J, and in his own room. "Are you ready to hit the road Quint?"

"Sure."

"Wait, a minute. I didn't see this before," Bridget says, picking a letter up off the floor. "Someone must have slipped this in the mail slot while we were gone. It's addressed to me."

"Maybe it's a love letter."

"Yeah, a love letter from Ed McMahon, probably. He's the only man that ever writes to me. Bridget looks at the envelope and sees that it's from Hart. Almost forgetting Quinton is there, she begins reading it out loud.

"Dear Bridget, I didn't want you to get this too soon. I didn't want you to get in any kind of trouble with the police or anything."

"The police?" Quinton asks concerned.

"It's a long story. She continues reading, "Bridget, Dinah and I have left Springfield and we're not coming back. At least not for a long time. This was a hard decision for us to make, but we feel it is the only way, we will ever be free of >Roger. As soon as things die down I will contact you. I do still plan on sending money for Peter. I know I can't be a part of his life right now, but I hope that can change one day. I just want to say thanks for being there when I needed you, and thanks for being my friend. Goodbye Bridget. Take care of yourself and Peter."

Bridget is stunned and she can't keep the tears from flowing." Quinton walks over to her and says gently, "It's going to be okay, Bridget, Everything is going

to be okay. Bridget falls sobbing into Quinton's arm.

As Quinton is comforting Bridget, Nola walks in.

"Nola, I didn't hear you drive up." Bridget says trying to pull herself together.

"That's obvious."

Quinton sees the look of fire in Nola's eyes, and suddenly realizes what she must be thinking. "Oh, come on Nola, I was just comforting Bridget. You can't actually believe . . .

"Quinton, you almost had me believing that little story about Jessica. But I walk into my own home to find you snuggled up to my niece. What are you trying to do? Seduce everyone in my family? Michelle's almost eighteen. Do want her phone number?"

"Nola . . ."

"Just leave me alone," she says running up the stairs."

Quinton starts to go after her, but Bridget stops him. "You know how Nola is. She just needs a chance to cool off. I'll explain everything to her in the morning."

"Are you sure?"

"Everything will look clearer to her in the morning. Now are you ready for me to drive you home?"

"Bridget, I think I would rather walk. It will give me a chance to clear my head."

"Suit yourself."

After Quinton walks out, Bridget goes up to Peter's room and looks at her sleeping boy.

"It's just me and you kid now. Daddy's flown the coop for good. I know I've seen this coming all along, but still it . . . it hurts like hell. But don't you worry,

Peter. We are going to be just fine. Hart can have his little Dinah, if that's what he wants. I lived without him before, and I can live without him again. You and I will make it on our own. We have the boarding house. And we have Vanessa to help us. And we have your Auntie Nola. Okay, maybe we don't have your Auntie Nola, any more after tonight. Imagine her thinking there was something going on between Quinton and me..

"Quinton's just a nice, sweet, intelligent, . . . handsome . . . rich, man who's . . . very vulnerable right now. Peter, you know, I think maybe it's time I started being a whole lot nicer to Quinton R. Chamberlain.

To be continued

A very upset Nola has rushed up stairs, slammed her bedroom door, and began a private tirade.

"I can't believe the nerve of that man. First, he tells me that crazy story about Jessica, and then he comes back to my' house and puts the moves on Bridget.

Well, I'm just not going to think about any of it any more. If I don't get my mind off Quinton Chamberlain, I swear I'm going to just. . . just go crazy."

In an attempt to get her mind off Quinton, Nola turns on the TV and puts it on the old movie channel just in time to hear the announcer say, "Stay tune for "Rebecca", coming up next.

"Oh, no, I don't think so," Nola says, quickly turning off the set. "Maybe I could just read a little to relax. I do have all those books on my required reading list for my English Lit class. Let's see. Where is that bag of books?"

"Good, here they are," Nola says, lifting the heavy bag. " I didn't even check to see what any of these were when the girl at the college book store filled the required reading list for me. Now where's that list. Okay here goes, the first book

I'm supposed to read is. . . Jane Eyre. Now I know God must have a sense of humor."

Nola looks at the book in her hands and says, "I really didn't want to have to read this book ever again, but if I have to, I have to."

She settles down on the bed, and immediately notices that her "special" pillow is missing.

"I swear, it's getting where if you want to keep something around here, you need to nail it down. Oh well, I guess I can make due without it tonight." Nola settles into the bed, holding the copy of "Jane Eyre" in her hands.

"Maybe it won't be so bad. It is a beautiful love story. Mr. Rochester loved his little governess, Jane, so much. And there's no Jessica in the book, and no Bridget. Just Mr. Rochester, Jane, and of course...Mr Rochester's crazy wife."

Almost as soon as Nola begins to read, she begins to drift off to sleep.

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

Nola begins her dream by realizing that she is in the old house on Thornway Road. And every thing is exactly the same as it was all those years ago.

Looking all around she says, "This isn't too bad. I've missed this old house. I really did love it. All except for those damn tusks."

Just then Nola's trip down memory lane is interrupted when someone else comes in the room. It's Bridget dressed in the old-fashioned garb of a long ago governess.

"Bridget, what are you doing here?" Nola asks shocked.

"I'm Mr. Chamberlain's governess."

"Why does he need a governess?"

"For his son, the Young Mr. Chamberlain."

"Do you mean J? He's too old for a governess."

"Well, you still treat him like he's a baby, don't you?"

"Hey, I resent that. By the way, Bridget. I notice you're not wearing any makeup. Remember what I told you. No foundation is okay. But you just shouldn't ever leave the house without any eye-liner and lipstick."

"What are you doing here anyway, Nola? I thought Mr. Chamberlain had you locked up on the third floor?"

"Had me locked up? Why would he do that?"

"Because you're his crazy wife, duh."

"What are you talking about? Where his Mr. Chamberlain?"

"Here he comes."

Quinton enters the room dressed in Nineteenth century "Lord of the manor" style.

"Oh, my God, Nola, who let you out?" he asks horrified.

"What do you mean who let me out?"

"Now, Nola, you know I had to lock you up because you went insane after seeing me with Bridget."

"Yeah, what is going on with you and Bridget?"

"Nola, Bridget and I are to be married," Quinton says, grabbing Bridget to him. She will be the new Mistress of my Manor."

"But we're not even divorced yet. How can you marry her?"

"We're going to lock you up on the third floor," Bridget answers. "Aren't you paying attention to any of this?"

"But Quinton, why would you choose Bridget over me?"

"Bridget is a pure, sweet soul."

"A pure, sweet soul? Bridget pure? Now I know this has got to be a dream."

"I wouldn't be calling anyone impure if I was you, Nola," Bridget says. "I never lied about who the father of my baby was."

"Ah, don't even go there, Bridget. You did one better. You lied about who the mother of your baby was. Are have you forgotten about Nadine keeping you locked up?"

"Oh, Mr. Chamberlain, don't listen to her. See, she is crazy. Come on. Let's lock her up, and lock her up now."

"Yes. It's up to the third floor for you, young lady," Quinton adamantly agrees.

Quinton and Bridget grab Nola and start to drag her off as she's screaming,

"This isn't the way it is in the book. This isn't the way it is in the book."

Nola wakes up and realizes it was all just a dream. She looks at the copy of "Jane Eyre" that she's holding in her hands and says, "I don't think I'll ever be able to make it through this whole thing again. Sorry, Charlotte, but Ithink I'm just going to have to buy the Cliff Notes."

To be Continued

Quinton didn't walk home, not straight home, anyway. First, he stopped by an old oak tree in the yard of the boarding house, took out pen and paper (hey, he's a professor, they always carry pen and paper) and began to write a letter to his precious Nola.

*************************************************** "

My Dearest Nola,

there is so much I want to say to you, so much I need to say to you, but whenever we are together, I can never manage to get the right words out. The words I pray, could tear down the barrier that separates up now. That's why I am attempting to somehow, someway, put down all that I am feeling on paper.

Nola, when I think of you and me and our love story, I can't help but be reminded of that line from those old, childhood fairy tales, "And they lived happily ever after". But life is not a fairy tale. And sooner or later reality can cause the fantasy to fade away. But you and I, Nola, we almost made it, didn't we?

Being married to you Nola, was like living an enchanted dream. I don't know how you could have ever once believed that I had actually grown tired of you. Grown tired of my Nola; it wouldn't be possible. Seeing the world through your eyes made everything seem fresh and new and exciting every day of my life. And as our years together passed, you never lost one bit of your charm, of your magic, of your beauty. Of course, I don't think the same can be said of me. But when this world began to see me as what I had become, an aging adventurer now settling into a life of "used-to-be's", you Nola, you still always looked at me as if I was a brave knight charging up on a white steed. I loved you for that; I will always love you for that.

And I know that all that I am and all that I have accomplished is because of you. You taught me how to accept the past, live in the present, and hope for the future. And of all the things I have accomplished in my life, the thing I am the most proud of is that I was able to share so much of it with a woman like you. Nola, it would appear now that we have come to the final line of our love story and it is not, "And they lived happily ever after". I could not protect you from sadness forever. I could not bring Maureen back, and I could not give you anything to take her place.

Do I then regret every thing that happened between us because of the way it has ended? No, Nola, I know that the memories I have of the moments that we did share together will sustain me through the rest of my life.

Remember that movie that you loved, "The French Lieutenant's Woman"? Do you remember what Sarah said to Charles? "Now that I know that there was one day on which you truly loved me, I can bear anything." That is how I feel about our love, Nola. The knowledge that you did once actually love me, should be enough to sustain me forever. But still . .

To be honest, I know this is the part where I should wish you well, and tell you goodbye, but I can't bring myself to do that, not yet, at least. If I could just see you one more time, alone, just the two of us.

Nola, if you think there is even the slightest glimmer of hope for us, then please come to me, tomorrow night at our old house.

And we can be together one more time, even if it is to be for the last time.

But if you choose not to come, I will go on without you, but I will never stop loving you. I no sooner could stop that than I could stop breathing.

My precious Nola, I have loved you since the moment you walked into the Gazebo, since the moment I saw your beautiful face, and heard your angelic voice. And if our love is only to be a memory now, it will be a memory that I will always cherish.

With all the love I have to give
Quinton

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

Quinton starts to slip the letter addressed to Nola through the mail slot on the boarding house door, but then he happens to notice that someone forgot to take the keys out of the door. "Oh, what the heck," he says as he walks in.

Now let's see. Nola's room was on the second floor, third door to the left, or was it second door to the left. No third door, I'm almost sure.

Quinton quietly opens the bedroom door and sees a sleeping lump covered by blankets. He puts the note on top of the blankets, and says in a whisper "Please Nola, read this with your heart as well as your eyes."

Quinton walks out and Bridget pokes her head out from underneath the covers. and says "Wrong room, Romeo."

After reading the letter Bridget says, "He does have it bad for her, doesn't he. But I don't think Nola needs to know that right now. I'll just put this somewhere for safe keeping. Nola doesn't really deserve a man like that, but I think I know someone that does.

To Be Continued

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