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It Ended with a Handshake

Album: 20: A Journey of Choices

Episode: 267

Lesson/Theme: Communication; love.

Bible Verse: 1 Corinthians 13:5,7

Characters: Bernard, Connie, Eugene, Katrina

Writer: Paul McCusker

Sound Designer: Dave Arnold

Original Air Date: May 7, 1994

Last Air Date: February 2, 2009

Description:
It’s a few moments after Katrina has become a Christian. Connie is excited about this, but Eugene is confused. He is in the kitchen, typing on his laptop, pouring out his heart to his journal. Not only are Eugene’s feelings for Katrina unclear, he also is uncertain of how Katrina feels about him now that she has become a Christian. He decides they need to be friends, nothing more. Eugene leaves to help Bernard with his new computer. As he goes out the back, Frederick Holstein walks inside. He’s the owner of Holstein’s Books and is looking for Katrina to offer her a job! Katrina is ecstatic. Immediately, she leaves to check out Fred’s store. Meanwhile, Eugene is so agitated that he can’t concentrate on Bernard’s computer. Not only that, but he is late for class. He leaves his laptop with Bernard and runs off to school. A short while later, Bernard rushes into Whit’s End, looking for Eugene. Bernard can’t figure out the laptop. Whenever he turns it on, the screen tells him he has a disk error. Connie discovers that there is a disk in the “A” drive that is preventing the computer from booting up, a disk titled "Katrina, etc." Connie is dying to look at the contents of the disk, but she restrains herself. She merely tells Bernard to keep the disk with the computer. Bernard goes up to Whit’s office to work. Later, Katrina comes back in, excited about her new job. She bursts into Whit’s office to thank him. There, she finds Bernard hard at work. After they briefly introduce themselves, Bernard hands Katrina the disk with her name on it, the disk filled with Eugene’s journal, private thoughts, and undelivered love letters to her! Eugene discovers that Katrina has the disk and is beside himself. He races to Katrina’s room to tell her not to take anything she read seriously. Katrina agrees to this, and they shake on it. But then Katrina reveals that she didn’t read anything on Eugene’s disk. Eugene leaves, embarrassed. He realizes that he may have blown a potentially great relationship. It’s a bittersweet day, Eugene is humiliated, yet Katrina has discovered that Eugene’s feelings for her go deep.

Questions:
Why was Eugene so (rightly) convinced that once Katrina became a Christian, things would change between them? Why did Eugene decide to stop talking to Katrina? What do you think about the way Eugene handled the situation? Katrina? What does it mean to respect someone’s privacy?